KARACHI, March 31: The citizens are still mournful about the death of two college girls and a motorcyclist at Karimabad, yet the cries of another three-year-old boy echoed the air in Baldia Town who was crushed to death by a minibus.

Everyone was shocked to hear of his death on a day when the transport operators kept their vehicles off the roads to protect their interests and press the government for approval of their demands.

It is the height of negligence and reckless driving that a minibus driver of route G-7 who was going somewhere else and not on his route was driving so recklessly that he took the life of an innocent child.

Every year more than 550 people are killed in road accidents, most of them fall prey to reckless driving of the public transport. The population of the vehicles in the metropolis is more than one million and the share of the public transport is only 3.34 per cent. However, their involvement in fatal accidents is more than 72 per cent.

It is certainly an alarming situation despite the fact that the traffic police have booked more than 1,250 drivers of public transport for recklessly driving under section 279 of the PPC. However, the general behaviour of the drivers of the public transport, especially of minibuses and coaches, remains unchanged and they continue to violate traffic rules.

The Karimabad accident on March 19, in which two college girls and a motorcyclist were killed and nine others injured, was an example of reckless driving, has jolted the city and spread a wave of anger among the citizens against the transport operators.

People from different walks of life and from different political and religious parties have raised their voice against the traffic violations. The transport operators sensed an action against them and they set aside all of their differences to become united. Their recent strike was apparently a show of their unity and a message to the government and the traffic police that a strong resistance could be put by the transport operators to defend their “interests”.

Many of their demands included the conversion of a murder case under section 302 of the PPC into 320 of Qisas & Diyat, registered against the driver Munawar, responsible for Karimabad accident.

The conversion of the section in the case can ultimately benefit the driver and the transport operators obviously want the driver to get less punishment from the court.

The transporters also demanded the release of the owner of the bus. The owner has been charged with abetment in the murder case. If a man, who does not possess a driving licence, is booked in an intentional murder case under section 302 of the PPC. In this case, the driver Munawar does not have the HTV driving licence. Did the owner of that bus ask for the valid licence from Munawar before handing over his vehicle to him? This comes under criminal negligence and his implication in the case is logical.

The bus, responsible for killing three persons, was examined by a Motor Vehicle Inspector, who prepared his report that the cause of accident was a failure of brakes. Let’s believe this allegedly self-contrived report for a moment. The report suggested that the cylinder of the brakes burst, which led to failure of brakes and the driver could not use the brakes.

First of all, the driver and cleaner of every bus always check necessary things before taking a vehicle on road. If the engine oil and gear oil was checked of that bus, why the brake oil was not checked? The bus was of an old model and in this type of buses, the cylinders, made of hard metal, cannot burst.

A driver has to try hard by pushing three or four times to stop a bus. Even if the brake oil is finished, some oil is present in brake linings, and the bus, responsible for the accident, could have been stopped, if an attempt would have been made. The bus could also have been stopped or its speed broken by putting it into first gear.

Dawn’s inquiry has found that the driver did not use brakes. When the motorcyclist came under his bus, he left the steering, came on the front door and alighted when the bus slowed down after hitting the footpath and the girl students, who were waiting for transport. The driver did not try to stop the bus, which is his criminal negligence.

The MVI report that has suggested the cylinder of brakes burst is ridiculous and stern action should be taken against the official who prepared it. Besides, every public transport vehicle has to obtain a fitness certificate from the Motor Vehicle Inspection wing of the traffic police, which remains valid for only six months. It should be looked into as to how the bus was declared fit to ply on road.