KARACHI, July 27: Given that virtually none of the city’s transporters fulfil the legal requirement of obtaining third-party insurance for their public transport vehicles, victims of traffic accidents are not paid the damages to which they are entitled, Dawn has learnt.
It is estimated that over 30,000 road accidents occur in the city every year, with victims’ injuries ranging from minor to fatal.
A series of discussions with transporters, and senior members of the traffic police and other relevant authorities showed that the overwhelming majority of the 21,000 public transport vehicles plying across the city do not have the third-party insurance necessary for acquiring route permits under the Motor Vehicle Rules, 1969. As a result, public transport users are denied the option of compensation in case of an accident.
Third-party insurance is defined as the “the liability cover purchased by an insured [the first party] from an insurer [the second party] for protection against the claims of another [the third] party. The first party is responsible for its own damages or losses, whether caused by itself or the third party.”
“It is mandatory to obtain third-party insurance while putting any vehicle on the road for public use,” said DIG Traffic, Wajid Ali Durrani. “We normally check the vehicle and its papers, and lodge a challan against drivers who fail to produce the third-party insurance certificate on the spot. We can’t go beyond that.”
It seems, however, that that the police perform poorly in the task of regulating public transport documentations since almost all vehicles get clearance from the traffic police by producing a fake insurance policy that does not cover the payment of damages to traffic accident victims.
‘Police don’t demand it of us’
Insurance professionals confirmed that the concept of third-party insurance does not exist in the city’s public transport sector, adding that most vehicle owners obtain fake policies to get past the authorities – which are usually aware of the deception.
“A fake third-party insurance certificate can be bought for Rs120 from dozens of places around the city,” pointed out Khurram Ali Khan, the executive director of EFU Insurance. “In this way, transporters avoid being challaned and also get out of paying out any damages to people hurt or affected by their vehicles.” He maintained that not a single public transport vehicle was registered for third-party insurance and said that a large number of transporters were unaware of this requirement.
Transporters contacted by Dawn admitted the violation of the rules but argued that proof of third-party insurance cover is not demanded when they fulfil the other formalities for acquiring route permits.
They added that traffic policemen also do not ask for the document when they carry out random document checks on vehicles.
“The fact is that it’s a demand you find only on the books,” said Shah Zeb Khan, who owns over a dozen buses plying different routes in the city.
“When an accident occurs and our drivers are held responsible, we make payments to the aggrieved parties if they need it but most of the time, the aggrieved parties never turn up.” He conceded, however, that although hundreds of major and minor accidents involving public transport vehicles take place every day, hardly any transporter faces legal action over the payment of damages to victims.
Citizens unaware of rights
This observation was echoed by Syed Ameer Hussain, who manages the Road Traffic Injury Research and Prevention Centre at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. He suggested that citizens’ lack of awareness regarding their rights in this context helped turn this illegality into common practice.
“We registered over 35,000 cases of road traffic accidents in 2007 alone,” he told Dawn. “The cases, most of them involving public transport, included those causing major and minor injuries and casualties. But I don’t remember any of the victims or their families demanding compensation from the offenders or asking for our support in this regard.”
Mr Hussain pointing out that in addition to ensuring that all public transport vehicles obtained third-party insurance, there was a need to make people aware of their rights since this would help the authorities ensure a smooth implementation of the rules.
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