Chowrangi

Whenever we see a picture of a horrible accident in a newspaper or read about the deaths of people crushed under a vehicle, we don’t give it a thought and quickly turn to the sports section of the paper. But then it happens to someone we know well, a good friend or a close relative, and we wonder why it had to happen, and what can be done to prevent such accidents in future.

Just over a year ago, my cousin Amir Parekh, not yet forty, was crushed to death when a container fell upon his car. The amazing thing is that only a couple of years before this happened, another accident had occurred at exactly the same spot, killing two people. And in the year that has passed, many more accidents have taken place, causing needless deaths.

So what, you will ask. These things happen, you can’t prevent them. You’re wrong. You can protest if you see a trailer carrying a container swaying dangerously because the container has not been firmly fixed to the base of the trailer with four twist locks. Because if the truck and container owners continue flouting the law and refuse to bolt their containers, accidents will go on occurring, and some more people will be killed. The least you can do is to take a photograph of the trailer carrying a swaying container and send it to the newspapers. It will not be easy turning these potential killers into law-abiding citizens, but if enough pressure is exerted upon them, perhaps we may be able to save some lives. And remember, last time it happened to my cousin; next time, God forbid, it could happen to you or me, or someone dear to us.

Other posts by Shakir Lakhani

• No limit on foreign exchange taken out of Pakistan - November 12th, 2008
• Some questions about the "forex" scandal - November 11th, 2008
• Enjoying life after sixty - November 7th, 2008
• A Hussein in the White House - November 5th, 2008
• Why are poor Pakistanis always punished? - October 31st, 2008
• Pakistan's Economic Crisis: we're responsible - October 29th, 2008
• How Wall Street operates - October 23rd, 2008
• We’ll always have corruption - October 19th, 2008
• If Pakistan goes to war with United States of America - October 9th, 2008
• Killing of Christians in Secular India - October 1st, 2008