The workshop was attended by a large number of print and electronic media persons, Telenor officials and Motorway police personnel. Jamil Ahmad said that there is a dire need for changing the mindset of road users to value theirs and other road-users' lives, and this is possible only through creating awareness among the general public. He said that road safety awareness is necessary to avoid loss of precious lives and property. He said that the motorway police are actively collaborating with other stakeholders to spread awareness through media, and workshops and seminars are being arranged in different universities and colleges in this regard.
Quoting the World Health Organisation (WHO) data, Jamil said that road accidents emerged as the biggest reason for human loss even more than Tsunamis and earthquakes. He further said that due to road accidents, 1.3 million precious lives are being lost ever year, 20-50 million people suffer injuries and around $2 billion economic losses occur. He said that it is a matter of great concern that every year more than 13,000 precious lives are lost in road accidents across Pakistan, about 45,000 suffer injuries, which is huge socio-economic loss in terms of employment hours and health expenditure spent on recovery.
The NH&MP have undertaken research and analysis on accident causes and traffic violation trends to devise road safety strategies. The establishment of road safety training institutes and drivers learning authority are the outcomes of this strategy. It is believed that by extending NH&MP expertise through partnerships with other public/private drivers training facilities, a vital role can be played in bringing attitude change throughout the country regarding road safety. The participants lauded the efforts of NH&MP and Telenor for creating awareness among the general public and termed it crucial for reducing the ratio of road accidents.