Socio-Legal Analysis of Risk Taking Driving: A Study of Public Service Vehicle Drivers in Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistan has relatively, the highest rate of Traffic Crashes related fatalities in the region. Though the Public Service Vehicles share in total registered vehicles is less than 1%, their share in total reported accidents is around 9 % in Punjab as stated in National Road Safety Strategy 2018-30, there was 237 % increase of PSVs related accidents on motorways from 2013 to 2016. The risky driving behaviour of Public Service Vehicle drivers is often reported as the main cause of Road Crashes in the developing countries in general and Pakistan in particular. Such behavior has generally been associated with willful violation of traffic safety regulations by driving at excessive speeds, disregarding line & lane discipline, not keeping proper distance between and among other vehicles, and violating traffic signals. It may not only endanger drivers and other road users at risk but may lead to Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs). Keeping this in context, the present study was conducted to explore the tendencies of PSV drivers towards risky driving behaviour and analyze the socio-legal factors associated with this behavior. The research was carried out by adapting qualitative research method with its focus on the phenomenon of risky driving. The data were collected from the stakeholders including PSV drivers, officers/officials of the National Highways & Motorways Police, Provincial Highways Police, Punjab Traffic Police, Public Transport Companies ‘Owners & Managers, Bus terminal/Adda managers, Public Transport Passengers, representatives of Provincial Transport Department, Station Manager Vehicle Inspection & Certification System (VICS), Director General and representatives of Punjab Emergency Service (Rescue 1122) through In-depth Interviews (IDI), Key Informants’ Interviews (KII) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) using purposive and convenient sampling techniques. The key findings of the study maintain that the reasons behind risky driving behaviors practiced by PSV drivers are multifold. The study found that the factors such as socio- economic status of the drivers, lack of education and training, cultural and societal beliefs and practices, lax enforcement, lack of deterrence and gaps in the criminal justice system were associated with the behavior causing RTAs in Pakistan. Moreover, the current road safety regulations were also found obsolete and needed to be reassessed and improved. Furthermore, the data also pointed out certain gaps in the testing and licensing system, traffic regulations enforcement and the Criminal Justice System.