Islamabad -  Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar, senior adviser and Grievance Commissioner of Overseas Pakistanis to Federal Ombudsman has taken note of absence of safety measures on heavy vehicles causing deadly accidents on highways.

The commissioner said the manuals of National Highway and Motorways Police and National Highway Authority are silent on the specifications for long heavy vehicles. The Grievance Commissioner said this while chairing a meeting of senior representatives of Ministry of Communications, National Highways and Motorway Police, National Highway Authority and representatives of heavy vehicles association. 

Moreover, the containers of long heavy vehicles and the long car carriers have no specifications and there is also absence of safeguards and lights on the sides and rear of these long vehicles, due to which the motorcyclists are often met with deadly and fatal accidents while passing long vehicles on the highways. 

The high ups of motorway police and NHA have been directed to ensure placement of safeguards and lights on the front and rear sides of the long vehicles immediately. The motorway police and National Highway have been directed to bring specifications of long vehicles and car carriers up to international standards and compliance report be submitted within a month.

The commissioner directed that a manual of instructions for vehicles of Pakistani and international drivers of heavy vehicles should be developed. He said National Road Safety plan for highways and motorways should be prepared with coordination of all relevant stakeholders during the month of September, so that it should be ready for implementation in November.