Whether you are on your way to university or school, commuting to your office, have got an interview at fixed hour, or an ambulance with critical patient rushing towards hospital, traffic system of the city can either make you feel comfortable or can cause you serious damage.
Kabul roads are nowadays crowded with vehicles, bikes and heavy load trucks and lorries, sometimes causing traffic jam for long hours. There are several reasons behind the issue. The major reason is that a large part of the roads are occupied by hand carts selling different kinds of goods such as fruits, vegetables, cosmetics, and son on. Along with hand carts, another part of the roads are taken by taxis waiting for passengers or private cars parked due to the lack of parking places. Consequently, the little remaining part
of the roads is for the vehicles that can have different kinds of urgencies and emergencies.
The second major reason is of inadequate traffic signals and the places where the infrastructure is installed, the signals barely has the capacity to solve traffic jam either because of lack of attention
from traffic police or unskilled and inexpert drivers. As long as IEA took control of the country, the traffic system got even worse because a significant number of traffic police left their posts and the roads got unrestricted and free for any kind of traffic crowd. Now there are different categories of vehicles, cars,
bikes and rickshaws ranging from the stolen ones to unregistered and unlicensed. The bulk of these vehicles have added to the problem of traffic roadblock.
Thus the Kabul roads and traffic system needs urgent attention of the authorities and government. On the other hand, the government should assure traffic police in terms of monthly salary to reassume their jobs. If there are no unregistered, unlicensed and stolen transporting means as well as it is made sure that all the drivers have state-provided licenses, and traffic signal system is repaired and maintained properly, the issue of the roadblock and traffic jam can be solved only in a matter of days.
There lies responsibility on the Kabul municipality authorities as well to provide a safe and reasonable place to the hand-cart shops and a parking place in every area where people go shopping. Both these steps can further help ameliorate the current traffic situation.
With the government providing services for its people, it is people who should also cooperate and contribute in solving their own problems. A government can provide you better roads, but it is people who must drive carefully and respect traffic laws, following them without questioning.
Any government on the earth can solve problems for the people, not problems of the people.
The Kabul Times
