Road Hazards in Lahore: A Citizen's Guide to Staying Safe

Lahore's Road Crisis by the Numbers

Lahore is not just Punjab's cultural capital — it is also the province's road accident capital. According to Aaj News, traffic accidents in Lahore claimed 452 lives and left over 106,000 people injured in 2025. The city recorded a staggering 88,743 traffic incidents, the highest in all of Punjab, far outpacing Faisalabad (32,309) and Multan (29,804).

These are not just Lahore's problems — they reflect a province-wide emergency. As multiple news outlets reported, Punjab recorded 4,791 road fatalities across 482,870 traffic incidents in 2025, representing a 19 percent increase in deaths compared to the prior year. Motorcyclists accounted for a staggering 75 percent of all incidents, while pedestrians made up 10.34 percent of victims.

The Most Dangerous Road Hazards in Lahore

Potholes and Crumbling Roads

Lahore's roads suffer from the same cycle of poor construction and rapid deterioration seen across Pakistan's major cities. As Minute Mirror documented, newly constructed roads in areas like Johar Town have developed massive craters shortly after being built, creating holes big enough to damage vehicles and trap motorcyclists. The quality of roadwork is so poor that results are often worse than the surfaces they replaced.

The problem is compounded by a lack of coordination during construction. Roads are dug up without clear alternate routes, proper signage, or traffic management plans. The uplift projects themselves become temporary hazards, with debris, unmarked diversions, and traffic backing up for kilometers.

Sinkholes: Lahore's Hidden Danger

Sinkholes have emerged as one of Lahore's most alarming road hazards. According to The Express Tribune, over 100 sinkhole incidents have been reported in Lahore over the past three years during monsoon seasons, injuring more than 50 people and damaging dozens of vehicles.

In 2025, a sinkhole appeared on Model Town Link Road after the very first spell of monsoon rain. Another opened on Khayaban-i-Firdausi near the Shaukat Khanum intersection after a WASA main sewer line ruptured. As PakWheels reported, the root cause is an aging sewerage system — some parts 30 to 40 years old — with roads and greenbelts built on top of decaying pipelines that burst under monsoon pressure.

Other Key Hazards

• Open manholes and construction sites — A particularly tragic incident in 2025 near Data Darbar saw a woman and her daughter fall into an open manhole at an active construction site, leading to the suspension and arrest of the project's entire team.
• Flooding and waterlogging — Low-lying areas across Lahore become impassable during monsoon rains, with standing water hiding potholes and submerged hazards.
• Poor street lighting — Many inner-city roads and residential streets lack adequate lighting, making nighttime travel particularly dangerous.
• Unregulated heavy traffic — Dumpers, loader trucks, and heavy commercial vehicles share narrow roads with motorcyclists and pedestrians, a combination that proved fatal in multiple 2025 incidents across DHA, Defence, and the MAO College area.

Key Problem Areas in Lahore

While hazards exist across the city, certain areas are consistently more dangerous:

• Johar Town — Infrastructure crises involving sinkholes, broken streets, and construction-related traffic chaos.
• Model Town Link Road — Recurring sinkholes after rainfall due to aging underground infrastructure.
• Khayaban-i-Firdausi — Repeated road collapses caused by WASA pipeline ruptures.
• DHA and Defence — Heavy traffic volume combined with high speeds has led to multiple fatal crashes.
• Inner-city roads near Data Darbar — Active construction zones creating open-pit hazards for pedestrians.
• Multan Road and GT Road corridors — High-volume arterial roads with heavy truck traffic and deteriorating surfaces.

Government Road Safety Initiatives

TEPA and LDA Road Rehabilitation

The Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency (TEPA), established in 1987, is responsible for traffic engineering and road improvement in Lahore. For the fiscal year 2025-26, the LDA governing body approved a Rs. 59 billion budget for development projects, with Rs. 3 billion allocated specifically to TEPA.

A Rs. 2.5 billion project includes remodeling Bhati Chowk, improving pedestrian zones, widening roads, upgrading street lights and road signage, and restoring infrastructure in the city's busiest areas. TEPA has committed to completing this within eight months.

New Maintenance Directorates

In October 2025, new directorates were approved for repairing Lahore roads under LDA. The city has been divided into zones, with dedicated teams focusing on swift pothole repairs, replacement of broken carpet stones, and road marking work. This is a structural improvement aimed at reducing response times, though its effectiveness remains to be seen.

Punjab Rescue 1122 and the CTP

Punjab's Rescue 1122 service provides emergency response data that informs road safety policy. Their 2025 data revealed the severity of injuries across the province: 39,250 single fractures, 19,603 head injuries, 8,362 multiple fractures, and 1,125 spinal injuries from traffic incidents. The City Traffic Police (CTP) Lahore uses this data to identify high-risk zones, though officials have warned that without stricter enforcement, Lahore's roads could become even more deadly.

What Lahore Citizens Can Do Right Now

Government initiatives take time. Road repairs are slow. But you can take action today to protect yourself and your community:

1. Map hazards on MarkSafe — Spotted a sinkhole forming on your street? A pothole that has been growing for weeks? An open manhole near a school? Drop a pin on the MarkSafe map. It takes under 30 seconds, requires no sign-up, and instantly warns other citizens.
2. Check the map before commuting — Especially during monsoon season (June through September), review the MarkSafe hazard map for your route. A two-minute check could help you avoid a dangerous stretch.
3. Upvote confirmed hazards — See a report on MarkSafe that matches a real hazard? Upvote it. Community verification builds an undeniable record of neglect that authorities must address.
4. Ride defensively — With motorcycles involved in 75 percent of all Punjab traffic incidents, two-wheeler riders must be extra vigilant. Reduce speed on unfamiliar roads, avoid riding through standing water, and always assume the road surface may be compromised.
5. Advocate for accountability — Share MarkSafe reports with local councilors, the LDA complaint system, and on social media. Community-generated data is powerful evidence for demanding infrastructure repairs.

Building a Safer Lahore, Together

The statistics are alarming: 88,743 traffic incidents, 452 lives lost, 106,000 injuries, and a 19 percent year-over-year increase in road fatalities across Punjab. Behind every number is a family that lost a loved one, a worker who cannot provide for their household, or a child who was injured on the way to school.

Lahore's road hazards are not going to disappear overnight. But with every hazard reported on MarkSafe, we build a clearer picture of where the dangers are. We create a public record. We warn fellow citizens. And we push authorities toward accountability.

Your report could be the one that prevents the next accident. Open the MarkSafe map and start mapping hazards in Lahore today.