Safety on roads, reducing if not fully avoiding road accidents and preventing casualties as much as possible, should be the salient ingredients of an ideal transport and safety policy of a Government. In India, unfortunately we witness a continuous spurt in road accidents and the deaths as a result thereof. The latest available data in respect of road crashes is around 5 lakh in number and 1.5 lakh deaths annually due to such crashes. The golden rule of “Savdhani Hatti – Durgatna Ghati ” or any compromise with alertness and caution could surely lead to accidents, is not being meticulously followed on roads which result in various types of accidents – crashes, head on collisions, vehicles turning turtle and the like. Stray animals, ditches and potholes, unmarked speed breakers, disregarding principle of lane driving , rash driving and faulty overtaking , driving in inebriated conditions, un-tuned, non-serviced and unfit for plying vehicles, overloading in public transport and host of other reasons are responsible for accidents taking place on roads in India causing loss of precious human lives. How can this scenario be changed and what measures were necessary to be taken which ultimately resulted in the reduction or the cut in such accidents and fatalities on roads is as important as it to put in force certain drastic measures.
In this connection, Union Road Transport Minister NitinGadkari has recently come out with a plan and series of measures that would result in reducing such accidents and deaths by at least 25 percent by the end of the current fiscal. On the occasion of the UNDP national awareness campaign on ‘Prevention of Human and Animal Mortality on Highways’, which coincided with the World Environment Day, the Minister made it known that as many as 5000 identified accident spots across the country would be “corrected”. The move is a right step in the right direction but what was more important was generating awareness and education for the masses towards reducing accidents and mortality on roads. Except customary observance of Traffic Weeks or some other events just for doing a ritual or completing a formality, nothing was practically being done towards generating awareness about road safety measures in the public. There were no hard and fast rules and enforcing of the same in respect of allowing only those vehicles , especially used for public transport, which had latest fitness certificate duly displayed on them, nor were provisions of protecting and preserving environment scrupulously followed as number of vehicles were emitting smoke and harmful gases with impunity. That is why the Minister laid emphasis on ecology and sustainability being most important for human lives while dealing with reducing accidents and fatalities on roads.
While it was increasingly important to keep the animals off the roads especially on busiest Highways, it was equally important that such stray animals were rescued and taken to proper identified places as also arrangements like fencing, guard walls etc made at such spots where wild animals occasionally ventured to pass by so that they could be saved from the speeding wheels. Other steps besides identifying and ‘rectifying’ black spots on short term and long term basis, repairing and reconstruction of dilapidated and narrow bridges, were highway patrolling and safety during construction of roads. Providing medical help and establishing of Trauma centres on National Highways are important measures worth considering that could save many critically injured victims of road accidents. Furthermore, what is in utter deficit is road safety audits which need to be made not on event basis or when cavalcade of VVIPs has to pass but on a permanent basis. We have observed that despite some stringent amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act and provision of heavy fines, cancellation of driving licences and even seizures of vehicles for various violations, road accidents and deaths continue to take place in the country. Concerted efforts need to be taken in which while much could be expected from the Government itself, at the same time, the public in general, the motorists, various NGOs, social organisations, the media and the like must contribute their part of mite.
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