Col Satish Singh Lalotra
‘Fast drive could be last drive….The roads of risk were never so high as today’- unquote..
India, the country with maximum diversity in its fold in terms of its people, places, languages, culture and religious affinity carries an equal amount of paradox when it comes to its wide road networks. Touted as one of the largest road networks in the world, Indian roads pack within themselves an entire package of surprises, pleasures of driving, death and mayhem ( when driven in an irresponsible manner) all rolled into one big heady cocktail that is surely enough to drive the masses over the edge. Year on year road accidents claim over 1.5 lakh lives and leave more than 4.5 lakh injured in various stages of incapacitation -a grim reality that poses a Gordian knot for the planners of the country to unravel. The routine chastening of the country by agencies like the NCRB (National crime records bureau) and the Ministry of road transport and highways ( MoRTH) via their reports that India accounts for 11% of global road accidents despite having 1 % of the world’s vehicles has not made a wee bit difference in the attitude of the vehicle owners cum drivers on Indian roads. The sickening regularity with which Indians have been throwing their precious lives on the country’s roads needs a total overhaul of our national resolve in tackling this self-inflicted menace. On an average, one Indian dies every four minutes due to a road accident. When translated to reading this article of mine in the newspaper which may take about 10 odd minutes to read, comprehend and assimilate its essentials three(3) Indians would have thrown their lives cheaply on the risky roads of India. That is the severity of the situation on our roads which unfortunately is being brushed aside with a wave of hand both by the proponents of this menace as well as the policy planners of our country.
The worst part of this entire menace is that though a vast majority of our population is afflicted, it is the critical age group between 18 to 35; the typical working class and the most productive of country’s masses that are killed in a most wantonly fashion. Though India has been celebrating its much touted ‘Road safety week/month’ every year in the month of January , the topic in question is so important that it merits repeated appearance in a routine manner from all sources of media channels and even from the print world. It is felt that only a combination of various sources be they the media, NGOs, student fraternity, the society elders etc all put together will make a sizable dent in an otherwise insensitive society towards this gargantuan problem. A look at the statistics available on Pan India basis depicts states like Uttar Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra & MP hogging the charts of accidents with figures like 23,652, 18347, 15366 and 13798 respectively attributed to them till last year. And mind you readers, this is just a fraction of the total number of accidents taking place on Indian roads. When it comes to major cities/ metros then Delhi, Bengaluru and Jaipur are the worst offenders with 1457, 915 and 850 deaths reported from them. While India was one of the first few countries to sign the ‘Brasilia declaration’ in 2015 where it pledged to reduce the road fatalities 50 %by 2020, the same seems now a typical ‘utopian dream’ with even the redoubtable minister heading MoRTHNitinGadkari openly admitting his ministry’s failure in the parliament to this effect. When it comes to the UT of Jammu & Kashmir, the picture isn’t rosy from any angle as has been in the rest of India. Despite a sizable improvement in car technologies that are now available to a customer who is now spoilt for choice and an exponential expansion of road networks in Jammu & Kashmir, the UT recorded about 5000 accidents last year which left more than 700 dead and 6820 injured in various stages of incapacitation. The twin cities of Jammu and Srinagar hogged the lime light with the latter having recorded 394 road accidents leaving 50 dead and 411 seriously injured. As for Jammu district, the MoRTH data reveals that it has recorded max number of road accidents in the region with 807 and 105 deaths respectively till last year positioning it as the hardest hit area in terms of both frequency and fatality rate in the UT. A worrying trend indeed.
In fact the Government of J&K realizing the gravity of the situation released its latest ‘Road safety policy-2025’ wherein it was emphasized in no uncertain terms that since road transport was the most effective means of transportation , the UT would demand an integrated and holistic approach to tackle road safety issues. As per its data, the max number of road accidents occurred in districts of Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua that amounted for 40 % of all road fatalities. Accidental data analysis shows that all road fatalities ought to be brought down making it imperative to promote preventive strategies for road safety. The ‘Road safety policy-2025’ of Jammu & Kashmir lays a definite road map for tackling this menace with instituting mechanisms that include formation of ‘State road safety council that will be headed by the minister in charge transport and a lead agency headed by an officer of the rank of ‘Addl transport commissioner’. Conducting regular identification of accident prone areas, / black spots on the basis of accident intensity and severity after every six months through proper planning, design and construction techniques will be the hallmark of this ‘Road safety policy-2025 .This ‘Road safety policy of J&K envisages some of the following-
* Accountability mechanism for defaulting contractors and consultants regarding poorly constructed and maintained roads, including a process for black listing them.
* Create more parking spaces with the parking policy impressing upon the vehicle owners to have parking space before registration / purchase of vehicle.
* In order to reduce pressure on roads, the Government will adopt innovative features to encourage use of public transport system instead of private transport.
* The policy also envisages to bring into effect a ‘Non-motorised transport policy’ to specifically recognize the rights of non-motorised road users.
But are these measures enough to stymie the rising cases of accidents in the UT of J&K and also India? I have my sincere doubts about the efficacy of the above mentioned steps to reign in the unabated number of accidents across the length & breadth of the UT. To begin with, many of the road accidents are happening in the hilly terrain of Doda ,Kishtwar, Udhampuretc wherein the buses, matadors, trucks , cars etc without even basic checks and overloaded to the brim are toppling down from hilly routes often due to untrained drivers, over speeding, drunken driving, overloading , faulty mechanical parts to name a few. How many of these truant drivers, owners of the vehicles etc have been brought to book and slapped with exemplary punishments? The evil nexus of the RTO officials, police personnel, and the drivers is all too often to be seen in its full glory, with the brunt borne by the hapless passengers. With easy availability of loans from both private and public banks , there has been a surfeit of vehicles running on the roads thus congesting already choked highways, roads to the max. The flashy lifestyle of today’s society has further exacerbated the already grim story of road accidents. With parental control under tenuous pressure , is it any brainer that the younger lot of masses feel themselves on top of the world when seated in the driver’s seat? Though there have been stringent laws under the amended MVA( motor vehicle act) namely enhanced compensation for road victims, compulsory insurance, recall of vehicles involved in serious accidents with the manufacturers requiring to reimburse the buyers for the full cost of the vehicle, or replace the defective vehicle with another vehicle or better specifications and finally an exponential increase in penalties for offences ; all boils down to stringent implementation of the above provisions.
The economic and social impact of the road accidents is all too visible in the myriad MACT (Motor accident claims tribunal) cases that have seen a skyrocketing in its numbers in the country in the recent years. Not to mention the loss of precious man hours of this young working lot, a moderately injured person may lose 30 to 90 working days & a seriously injured one may take months or even years to get back to work. In the interim, what do the immediate family members of the injured person fall back upon? With ‘social security’ system in India virtually a non-starter , the worst case is that of the injured people belonging to the unorganized sector. I can go on and on writing in this write up of mine by listing a host of ‘Homilies’ to help come to terms with this ‘human scourge’ that has been wily nilly wrought upon us by our own misdemeanors on the roads of the country. But is it of any use? A gridlock with ingredients like an insensitive society, wanton driving habits, utter disregard of rules under the MVA( Motor vehicle act), a chaotic display of sense of traffic rules, poorly constructed roads plus a deadly nexus of RTO officials/ police/ and drivers combined with yearly celebrating of ‘Road safety week or month’ cannot be breached solely on the basis of offering homilies-but only on the firm action and resolve by all the stakeholders as mentioned above with an unequivocal conviction. Till then the roads of the Jammu and Kashmir as well as India will continue to bleed with blood of innocent masses. ‘The roads of risk were never so high as today’ in the country.
(The writer is a retired army officer)
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