Road kills have become
regular news on regional section of any given newspaper. On average every four
minute one person losses his life in road accidents in India. A study by WHO in
2009 revealed that, India has the highest number of people killed in road
accidents compared to other countries. WHO also believes that, by 2030 road
death will be in the top 5 causes of deaths globally.
India already has the
largest number of two wheelers on the road. In addition, the increasing numbers
of cars in last few years has made our roads congested. It is estimated that
180-220 cars are registered everyday at R.T.O. offices of metro cities. Further,
getting a license to drive here seems as easy as going to movies, as one only
needs to pay few hundred rupees of bribe and hardly a minute long driving test
to obtain it. There is no system to test the road-worthiness of license
applicant! Gladly, few states of India have enforced a rule to educate new
drivers with traffic rules. However, knowing such rules is mere a satisfaction
as they are virtually violated at every intersections.
Rash driving is a big
concern not only for pedestrians but also for police as in most accidents,
drivers abandon the victim rather than arranging for immediate medical
treatment. India has different types of rash drivers making a broad definition for it. Unfortunately, we
see all the types on day to day basis. This definition includes from under aged,
drunk, speed loving youth to mobile using matures. On the name of facility and result of
continuous persuasion, the kids of working class Indians get the keys of vehicle
much before qualifying the legal age of driving. While this group has little
time for themselves in earning the bread and butter, there is this other class
which believes their kids having costly vehicle a status symbol. Of course such
a trend is bound to result in to chaos on the roads as the traffic during
schools finishing hours literally forces us to consider it as another peak
hour. Quite often we see students yet in their school uniform either racing or
driving carelessly.
India has seen numbers of high
profile ‘Hit & Run’ cases. Ironically, these influential people always
manage to skip the rope of legal action through loopholes of the same system. ‘Drink
& Drive’ is another big problem in our country. However, people also find
ways of getting away if caught, and we all know how they do that, don’t we? These
systematic loopholes assures culprits a safe passage and thus ineffective in
stopping them to commit such offence again.
General perception on road
kills or hit & run cases consider only the driver as a culprit. Perhaps, it
is true as the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways indicated that 80% of
road accidents are caused by driver errors. However, on the hand it is also the
responsibility of pedestrians to be aware and act responsibility while crossing
roads or walking. In fact, in some accidents, it is very clear that the cause
was certainly not the negligence on driver’s part. People do cross roads while
talking on the phone or listening to music wearing earphones. This is not only
dangerous to them but also for drivers as such irresponsible behavior from them
forces drivers to apply sudden breaks, which could result into slipping on the road.
Pedestrians should keep one thing into mind that roads are of vehicles and
that’s why it is advisable to walk on sides to avoid accidents.
Reflecting the real
situation of our roads a recent TV commercial rightly says that ‘Our Roads are filled
with idiots’. However, I would just like to highlight the other side of coin
which is, irresponsible driving. It’s even more sad that the hopeless
authorities simply shrug off their responsibility calling themselves
‘helpless’.
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