THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2024
The KTC General Manager when speaking at a road safety awareness program aptly titled “Obey All Road Signs and Traffic Lights”, focused on making drivers aware that they should not act as if they are kings on the road, apparently after consuming alcohol, drivers (not just KTC drivers) feel that they are kings and could end up causing the death of a professional. He very rightly defined professional as doctor or even tile fitter. He also emphasised that an accidental death adversely effects families and causes a loss to the State and Nation. His words are so true.
The Margao Traffic Cell In Charge PI G Salunke rightly said that we are focused on deaths due to COVID but approx 10% of the 2200 roads accidents resulted in fatalities. An alarming number in Goa alone.
These two separate statements need to be connected to the very important theme ‘OBEY ALL ROAD SIGNS AND TRAFFIC LIGHTS’. Let us consider traffic lights, they are now an increasingly familiar sight across Goa. The point is if you stand at any signal and observe, you will notice that quite a few road users ignore the signals. They seem to be oblivious to the fact that the signals are there for a purpose. The fact that they get away, makes other law abiding drivers also want to break the signal because it has no consequence. Thus defeating the purpose of the signals in the first place.
One can attribute this phenomena to the fact that these drivers are finding signals a new concept and possibly an education or awareness drive is necessary, so KTC’s program is a step in the right direction. Similar programs must be held in schools where students must be enlightened and requested to ask their parents to follow not only lights but also another traffic hazard, wrong side driving.
Today, like signals, we see welcome additions of dividers and reduction of punctures especially on the highways. This means that very often one has to take a one or two km, U-turn. To save time and petrol because life apparently is not precious, errant drivers, drive on the wrong side and then cut back on to the right side, sometimes right under the nose of police personnel manning that junction. Even the policemen feel it is Ok, as otherwise fuel would be wasted. Imagine even trucks and heavy vehicles do this regularly. A recipe for disaster. We have SOPs and we follow them to avoid COVID, what about following traffic rules to eliminate accidents?
Many of the victims are usually not wearing a helmet or seat belt. It is a common sight to see helmets worn on the arm or kept near the feet, to be worn in case there are traffic policemen seen on the road. The police have fined Rs 1.62 lakhs without seat belts and Rs 2.38 lackhs without helmets. This is a sizeable number, yet this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Another cause for accidents is unmarked and badly designed speed breakers. The recent phenomena to have rumbler strips is also haphazard and the heights can vary drastically. None of the speed breakers follow the norms specified by the Indian Road Congress, but once can be reasonably sure the tenders would be as per specification but no one monitors the final quality and no one in the PWD is held responsible either. The PWD officials who released payment should be asked if cateyes, signage, ramp on both sides as per rules is included or is payment made for dumping a heap of tar on the road?
While we appreciate the logic to have less punctures on the road it is unfair that some businesses are more equal than others. In Fatorda, a cut has been recently made with rumbler strips where the only intention is to allow access to the petrol station. Here there are punctures at three places while the junction is closed, forcing vehicles to that a dangerous option of wrong side driving. Who is responsible and why was this decision was taken must be investigated and action initiated to correct the same. Otherwise, we will have punctures every 25 mts which is not permissible on the highway and will cause more accidents.
The sentinel app started by DGP Muktesh Chander was a game changer and in a way perfectly poised to be ‘aam admi’, private public partnership (PPP) something which the Government is trying to do with almost every public institution. The fact that it was scraped is sad and unexpected. The violators were aware that there were eyes everywhere, something that is not feasible if left to only police men's physical presence. The revenue collected went directly to Government coffers with no leakage. Yes in true PPP style, there was a revenue sharing, where was the problem?
The app ensured you could not take a picture elsewhere and load it to the app, every person had to have his KYC done to be able to join. The safe guards were built in. The objection was that some people made it a revenue model, so what, that is what PPP is supposed to do and if one found that the rewards were disproportionately skewed to the sentinel, review and reduce them. The Government must review this scheme and reintroduce it so as to ensure that the population gets used to following traffic rules and save lives and losses to the State and Nation.
(The author prefers to write rather than chat
in a balcao)
