The pages of
local newspapers regularly deliver news of the death of young and old. Some through disease and
others following accidents on the various by lanes and highways that dot the
landscape. According to numbers for the month of August there were 259 road
accidents of which 13 were fatal.
Of these 4 were riders, 4 Drivers and 5 pedestrians. 16 people
were grievously injured, which actually means that there was an accident every
day of the month, but one
News out of Kolkata highlighted a 2016 campaign by the Kolkata
Traffic Police, “Safe drive, Save life which reduced road accidents and
fatalities by almost a third. (see box)
This is a subject that has generated much comment and resulted
in much debate. Everyone has an opinion based either on personal experience or
perhaps coloured with some prejudice. However, there are enough of people who
have thought about the problem and have excellent ideas as to how this problem
can be handled.
Reduce vehicles, make more walking paths in tourist areas
Maria Victor the
woman behind Make it Happen- Heritage Trails and Walking Tours said it was
obvious the state needed walking paths. Maria said “Take the case of Fontainhas
which is full of by lanes the residents have their vehicles which is parked in
their spots. Then the tourists come and park their cars and creating a mess. We
need a policy where the tourists don’t have to bring their cars into parts of
the city.
More automobiles than people
Advocate Moses Pinto
who has been campaigning for safe driving and a better utilisation of the roads
of the state was blunt when he said the problem was that there were more
automobiles than people in the state. According to the last census there were
1.2 automobiles for every person and the roads were in no position to handle
these numbers. He said “Goa is a conglomeration of many villages with many
lanes and by lanes which connect to the highway. Presently several of these
roads go from low population areas to high population stretches without any
warning”
Road map for safer roads
Adv Pinto made other
important observations & suggestions
-Vehicles carrying
agricultural produce getting on to the highway and travelling at a slower pace
causing jams.
– Identify the
trouble spots and track activity there and make remedial changes. Though some
troubled spots have been identified it is virtually impossible to train the
people to make them understand how traffic from peak to non-peak areas can
cause problems.
– The traffic
department was using the services of school personnel who were trained as
traffic wardens to help handle the problems around the schools. But are their
feedbaclk seriously incorpoarated in traffic plans
-Infrastructure
measures need to targeted to the needs of vulnerable road users in rural roads,
urban areas and measures and on both types of roads
-At present, many
rural roads are multifunctional and used by pedestrians, cyclists, motorised
two wheelers and other types of vehicle users with substantial differences in
speed, mass of vehicle and degree of protection.
. For many rural
single carriageway roads, other options should be chosen in order to increase
the protection of vulnerable road users, like include improving hazard
perception by means of road lighting at junctions and roundabouts, improving
vertical alignment, introducing advisory speed limits at sharp bends,
introducing regular speed limit signs and introducing deterrents to high speed
such as rumble strips.
Dharmesh
Angle DYSP, Traffic revealed the department was very much aware of the problems
being faced. There were a lot of enforcements taking place. Awareness problems
were taking place. The youth in schools and colleges were being educated in a
year-round exercise. Most of the accidents he said were taking place on the
highways because of the negligence of the rider or driver. Many of them were
not following basic rules like wearing helmets or seat belts. Awareness programs
were in place through articles in papers, adv in newspapers and billboard
signs. It was he said a continuous battle but it would be continued.
