The pages of the local
newspapers have been highlighting the various accidents that occur on the roads
of Goa. Accidents that have wiped out young families in one instance and
resulted in the death of two policemen in another. Not a week passes by without
blood being splattered on the roads of the state. People die, both young and
old but nothing seems to change. How can this be controlled? What needs to be
done?
Various people had their opinions. Savia
Viegas and Anoop Babani had definite views on the situation. Anoop said“ As an
elderly cycling couple who take to roads every morning, we are indeed shocked
and horrified by this mindless fury unleashed by drunk and irresponsible young
drivers of late. It has already resulted in tragic loss of precious lives. One
way to check this rising trend is to impose draconian fines and punishment
including imprisonment and impounding licences. Alongside, it is crucial to
inculcate a sense of road safety and driving ethics among the young at the
school level”. Sadly, he said a couple of years back when the central
government proposed a regime of stricter fines, many state governments,
including Goa had actually opposed it. On another note, he went on to say that
while everyone welcomed the government’s recent decision to extend ex-gratia
payment of Rs 1 crore to families of two constables, he felt that instead of
spending taxpayers’ money, such payments should be recovered from the offenders
who committed the horrific crime. It should not be a case of collective
punishment for individual’s folly. Moreover, such a move will act as a token of
punishment for would-be offenders. Well that is a point to be noted.
There was also criticism of the quality of roads. Lloyd De
Souza, a medical professional, pointed out that the capabilities of the politicians
were being judged by quantity and not quality. He said “We have roads lacking
proper design, water drainage facility and the use of substandard materials.
Sadly, it’s the road that matters, not how motorable it is. Even the new
concrete roads are uneven and bumpy. Our system is faulty. Instead of investing
in speed cameras we are posting police in the middle of the road endangering
their lives. It is not unusual to have absent sign boards during road work.
It’s time we wake up, Value life and then see the magic of safe driving
unfold.”
There are people who are devoting time to change the culture on
the road. Moses Pinto an advocate has penned numerous articles on road safety
and what needs to be done to improve road safety. He said prior to the event of
a road accident occurring, the driver of the vehicle continues to behave
ignorantly and pay minimal regard to the safety rules and legal tryst which
will befall him if he causes injury or loss of life to another vulnerable human
being. One thing he said remained certain in that the errant road user would
only become aware of the law relating to rash and negligent acts after the
criminal trial had begun and he/she would consequently consult the advocate in
order to defend the allegations of rashness and negligence being attributed to
the road crash.
He said “Notwithstanding the fact that in the Law of Torts, a
very well understood principle states that every person who enters upon the
road for the purpose of conveyance would impliedly consent to the risk and
peril that a wide empty road presents to its users. However, this implied
consent cannot be mistaken to uphold the idea that everyone’s life and limb is
fair game when on the road”. He said the regulation of the road safety culture
in the country which needed to be inculcated could be found in the legislature
while it passed the recent Motor Vehicle’s Act of 2019. The Act, 2019 aimed at
ensuring road safety, compensation for the victims of accidents, third party
insurance and the health of the vehicles while proposing stricter provisions
for offences.
Interestingly he pointed out that most of the legal endeavours
in the country and consequently in the State was aimed at reformation after
inflicting punitive measures. He said “There appears to be a system of apathy
towards generating wide scale awareness about the consequences of contributing
adversely to a road crash. Very little by way of foresight and planning is
being done to imbibe a common civic sense into the minds of the road users who
are usually unaware until the circumstances turn them either into victims or
accused in the accident trials and the claim petitions”. That sounds really
scary.
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic Prabodh Shirwaikar said
the force was actively taking action against dangerous driving. They were
taking action against dangerous driving under section 184 of the motor vehicle
act when anyone was caught while driving under the influence of alcohol. He
said as of Monday this week they had started registering FIRs against anyone
driving under the influence. He said “We will take penal action and recommend
the suspension of the license. The force is now cracking down on tempos
carrying people, absence of brake lights, tinted glasses, underage driving
where a case will be filed against the registered owner of the vehicle”
He went on to say the department was organizing online lectures
for school students. They were also approaching rickshaw drivers and
communicating with them. The force he said was focused on reducing the occurrence
of accidents and was on the lookout for people who were speeding or talking on
the mobile while driving. He requested all Goans to follow the rules and
regulations because in that their lives would be safe while travelling on the
road.
One
can only hope people start following the rules because it is just unpardonable
that Goa develops such a reputation of its roads being very dangerous.
