The trend of opening one’s thoughts on the Central government’s decision to make it compulsory to wear seat belts for rear passengers, and expressing their thoughts on various other things have started on social media. This is not the first time a notable personality has lost his life in a road accident but the ongoing dialogue on how safe it is to travel through roads should be considered welcoming.
If one is to look at Goa, on an average one person loses his life in a road mishap every day. The government provides financial aid to the legal descendants of those who die in road accidents without being at fault. However, financial help does not solve everything. If a family loses its leading man he cannot be compensated with anything. The compensation cannot bring back someone’s father or a husband. The incidents of remarrying is also negligible in the society. If one takes a look at the number of widows in Dayanand Samajik Suraksha Yojana (DSSY), it speaks volumes. Telling someone to remarry is easier said than done as words are not deeds.
It has become extremely crucial to see how road accidents can be avoided. The common narrative is that today’s life has become immensely fast and it is being experienced every step of the way. To reach from one destination to another has become part and parcel of this hyper-fast lifestyle. But enough attention is not paid if it is due to over speeding or the faulty construction of the roads. The reason to raise a question on this is the latest conclusion in Mistry’s tragic death which is flawed planning of the bridge. The observation comes after a forensic inquiry conducted by Kharagpur IIT. Will a similar inquiry be carried out in another tragic incident that happened in Canacona’s Rajbagh or will the file be closed by a regular conclusion that a speeding car hit the divider and jumped over the oncoming car? Kharagpur IIT’s forensic team in its report stated that flawed design of the bridge over Surya river on Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway was the reason behind the accident to Mistry’s car. The investigation team found that all the security functions of Mistry’s Mercedes car were working properly. The airbags during the crash opened too but Mistry suffered severe injuries as he was not wearing his seatbelt, causing him to lose his life on the spot. Mistry’s car too, had hit the divider. The forensic tests of the accident were carried out by a 7-member team of Kharagpur IIT consisting of 2 PhD scholars, one mechanical and civil engineer each, an experienced crash investigative professional and an expert who specialises in simulation. The team was appointed by SaveLIFE Foundation. The investigative team has also added that Mistry and his friend Jahangir wouldn’t have suffered injuries had they worn their seatbelts. The team found both the seatbelts to be in a perfect condition which means they were not used during the crash.
A question can be raised regarding connection of Mistry’s accident to that of one that took place in Canacona. However, it is important to examine whether the respective Canacona bypass is faulty too. The area where this bypass road stands was a swamp before. The road was brought to existence after the swamp was filled in and by building three enormous bridges. The inauguration of the road kept getting delayed as it had suffered breaches at multiple spots. The road still has breaches which is why a motorist can feel the wavy and bouncy ride while driving at a pace. It is very much possible for a vehicle to hit the divider due to undulation in the road. The examination should be done on the basis of this. The surveys with intention to find how safe are the roads in the State to drive should be done. If the speed limits are not followed despite the signs being installed then the action must be taken. Speed Guns should be placed at the spots where over speeding is common.
Public awareness programmes were held in regards to road safety which have been discontinued lately. Restarting such campaigns have once again become the need of the hour. Every person’s life who steps out of his/her house is important and so it is the government’s duty to provide utmost road safety. Even if authorities have to take stern action, a system that will curb down the number of accidental deaths must be put in place.
