Goa Traffic Police, in association with NGOs and students, is in the midst of a 15-day road safety week. So, we are into yet another of the road safety drives that get reduced to merely imposing fines on riders and drivers for not wearing helmet or not fastening their seat belts. Then we have the farce of checks on drunken driving at such times of the day when only a chronic alcoholic may get detected. The traffic cell initiated the road safety drive on April 15, and has so far penalised around 10,000 violators. On April 15, the first day itself around 5,906 vehicles from across Goa were issued challans, out of which 5,179 were two-wheelers.
Citizens see such drives as nothing but harassment, especially for two-wheeler riders, and this number of fines imposed was evidence to prove this. Two-wheeler riders have criticized the road safety drive and many who were issued challans for not wearing helmets, have alleged that the drive was a money-generating tactic in the name of road safety. What is pertinent to note is that despite the drives, accidents still happen. On Monday a girl was killed on the spot at Cortalim while a day before two died in a fatal accident at Ponda. This happens even at a time when road safety drive is underway. Each of the fatal accidents is unique, and it remains to be established what caused them or what might have prevented them.
The major cause of accidents is overtaking in ‘No Overtaking’ zones. It is needless to mention of drivers talking on their mobile phones while driving. Then we have the hazards of sidelights being used at the very last moment when the vehicle is already negotiating the turn. Several basic driving rules get violated out of sheer ignorance as the driving schools do not impart this knowledge.
Ironically, Goa features among the top 19 States and Union Territories in the country that have shown higher rates of death by accidents according to the ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India 2014’ publication released by the National Crime Records Bureau last year. As compared to the all India average of 36.3 deaths per one lakh population, Goa recorded a rate of 44.6, the 14th highest rate of deaths by accidents in the country. The smallest State beat 22 States and Union Territories in the country, including larger and more populated ones like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, all of which recorded rates below the national average.
So, basically organising road safety drives for a week or two does not solve the problem. It has to be a continuous process and citizens have to be made aware of their responsibilities and just penalising them won’t help as the penalties are minimal and the rich really don’t care about that. Also, it is equally important that the road infrastructure is improved, as more median barriers would help prevent head-on collisions.
Recently, the new Director General of Police Muktesh Chander, said Goa Police has decided to undertake a detailed survey of roads across the State and analyze traffic accidents in a bid to find the reason behind the accidents, which can in turn help them take necessary steps to reduce the same. Although it is a step in the right direction, it may, however, take some time. Till then the vigilance on the road for rash and negligent driving has to increase besides creating awareness.
The road safety week must be an occasion to impart basic knowledge to riders, drivers and pedestrians about vital road rules. This would in turn mean that the government would be forced into providing necessary infrastructure like footpaths, subways and pedestrian crossings and more importantly signals at major junctions. Until such time, these road safety weeks will remain just a formality for generating revenue through fines besides giving a legitimate excuse for the government departments and NGOs to waste public money.
