Good roads are our right, as tax-paying citizens (whether we follow traffic rules or not). And following traffic rules is our duty (whether the roads are good or not). Wearing a helmet or a seat-belt while riding/driving is a safety measure meant to protect the rider/driver in the event of a mishap that could occur even when driving on a road with no potholes.
The reasons for a road mishap could be just about anything — bad roads being only one of the reasons.
Carrying a driver’s licence and vehicle papers (registration documents, insurance, PUC, etc), is a practice that is enforced to prevent and discourage auto theft and other such nefarious things such as under-age driving and other crimes that can be committed while riding/driving incognito vehicles (chain snatching, kidnapping, etc).
Carrying more people on the bike than authorised (triple riding) is discouraged and penalised, to prevent any related accidents and notoriety that can occur on good as well as bad roads. A person riding a bike with two other pillion riders could lose balance and fall even on a road that is the best in the world.
Drunken driving/riding is shunned and penalised in order to ensure the safety of not only the driver/rider but also the safety of the others on the road, irrespective of whether the road is good or bad. A drunken driver does not need a pothole to swerve off the road and crash into an unwary pedestrian.
Accidents don’t occur only due to bad roads. If that was the case then no mishaps would ever happen in countries with close to perfect roads. Using the flawed logic of “Not adhering to traffic rules because the roads are bad” is wrong on so many levels. Traffic rules are made and are enforced primarily for the safety of the drivers/riders. And rebelling against these rules only puts the violator into jeopardy. It is not about the penalty or the monetary fine, it is the chances of getting physically injured in a mishap.
Following or not following road-safety rules has nothing (directly) to do with the conditions of the roads. As a matter of fact, the bad condition of the roads is all the more reason to take precautionary measures, having said that, I will also lash out and say that the conditions of the roads in Goa today have hit a pathetic low.
The apathy displayed by the authorities is not to be tolerated. The government has, in a way, taken the Goa public for granted. Such gross disregard cannot (and should not) be condoned.
Taking into consideration that Goa is a place that has a distinct monsoon season, the quality of the roads should be that much better. From the appearance of the roads after just a pre-monsoon piddle, lays bare the fact that both the planning is not right and the material used is substandard, or that a major chunk of the funds earmarked for the building of roads are finding a way into the wrong pockets.
The road contractors should be made accountable for the road conditions, and there should be something like a “warranty” concept that the contractors should be made liable to.
The contractor should be made to mandatorily take the responsibility of the road or section of the road that he is building or repairing and for a pre-determined period of time, the contractor should be made liable for any damage to the said road. Any repairs or fixes to that road during that “warranty” period should be done by the contractor, at his own cost. And the warranty of that repaired section should begin freshly from the date of repair. Only when such kind of accountability is made a part of the mix, will this issue get solved.
And coming back to my original point: Not following road/traffic rules is not a sensible way of protesting against bad roads. Following or not following rules has nothing to do with road conditions, but it has all to do with a flawed rebellious logic!
Follow traffic rules, and protest against bad roads — separately!
