Some time back if I’m not mistaken the Directorate of Transport had observed what was called the Traffic Safety Week. During that time I had noticed that the traffic police were busy sadistically (they derive immense pleasure in punishing the erring riders) issuing “challans” left, right and centre to unsuspecting – the police will station themselves at some turn where they cannot be easily spotted or behind some obstruction or near speed breakers where the rider has to perfunctorily slow down etc and lie in wait for the prey – two wheeler riders especially for not wearing helmets. I hold no brief for those who are in the habit of violating the traffic rules.
In the Traffic Safety Week the focus is on the road users to maintain discipline, to observe the rules, to be aware of others etc in short to do safe driving/riding on the roads so as to avoid accidents thus not causing any harm to life and limb of fellow travelers.
Now these days one hears that the Directorate of Transport is observing the Road Safety Week. Every year I have noticed that the focus somehow or the other gets hijacked and Road Safety becomes synonymous with Traffic Safety. During the Road Safety Week too the same exercises are gone through. Again you will see posses of policemen lying in wait to flag down the two wheeler riders and ‘challan” them gleefully for not wearing helmets.
Going by the literal meaning of it in my opinion Road Safety Week is observed to focus on the roads. Accidents don’t take place only due to the negligence or irresponsibility of the drivers and the riders. The roads also play a major part in the mishaps. This Road Safety Week is to make the roads safe for public.
It is in fact a pressing need. I will attempt to draw up a list of the various obstructions and obstacles that one encounters on our roads as follows:
Potholes, Manholes, Uneven bouncy surfaces, Faulty road alignments, No islands at cross roads, Water logging due to depressed surfaces, Low quality, insufficient material, Shoddy work, High ridge speed breakers, Unmarked and unannounced speed breakers, Unmarked (no zebra markings) pedestrian crossings, No lanes for cyclists, No footpaths for pedestrians, Stray cattle all over Goa, Other stray animals, Unauthorized garages and way side parking, Other unauthorized structures
The commonest of all the above is the proliferation of potholes due to the monsoons. At times it becomes a hurdles race for the riders and drivers to negotiate them which may not be successfully done all the time. This naturally puts them at risks. The body takes all the shocks. People have spine problems. Some unaware of the looming potholes have had bad falls and broken their bones. If 800 road accidents have been reported and are on record a double of that must have gone unreported. The vehicles too get damaged which is not visible immediately. If the life span of a vehicle is supposed to be ten years it breaks down within only five. Who is responsible for that? And who will compensate the losers?
If one looks at our roads it seems that we have never heard of something called road engineering. Even our Kunnbis in the past used to build much better roads. The roads they had built decades ago are still going strong. Hats off to them! The surface is not properly laid, provision is not made for the draining of the rain water, the mixture is not as per fixed standards, and alignment sometimes goes for a toss. To obviate these defects they then resort to curtailing the speed by laying speed breakers.
I remember a couple of years back I was woken up in the middle of the night when I heard a heavy landing on the road passing by my house. A young man who was riding a bike came across this speed breaker unknowingly which had been laid a few days earlier but was yet to be marked with those white lines, got flung from his bike, hit against the parapet of a nearby culvert and lost his life. And mind you, he was wearing a helmet! This time it was the negligence of the authorities and nobody was punished. The next day cooly the zebra lines were painted on the speed breaker.
Talking of zebra lines, how many roads have zebra markings for pedestrians to cross? And if there are is there anybody to enforce them? Nobody cares for the pedestrians! Where are the footpaths for the pedestrians to walk on? They have to put their lives at risk and walk with fear and trepidation along the roads with their hearts in their mouths. Similar is the fate of cyclists.
The existing conditions of our roads make our lives very unsafe. The focus of the Road Safety Week is to improve these road conditions and make the life of its citizens safe and help them in better driving and riding.
During the earlier road safety weeks I remember they used to at least paint some zebra crossings here and there. Today even that is not seen because the focus has shifted and collecting fines has become the prerogative. So much for Road Safety!
