Editorial
Road safety concerns
Synchronised efforts to address these missing
There is perhaps no other country where roads are more unsafe than ours. About 12000 people lose their lives every year in our country in road accidents. That makes one thousand every month or more than thirty deaths daily. Given the volume of traffic on our roads and highways as well as the total mileage of roads, that would be very high figure indeed of road mishap casualty. We have been able to reduce fatalities from natural ravages but this is not the case with road accidents where the toll keeps mounting. The International Road Safety Week which commenced yesterday should be an unmistakable reminder of that home truth. But the number of road accidents and deaths can very well be reduced, if not eliminated totally, by some proactive actions of the concerned authorities; of course, this requires the active cooperation of the road users, too. Most of the accidents occur because of driver-errors, primarily because most of them are half trained and not fully conversant with road safety rules. This is where the licence issuing authority can play a significant role by following the most stringent standards before allowing a person to take the drivers seat or permitting a vehicle from taking to the streets. To see so many vehicles that would under normal circumstances not be allowed on the streets, plying with impunity on our roads, is a frightful sight. And this is where the need for strict oversight arises. So many of the unfit private transports 'manage' fitness certificates that make it incumbent upon BRTA to do its duty with absolute honesty and integrity. But of course the drivers, commuters and pedestrians have a part to play in ensuring that the number of accidents is effectively brought down. In most countries awareness in road safety starts from the early school days. We can go for the same but this is also something where messages need to be repeated constantly to have them sink in everyone's mind. Some private organisations or NGOs have been doing useful work in sensitising people and major actors in the field about road safety concerns. The WHO on their World Health Day in 2004 adopted a slogan 'Road Safety Is No Accident' thereby stressing the fact that it's a health issue which has to be addressed squarely. We mourn the deaths from road accidents but hardly ever keep track of thousands who are left crippled becoming critically dependent on their families and society. Spare a thought for them.
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