Saturday 7 June 2014

Road accidents; a dream-liner is crashing everyday in India

This week the ruling party at the center lost one of its promising and popular leader in a road accident in the national capital, and it made headlines: me also lost two of my friends in a similar road accident and it also made headlines. But, the question is--until when we will remain neglecting this mammoth killer road epidemic? and penancing on the loss of our near and dear ones?

Every year estimated 1.4 million road accidents happen in India, out of which only 0.4 million are reported. Nearly 300 people lose their lives daily due to road accidents; in other term it is equivalent to a dream-liner crashing everyday. Further, a minimal percentage of these accidents are investigated scientifically, in the absence of which, the real cause of the accidents are never known. Its time now to give it a serious concern to alleviate this killer threat.

When an accident occurs anywhere, it is the bigger vehicle which is held culprit. This perception must change. Rash driving, bad roads, improper driving training, poor maintenance of the vehicle, driving under the influence of alcohol, are few main causes of the road accidents. And government must choke out a concrete plan to enhance the road safety.

We regret the loss of one, two, or few persons in any communal clashes or due to some other reasons, but, nixing road safety will take more lives in near future can't be abnegated; as we are advancing at a greater pace, for, its the time of expressways nowadays. So, the authorities accountable and responsible for enhancing road safety must be firm to implement the road safety rules--without any leniency. The socio-economic impact of these fatal accidents must be studied throughly to understand its impact. Families are left helpless by the demise of the earning member of the house hold in these accidents. But, ironically, road safety only hogs limelight when we lose any popular leader or personality.

Thankfully, this time there has been a change in the government at the center; and we expect a sterner rule and regulation in place for the safety on roads. Loss of a leader is a catastrophe and of 0.4 million people  is only a statics, can't work for long, and this thinking must change: obviously it is more than that and government should implement the road safety rules effectively to save lives from going into the mouth of this ugly road demon. We, the people, also have some responsibilities; obeying the safety rules and norms, wearing the helmet and using safety belts, not driving rashly, not giving super-bikes to the adolescents and making them aware of the road safety rules, and not driving after consuming alcohol, are few of the steps, we must take, to ensure the safe return of our near and dear ones from the roads. And remember, it is better late than never.


No comments:

Post a Comment