While riding my two-wheeler in Goa over the past 2 years I have personally seen 2 separate fatalities involving either the driver or the pillion rider of a two-wheeler. Both fatalities could have clearly been prevented if the driver or pillion driver had worn a helmet.
I realize that there are a lot of problems associated with enforcing a helmet law in Goa, where sometimes, entire families travel on scooters, with the wife on the pillion seat carrying an infant while another youngster is positioned between the driver and the handlebars. Then again we have "pilots" as motorcycle taxi riders are called, who ferry passengers about on their pillion seats. It would be a tremendous hardship to enforce the helmet law in these instances. However if we value life, and place a value on the productive potential of humans, protective headgear is essential. The human head being the heaviest part of our bodies and cradling our brains is most vulnerable to damage in an accident. Perhaps we could implement a helmet law in stages, starting with non-commercial two-wheelers. I agree with most of Aires Rodrigues's post about the dismal condition of our roads, the dearth of traffic police to implement traffic laws etc. But let us not place the blame solely on 4-wheelers. 2-wheelers darting in and out of traffic, overtaking from the wrong side, overtaking when there is a solid line divider on the highway, not keeping to the left when making a right turn, and travelling in the wrong direction on one-way streets seem to be the norm in Goa. In every other country that I have travelled to and driven in, when one approaches a traffic circle, traffic already in the circle has the right of way. Not so in Goa. I have yet to find an authoritative source to explain to me who has the right of way in a traffic circle. The lack of STOP signs at intersections is another nightmare. Apparently, the most audacious have the right of way at intersections, while the timid bide their time till the honking of backed up traffic forces even the timid to risk their lives and cross the intersection. Stray cattle, dogs sunning themselves in the middle of the road, and the occasional brood of pigs crossing the road are common hazards on Goan roads. Roads in Goa are in-capable of handling the congestion, and the situation gets worse each day as more vehicle hit the road. Where will it end ? Perhaps road fatalities is one way for Goa to control its population. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
