Road Safety Week is celebrated every year by the Traffic Police in the month of January. Many NGOs join them in conducting events in schools, colleges and other Institutions. NGOs no doubt do a commendable job in educating citizens but somehow ‘Road Safety’ lands up becoming a kind of ritual which is done one week in January and forgotten on other days of the year. In this week, seminars, debates, discussions, essay and art contests, awards, etc. are organized and many noteworthy suggestions do come up but very little of this gets translated in real ground level action. The follow-up measures are slow and this is where the real problem lies.
Roads are single biggest killers in India. It is reported that there is one death every four minutes in India. In a year, close to 1.5 lakh people die and around 14 lakh people sustain serious injuries in road related accidents. Road deaths in a year are twice more than deaths happening through combination of serious diseases like HIV, Malaria, and Cholera etc. all put together. The statistics are alarming and frightening and yet the issue, which needs serious thought and application, is taken lightly. Goa’s case, like in rest of the Country, is no different.The number of vehicles owned proportional to the population is substantially higher than in other parts. Though traffic has increased multi-fold, traffic police force manning the streets has however not increased correspondingly. Law enforcement is weak and in many places violators go unnoticed. The blame game is then played and the buck does not stop anywhere. Enforcing good traffic discipline all year round is not an easy task. But if all stake holders come together and put in combined spirited efforts, then the task is not a difficult one either. The biggest challenge before the Central Government will be to amend the Motor Vehicles Act and Central Motor Vehicles Rules which needs intervention of both the houses of Parliament. Fines prescribed in the present act are nominal and do not serve as a strong deterrent. These need to be enhanced to an extent where those who violate the act are made to pay heavily. There is a new Road Safety and Transport Bill which proposes stringent fines, cancellation of licenses for rash and negligent driving, drunken driving or driving without license/ insurance, etc. which must become a law shortly. The State Government on their part must implement a series of measures, starting from building better, safer roads and infrastructure using sound road engineering techniques. Construction rules must be amended to provide more parking slots in buildings and complexes. Setting up fast track courts to deal with accident cases should be another priority area as at present it takes years for cases to be settled. CCTV cameras must be installed on busy roads and junctions, which will not only instil road discipline but also provide security. Zebra/ Pedestrian crossings are there in many places but these are rarely painted or not respected and people especially senior citizens have a very tough time to cross the roads which area needs to be looked into. Traffic signals must be installed on busy junctions and other IT services can be used to provide an efficient, better, and safer driving experience. Presently, Goa lacks a good public transport system and if this can be put in place especially on busy urban roads, then the number of vehicles plying on roads will substantially reduce which will ease congestion. Some roads can be made pedestrian only roads while pay parking must be made compulsory on other busy roads. The Government must make use of the waterways better by having more ferry services. People must also be encouraged to walk and cycle by providing good and safe pavements and cycling tracks. Local bodies must ensure footpaths are kept strictly free from all forms of encroachments. Measures must be taken to tackle the rampant menace of corruption occurring in roads and traffic sector. The citizen too has a very important role to play in all this as Traffic Police cannot be expected to be anywhere and everywhere. Whenever there is a traffic violation, this needs to be reported. Traffic Police have their Facebook Page for reporting such violations and citizens can now simply click the photograph of the violation and post it on their page. Offenders must be compelled to pay prescribed fines whenever such instances of violations are reported and must not be left off the hook. Road safety is a serious subject which the Government needs to address in a time bound manner. NGOs like MARG and Goa Can have been working in this field for a long time and various seminars and discussions have been held over the years which data can be utilized. A comprehensive master plan can be prepared to make roads in Goa safer. Goa must become a model state in setting good road discipline. warm regards, Sandeep Heble Panaji-Goa 9326129171
