Haemorrhage on roads

The accidents are usually caused by serious lapses at different levels. Faulty and worn out vehicles which should have been ordered off the streets a long ago are operating on dubiously procured fitness certificates. To top it off, a very large number of drivers are using fake licence with a vast majority of them being conductors-turned-drivers. Little more than novices, they are temperamentally unfit as well to take charge of public safety on the road. Traffic rules of every kind are being violated by the drivers. This is particularly true about the menace called mini-bus operating in the city. The situation is even worse on the highways in the absence of police patrol.

Now, all these violations of traffic rules which greatly endanger lives of citizens have to be dealt with according to the law. But, incredible though it may sound, no killer driver has been punished in the last 12 years. The cases were closed even after the accused had been charge-sheeted. The cases are usually resolved through compromise between the parties which many people suspect are tainted by underhand deals, with the police often playing the role of highly interested intermediary.

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Punitive action against the killer would have had a deterring effect on accident. One more wholesome effect of punishment would have been to curb mob violence in the aftermath of an accident, which is actually contributing to lawlessness on the roads.

Another area where matters must improve is the way pedestrians use roads. Many of them seem to be unaware of their own safety needs lunging forward dangerously on to the roads. They must make it a point to use zebra crossings and over-bridges wherever they are.

All concerned must put their heads together and devise a comprehensive action plan to reduce incidence of road accidents substantially.