Laying of roads and highways alone will not do. Safety must be given its due importance. A road accident in Andhra Pradesh caused the death of around 20 persons three days ago, as a long-distance travel bus hit a motorcycle that was thrown aside by another vehicle and caught fire. The bus driver explains that he could not see the two-wheeler due to poor road visibility. This appeared to be the main issue. But, officials are instead beating around the bush — diverting public attention to the “technical specifications” of the vehicle even as it had the normal road-worthy certificates. Lack of proper street-lighting on roads including highways has been a serious concern for motorists. Neither the highways authority nor state governments nor local administrations showed any seriousness in the upkeep of streetlights. A recent survey by the roads ministry showed that maximum road mishaps/fatalities took place between 1800 and 2100 hours, the peak travel time since evening. That large numbers of vehicles ply in these hours is true, but as many numbers of vehicles ply in the morning peak hours too, between 0900 and 1100 hours with lesser number of accidents. The issue, thus, is with lack of visibility on roads.
Over 1.80 lakh deaths and nearly five lakh injuries occurred in accidents on roads last year, meaning one death every three minutes. Large numbers of these are youths, also meaning that reckless two-wheel drives prove more fatal. Negligence, over-speeding, lack of visibility on roads, structural issues with road construction and drunk driving are among the major reasons for road mishaps. While rules are in place, enforcement is slack. Even highway constructions are done in a haphazard manner in several stretches, the main contracts having been sub-let to local contracting firms that flout rules in collusion with corrupt officials. There have been situations when a heavy rain could plough away substantial parts of newly built highways. The steady increase in the number of vehicles on roads is not matched with infrastructural improvements, resulting in situations of absolute chaos on urban roads. Notably, India has built several high-class highways in recent years; an initiative that was begun during the AB Vajpayee era. The number of accident deaths on these highways in the first six months of this year was around 27,000 as per a recent reply in Parliament.
Compensations are paid to road mishap victims — a couple of lakhs for each person, on condition that officials are “satisfied” with the adherence to conditions. Those meeting with an accident when their vehicle’s insurance period had expired, or registrations not renewed etc, may not be entitled to compensation. Some of them remain handicapped for the rest of their lives with no compensation/support. Cashless treatment for accident victims is well-conceived. Road safety should be a matter of serious focus for governments while motorists must observe road rules. Enforcement requires improvements, including in cases of over-speeding, drunk drive and helmetless rides. Proper lighting up of city streets and highways should also be a matter of first priority.
