The traffic police have booked 1.25 lakh cases of road safety violations in Dakshina Kannada in 2012. The staggering number showed how “undisciplined” motorists were, said C.H. Pratap Reddy, Inspector-General of Police (Western Range), during the launch of a series of programmes marking the 24th National Road Safety Week here on Monday.
“Indian society is undisciplined. Even when there is a signal, no one adheres to it if a traffic policeman is not on the spot. Because of this, traffic police are busier with regulation of traffic rather than enforcement of road safety rules,” said Mr. Reddy. While the police had some capacity to control rate of crimes like murder, there was nothing to be done to control traffic accidents, he said. “The highest number of deaths or injuries, among all recorded crimes, is through road accidents. Simple precautions and driving etiquette can save lives and make the roads safe,” said Mr. Reddy at programme.
The drive aims at increasing awareness about traffic laws and road safety through posters, booklets, and programmes targeting schoolchildren. “Students can help curb accidents by ensuring their family wears helmets while riding or removing tinted glasses on personal vehicles,” said Mr. Reddy.
Nitte University Pro-Chancellor M. Shantharam Shetty said around 78 per cent of the road accidents occurred because of the negligence, rash driving, and over-speeding. “Nearly one crore accidents happen here (India), and around 16 lakh people get killed, or one every six minutes Rs. 70 lakh crore is spent on treatment after accidents,” he said. Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner N. Prakash and Deputy Speaker of Assembly N. Yogish Bhat urged society to “partner” the administration to curb fatalities.
