The reports (“1.46 lakh lives lost on Indian roads last year” and “Tamil Nadu tops in road accidents”, June 10) are horrifying. A major reason is the increase in the number of vehicles when compared to the available road length. Urban planning has not kept pace with the increase in the number of vehicles. Driving licences are not issued based on one’s knowledge, skill and road etiquette. One has also heard about drivers suffering from impaired visual acuity. Accident prevention across the world is based on 4 Es — Education, Enforcement, Engineering and Emergency. Every driver in India needs to follow this.
R. Sivakumar,Chennai
In India, serious thought must be given to tackling drunken driving; curbing the use of obsolete vehicles; issuing licences after systematic training which includes testing for psychological and behavioural patterns, and freezing driving between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. There have to be rest areas at regular intervals. Sometime ago there was a report that very few cars in India met minimal safety standards after a crash test. There has been no follow-up report.
S. Ramalingam,North Carolina, U.S.
Our approach to accident prevention is still pedestrian and casual with hardly any thought being given to ensuring ‘zero’ accident days and ‘zero’ accident zones. We need to control the vehicle population and push for the introduction of new public transport systems. There have to be frequent checks on those who are behind the wheel.
M.G. Warrier,Mumbai
Four hundred deaths a day is akin to having a flight crashing every day. I live near a school where students who are 15 or younger ride motorbikes to school. Most of them do not have helmets despite a court-enforced rule being in place. It is not difficult to enforce rules and bring some sanity back to our roads. CCTV cameras at all junctions and stringent enforcement of rules as in Singapore and Dubai should be the norm. The archaic Motor Vehicles Act must be amended, especially in terms of fines. A Rs.50 penalty of 1956 translates into Rs.60,000-70,000 today.
M. Rasheed,Chennai
