It is a serious issue that last year, nearly a lakh-and-a-half people lost their lives in the country as a result of road accidents (Editorial, “Deadly roads”, October 11).
There are several reasons for accidents on Indian roads — poor lighting, increasing encroachments into carriageways, open violations of traffic rules, an absence of safety procedures and a lack of traffic education.
Though this may sound cliched, it should be ensured that schoolchildren are proficient in traffic rules. There also needs to be a complete overhaul of road use behaviour in India.
Nagarajamani M.V,
Hyderabad
The Supreme Court recently called as “frightening” the deaths caused by potholes on roads. It even said that the number of fatalities as a result of such incidents was more than those in terror attacks. The less said about the state of roads in India the better.
Niraj Upadhyay,
Rishra, Hooghly, West Bengal
Poor quality roads, poor road maintenance, deviations in standards while laying roads, encroachments, sand and garbage lining and narrowing road widths, frequent digging by different agencies for various reasons and a failure to relay them are some of the many woes of road users in India. Over-speeding, drunk driving, non-compliance of rules which include jumping signals are the other major issues.
Another crucial issue is this. Despite awareness about the ‘golden hour’, passers-by are still reluctant to help a person involved in a road accident out of fear of being harassed, having to bear the fees for admission and treatment of accident patients, and also having to visit police stations or courts whenever they are summoned. A solution? All road-traffic violations should be put down heavily and deterrent fines imposed.
R. Sampath,
Chennai
There appears to be pride now in violating road safety rules. Zebra crossings, it would appear, are for zebras. Fines are nominal in most cases and prosecution of the guilty neither treated with priority nor taken up with sincere commitment.
Poor planning of roads, a callous approach to road maintenance, an absence of deterrent fines, an easy availability of driving licences and inadequate use of technology to nab violators only make the task more difficult. Very importantly, pedestrians are given short shrift when it comes to road planning.
All you need is the willpower to enforce the rules, equitable treatment of all violators and the use of technology.
Krishnamurthy K.A.,
Tripunithura, Kerala
