Staff reporter
GUWAHATI, Sept 22 – Simple steps could go away a long way in reducing road accidents, and children could be the most effective medium to spread awareness about road safety. Both are of vital importance in today’s India, where around one lakh people perish in road mishaps every year. Stating this at an awareness programme on Road Safety and First Aid, organised by the Avas Foundation, noted urban road planner Dr OP Agarwal, said that children must become acquainted with the knowledge of road safety, because they along with the senior citizens comprise one of the most vulnerable groups on Indian Roads.
On the simple steps that could heighten safety on roads, Dr Agarwal laid great emphasis on improving amenities for pedestrians, who were among the most vulnerable on roads. Around 47 per cent of all road accidents involved pedestrians in India, which alone had ten per cent of all road accidents in the world today.
It was revealed that India has been witnessing a sharp upswing in the number of road accidents over the last few decades when vehicles in more numbers started plying. From 1970 to the 2004, there was a 300 per cent rise in road accidents.
At present, among the next most vulnerable section was people either driving or riding in motorised two-wheelers. Nearly 21 per cent of all road accidents in India involved people on scooters or motorcycles.
In this connection Dr Agarwal said that fatalities in such cases could be reduced if people wore helmets and obeyed traffic rules. Unfortunately in India, enforcement was still not strong enough to deal with errant drivers.
Comparing the enforcement of traffic laws in India to other developed countries, he pointed out that there was much to be done in this regard. For instance, drunk driving still invited a soft response from the authorities in the country, compared to that in any other country in the West.
The urban planner underlined the seriousness of drunk driving by referring to the fact that 75-80 per cent of all road accidents was the result of drivers in inebriated condition. There was an urgent need to clamp down on such conduct, he asserted.
In a comprehensive presentation, Dr Agarwal pinpointed several causes of road accidents, which apart from drunk driving included poor road conditions, poor road design, poor vehicle design and maintenance, lack of adequate laws and enforcement, and low road safety awareness. Moreover, scarce emergency services close to roads and highways, he believed, also contributed to high death tolls.
Dr Agarwal was confident that accidents on Indian roads could be curtailed through a multi-pronged approach. Implementing effective policies, reviewing legal provisions, and creating funds for road safety awareness at the national level could make roads safer for all types of users. At the regional level, the authorities would have to go in for better planning.
Civil society too, in his view, could make a difference in this regard. Appreciating the efforts of Avas Foundation, he said that such efforts go a long way in spreading crucial awareness among the people.
Mentioning the role of the media in spreading road safety awareness, he mentioned that news about road mishaps regularly featured in the media. In this connection, the need for better road safety would have to be constantly highlighted in all forms of media.
Speaking on the occasion, the State Minister of Transport, Chandan Brahma thanked the Avas Foundation for their work, and said that society should take due action towards better road safety. He hoped that society from the family level upwards would pledge to work with the Government in improving road safety and promoting safe driving practices.
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