“One
woman, two kids dead as Pakistan pounds villages along LOC.” Right next to
this, a headline read, “Ten killed, thirty eight injured in three road
mishaps!”
Comparatively
our borders are safers.
Our
roads are where the wanton killing is taking place. The enemy is within!
A
93 km stretch on NH-95 has claimed 1,700 lives in six years. The Construction
Company and NHAI signed the agreement in 2011. Work started in 2012 and was
scheduled to be completed by 2014. Today, nine years later, as 2020 draws to a close
the road is incomplete!
No
responsibility, no accountability. People see through incompetence and apathy.
A Ludhiana resident has filed a case against the contractor for endangering his
life due to the poor quality of construction.
One
major culprit for road accidents, and there are many, are pot-holes. They have
become such an alarming menace that the Supreme Court has referred to it as the
‘pot-hole peril’ and has appointed a Committee to look into the issue.
In
2018 there were 15,000 deaths in the country due to pot-holes. 686 in Bangaluru
alone. This is more than cross-border terrorist related deaths.
Almost
2 lakh people are killed on our roads each year. This is more than all the
fauji’s killed in all the wars since 1947!
So,
the enemy is within!
Pot-holed
roads are a reason, who is responsible?
Obviously
the contractors.
First
reason, substandard material used which is unable to bear the specified load.
At the first monsoon downpour, cracks appear, then chunks of asphalt crumble
and pop out, leaving a pot-holed road for you to battle with!
Two
wheelers and scooters which have small wheels are easy victims. They fall into
the pot-holes and are unable to drive out, they destabilise, throw the rider
and companion off onto the road, often into the path of another vehicle with
dire consequences.
In addition to pot-holes, there are many other reasons. Speeding,
of course, is the largest killer on the roads. Wrong side driving comes second.
The Road Crash Analysis Cell reports that rash driving is responsible
for 92% of the accidents.
Fast driving and rash driving are two different things. According to me,
irresponsible driving is rash driving.
Lewis Hamilton, zooming at 300 k.m.ph on a F.1
track is a safe driver. His car is 100% road worthy, it is in total control of
Hamilton.
In a residential area, children are playing in the park. Suddenly a kid
will chase a ball, without looking left or right and into the path of an
oncoming car. There may be elderly people out for a stroll, ayahs pushing a
pram, youngsters on kiddie bikes.
The driver is responsible for the safety of all these people. The driver
must give priority to these people and crawl along responsibly at 20-30 k.m.ph. Any
speed over that is rash and irresponsible driving.
Fatalities for mobile phone users rose by 33%. Drinking and mobile
phones while driving are a deadly cocktail!
Speeding accounts for 80% of road crashes. Poor visibility, a vehicle
not being road worthy, worn out tyres are contributing factors. The National
Crime Records Bureau lumps all these as careless or dangerous driving.
If speeding is the main cause of road fatalities, where is the
Wisdom or need to up speed limits? Lets face it, mentally we are in the bullock
cart era but we have cars capable of speeds of 180 k.m.ph. We
have not matured enough to be sensible drivers.
The Delhi-Katra e-way is being four lane and the speed limit I being
increased to 120 k.m.ph.
Said an N.H.A.I official," Delhi to Amritsar will take four to four
and a half hours! ".
Thats the driving time Delhi-Chandigarh at the moment. This is not a good idea.
Sure, four lane the high way but restrict the speed.
This in spite of the fact that the National Crime Records Bureau has categorically
stated that National Highways have become deadlier!
So the annual death count, about 170, 000 fatalities, could go higher.
Its hard to accept that the Covid lock down had a positive effect. In
the first six months of 2020 there were 23, 000 less fatalities than in the
previous year for the same period!
And the fuel average of my car improved dramatically. I got three weeks
per litre!
Other
factors contributing to road fatalities.
Badly
designed roads! More on this later. Get an expert. Bad driving habits. Strict
enforcement of rules. Over-speeding. Poor signage. No foot-paths, not enough
Zebra Crossings. Apathetic attitude of the authorities.
Talking! Indians are an extremely loquacious people. Nothing distracts a driver like useless chit-chat! Avoid!