Social discrimination and road safety

Social discrimination and road safety by Soter D'Souza The increasing number of road accidents has probably prompted the Government to now consider a proposal for making the helmets compulsory for the pillion riders. With the vehicular boom and a shocking 47,443 two-wheelers registered in the State as of the statistics for 2011-2012, this decision to enforce road safety measures for two-wheeler riders is inevitable. Most of these vehicles are in the hands of youngsters who seem to have thrown all caution to the wind and therefore the Government’s proposed decision needs to be welcomed irrespective of the alleged intentions behind such enforcement of rules in this country. Irrespective of the law, morally and ethically speaking the wearing of protective gear is the responsibility of every two-wheeler rider and enforcement of such rules has been pending far too long. One can expect all sorts of excuses and obstacles to the implemetation of this rule from an irresponsible public that only seeks comforts but refuses to exercise its responsibilities. Using any machine requires that the prescribed safeguards for its use be also adhered to. If not, one has no moral right to use the machine. It is not fair to only seek the comfort and refuse to bear the pain that comes along. This aside, and as many may argue that wearing of protective head gear for both rider and pillion on a two-wheeler is an internationally accepted norm, they conveniently keep silent on other equally important safe-guards that also need to be in place. These are about seperate lanes for two-wheeler riders and stricter penalties for four-wheeler drivers that have the tendency to bully smaller vehicles. As the four-wheeler user tribe also grows in Goa and the sizes and horse power of these machines and aggression of drivers is ever increasing, the two-wheelers cannot be left to compete with bigger vehicles on the roads. Another grave threat to two-wheelers besides the stray cattle, dogs and pigs, has been the absence of drainage systems resulting in deposits of gravel and other slippery materials on the roads. And these safeguards are something the Government never seems to speak about. The only obsession is to impose helmets for two-wheeler users in order to prevent head injuries and deaths. All that it is bothered about is to keep the death rate due to road accidents within acceptable limits. Unfortunately, unlike several other road accidents which can be kept away from the accident register, a death due to an accident has to be compulsorily registered. In otherwords, the Government seems to say that you can live as a vegetable for the rest of your life or lose a couple of limbs but see that you do not die from a road accident. But there is also another side to this helmet craze. The entrenched social discrimination of the poor and marginalised in society also gets reflected in the Government’s pick and choose attitude for law enforcement on the roads. The two-wheeler is a poor man’s vehicle and as poor people are subjected to all sorts of humiliation by the law enforcing agencies, the same attitude is reflected in the enforcement of road discipline. Scooterists and motorcyclists are pests for the four-wheelers. They are considered unruly and a nuisance on the road, just like slum dwellers are to the wealthy people who live around, and need to be controlled. Being on two-wheels the rider is vulnerable to mishaps often due to someone else’s negligence. But this is enough excuse to force the rider to use head gear, something like the enforcement of condoms in family planning. The actual cause for accidents will continue to be kept under cover. No one talks about road accidents due to driving under influence of alcohol and drugs. That the rich man’s speeding mining truck crushes a scooterist even after wearing the helmet is not an argument for the Government. The rich and wealthy can never be wrong on the roads and so the Government sees no reason to enforce the laws for four wheelers. Drivers continue to speak on their cell phones, drive rashly even under the influence of alcohol, blind the oncoming vehicles with their powerful halogen head lights and the symbolic law enforcement for these rich brats will remain focussed on fastening of seat belts. They can accelerate and bully two-wheers off the road, overtake anywhere, obstruct vison by parking on curves and even park on foot paths, yet they will never be considered a threat to road safety. So the Government’s concern for road safety is discriminatory, wherein the poor and vulnerable are penalised with as much laws possible for their two-wheelers while the bigger the vehicle more the immunity from the law. And we cannot forget that the levels of corruption are relative to the number of laws enacted and enforced. More the laws, more the violations. And yet, vulnerable two-wheeler riders shall continue to lose their lives. (published in Gomantak Times, Editorial Page 28th July 2012)