The Farce of a Road Safety Week

The public exchequer is subjected to yet another farce of a so-called ‘Road Safety Week’ which is in progress. This may offer an occasion for political publicity to ministers, probably even occupation for some civil society groups and entertainment for students. But the public can expect no respite from the trauma on the roads in Goa. The Director of Transport now claims to have appointed 10 committees to identify bus-stops and assures to provide bus-bays and bus-stops at a distance of 100 metres from that on the opposite side. Such sedatives get continuously administered to the public from the AC chambers of the Government officers at no cost. The public has been hearing such stories for several years now, but nothing changes on ground except the officers getting transferred now and then. We live in an era of governance that has no balance sheet or an inventory sheet of what it promises, what it has achieved and what it has not achieved. Public memory is also so short with everyone living for today, the past consigned to the garbage bins and the future to be tackled when it comes. Goa’s democracy is a politician-bureaucrat haven. Now coming back to the question of providing bus bays and bus-stops, it must be first ascertained as to how many public bus operators and bus commuters respect these designated zones. With citizens shopping in Mapusa market with their scooters, and if possible even cars, and with the citizen not ready to walk a few metres but expecting all services at the door step, does this exercise of demarcating bus-stops and bus-bays mean anything? In fact the bus-ways may soon become an auto rickshaw or taxi stand if not a parking lot. And during the road safety week the mechanical and physical condition of the public buses will continue to be over looked by the traffic authorities during road safety week. Buses which are scrapped in other States find their way as public transport on Goa’s roads. The convenience of commuters is not an issue in the least, the conditions for transporting cattle seem to be applicable for commuting humans in Goa. Fastening of seat belts and wearing helmets takes precedence over consumer rights for the road safety week. Lastly, I just cannot prevent myself from laughing at the statement from the Director of Transport that there are 70 percent chances of survival from an accident if one wears the helmet. He seems to say that even if you are reduced to a vegetable due to a road accident only see that you do not die and add to the statistics of road deaths. The traffic authorities do not want to take a cue from the Chief Minister’s ‘zero tolerance to corruption’ by declaring a ‘zero tolerance to road accidents.’ Because what we have are technically not really ‘accidents’, they are ‘foreknown’ or ‘forecasted’ disasters. How can a driver not expect to have a head on collision with another oncoming vehicle while overtaking on a blind curve? Or, how can a pedestrian not expect to be knocked down while walking on the carriage way instead of the pavement? Is it not understood that a scooter rider can have a fall if he is made to ride on a road with deep potholes? But for the transport authorities these are no issues. The only issue is about how to make more laws and compel the public to violate them so that fines can be imposed in the second fortnight of every month to fill the government coffers. While the public do not complain forcefully, the Government and its machinery will be content in organizing drawing and photography competitions during every road safety week with the active collusion of civil society groups that are just too happy to oblige as it means another activity for their reports to donor agencies. -Soter D'Souza Article published in Gomantak Times 7th September 2012