WILL Goa really see reduction in number of road accidents by half by 2020 as the state government has committed itself to do? How? That is the big question. The government says it is making a ‘comprehensive plan’ and we only hope it does not end up as mere lip service to the directive of the union ministry of road transport and highways, which itself was guided by the Geneva Convention on road safety. About 300 people die in accidents in Goa every year, which obviously suggests that either the transport and police departments did not have the human and technological resources to reduce the number of accidents or did not know how best to use the resources they had. In short, either it could be a financial problem or management problem or perhaps both. How are the heads of transport and police departments going to find solutions to these problems? What is it that has changed, except the ruling party changing at the Centre and a new minister taking over road transport and highways that should inspire hope among the public that less number of Goans are going to die on roads?
Rest of Indians have no respect for human life and Goans are no different. Nobody’s heart cries out when a human being perishes in a road accident. People indeed thank God it is not them. But it can happen to anyone. Any day. Any moment. The responsibility for reducing the incidence was always largely the state transport and police departments. They have utterly failed in their job. It is wrong to blame the victims for taking their lives. It is the transport and police departments that have to enforce the rules.
They are talking of reducing accidents. If they can do just one thing they can reduce it substantially. That one thing is stringent and deterrent punishment for driving above speed limits. Where are law enforcers when cars and motorcycles break the speed limits even on river bridges? Where are they when speeding vehicles whiz past drivers on either side? Give tough training to traffic policemen. Tell them to stop any driver crossing speed limits and charge a heavy fine. If the driver does multiple violations, forfeit his licence. Of course there should be adequate number of interceptor vehicles and speed radar guns with the police. But the primary needs are two: there should be adequate number of policemen on the roads to punish violations, and they should be strong enough to inspire fear. Without striking fear, policemen cannot civilize drivers in Goa. Most of the traffic policemen posted on the roads today behave like shy girls who do not want to be seen by the crowd. When they move their hands to direct traffic they do it in such contrary ways traffic movement starts in contrary directions. They are miserably trained and utterly lacking in self confidence. It is because they look like a soft and shy creature that drivers violate rules right in front of their eyes and get away with it and the cops look away. The tradition has been that the traffic policemen are scared of drivers. The need is to reverse the tradition and make the drivers fear the policemen. This calls for a professional training or re-training of Goa’s traffic policemen. They can make a lot of difference to the scene. Once traffic policemen establish themselves as a fatherly terror, half the problem will be solved.
The second primary factor is near-total absence of traffic lights. Goa is the only state where the law enforcers have never dropped everything and mobilized funds for setting up traffic lights at all key junctions. With lights in place, civilization sets in. You can see momentary civilization of drivers at the lights at the O Coqueiro Junction. They stop when the lights are red. But the same drivers go wild ways at junctions where there are no lights. If traffic lights are put up throughout Goa, it will lead to a psychological change among drivers of vehicles; you will find them more disciplined and orderly.
The third primary factor is grossly inadequate resources of technologies like interceptors, speed radars and alcometers. On national and state highways as well as main roads in cities, civilization can be engendered by the terror of technologies. The fear must be injected among drivers that they could be caught on any road, on any section, day or night. The importance of surprise checks and constant vigil can be understood at the accident prone zones. The government has so far considered it enough to ask the PWD to identify accident prone zones. Marking is not enough. Drivers openly flout speed limits and danger signs in accident prone zones. There should be surprise checks by policemen and constant vigil by CCTV to punish the violators.
The heads of transport and police departments must realize that it is because of their behavior as unorganized, untrained, diffident, weak and shy law enforcers on the roads that we have been losing 300 or more valuable human lives every year. They have to transform and establish themselves as a strong, deterrent, no-nonsense and omnipresent force if they really mean to save lives.
http://www.navhindtimes.in/civilizing-drivers-in-goa/
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