Helmet rule favoured: survey

Helmet rule favoured: survey

The Hindu

It was conducted by children in October-November


Bangalore: Children have had their say about Bangalore's traffic and road safety, going one step ahead of their elders. The Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) has presented its investigative report after a study conducted by children during October-November. The report covers all aspects of traffic and road safety from road conditions to public transport and the use of helmets by two-wheeler riders.

The survey, covering nearly 3,000 households across Bangalore, found the current traffic scenario less than ideal. Seventy-three per cent of respondents blamed poor road conditions for traffic jams and 56 per cent blamed the rapid increase in number of vehicles on the roads. An overwhelming 88 per cent wanted helmets made mandatory for the pillion rider as well.

Sixty-eight per cent of respondents felt the solution to most traffic problems in Bangalore lay in improving the public transport system. Seventy-eight per cent cited bad roads as the primary reason for most accidents, and 63 per cent said educating the public is the best way to improve the situation. The survey found that 81 per cent of respondents commute by two-wheeler or car, and only the rest rely on public transport. Only 52 per cent directly obtained a driving licence from the RTOs without "paying extra". Seventy-one per cent of households owned two-wheelers and 34 per cent cars.

Forty-nine per cent of respondents felt Bangalore's roads are not pedestrian-friendly. Pedestrian accidents can be reduced by awareness, signals at crossings and road humps nearby, penalty for jaywalking and better footpaths. Bad attitude on the part of drivers towards pedestrians is referred to be 61 per cent.

About 2,000 children from 50 civic clubs acted as field investigators and pairs of students from private, government and municipal schools conducted the survey.