Needed: sustained traffic awareness programme

Needed: sustained traffic awareness programme
The Hindu

Though the police are enforcing the rules, there has been no decline in the number of road accidents, writes K.V. Subramanya

THE CONSTANT increase in the number of road accidents and cases of traffic violations in the city highlights the need for having a sustained traffic awareness programme.

Though the traffic police have been strictly enforcing the rules and also using modern technology to book offenders in the recent months, there seems to be not much decline in the number of road accidents and cases of unruly road behaviour.

Though various reasons are contributing to road accidents, the absence of road sense has been the major cause. The traditional outlook is to shred the mistakes of road users and thus this aspect is not properly reflected in accident records, say senior police officials while making out a case for holding a massive traffic awareness programme.

An analysis of the cases booked by traffic police over the past few years shows that people lack basic road sense and they need to be sensitised about it. In the last three years, the police have booked around 35 lakh cases for various traffic violations such as reckless driving, drunken driving, over speeding, driving without licence, driving on no-entry roads, jumping signals and haphazard parking.

According to the police officials connected with traffic management, drunken driving, over speeding, lane indiscipline, haphazard parking, crossing roads in a zigzag manner and lack of training in driving are the other major causes for road accidents. The police say that more than 60 per cent of road accidents that take place between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. are because of drunken driving. The driver's judgment is impaired and the level of caution comes down when he is drunk.

On the other hand, over speeding not only leads to accidents but also causes serious injuries to the victims, the police say.

Dangerous driving, such as overtaking in the wrong direction, zigzag driving, going against the flow of traffic, speaking over mobile phones while driving, has also triggered accidents, the police say.

Haphazard parking at junctions often blocks the driver's view resulting in an accident. Pedestrians, who are the major victims of the accidents, also endanger their lives as they often walk on the roads and not on the footpaths, the police say.

Pedestrians cross roads even at places where there are no zebra crossings. The drivers do not expect pedestrian movement at such places and thus they are not in a position to avoid hitting pedestrians, they say.