ROAD SAFETY SHOULD FOCUS ON REAL ISSUES

As the global capital of road accidents, there is no denying that India is in dire need of an overhaul of driving norms. As many as 1.14 lakh people in the country die each year due to road accidents, a number greater than anywhere else in the world. The problem, it must be stressed, lies with the culture of driving in India. The only rule on Indian roads is that there is no rule. Few follow the system of lanes or bother to adhere to speed limits. Indeed, traffic laws are more of an irritation for Indian drivers than anything else. The fact that driving licences can be acquired without much fuss doesn't help matters either. The driving test that people have to go through in this country is nothing but a farce — the written test is a joke, and rarely are applicants told to demonstrate their driving skills. Worse, in many cases there isn't even a basic cursory check to prevent those who have no knowledge of driving from obtaining a licence. It is true that in this country the driving licence has become more of an identity proof rather than proof of one's driving skill. Thus, no one can argue that major reforms are not needed to rectify the current situation. Nonetheless, energy needs to be focussed on pertinent reform measures and not be wasted on frivolous ideas. The new norms being contemplated by an expert committee set up by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways should aim to address the real problems behind our killer roads. It is in this context that the suggestion of having an upper age limit for licenced drivers should be dropped. Though it is true that with age physical reaction time — crucial for driving — slows down, it is not the same for every individual. Therefore, to have an arbitrary upper age limit — 72 to 75 is what is being considered — would be extremely unfair to those who have years of driving experience under their belt and are still very much capable of driving themselves around. What is even more unfair is to link such a measure to the high rate of road accidents. Research has shown that the perpetrators of the majority of such accidents are from the 18 to 25 years age bracket. Hence, it would be a much better approach to have periodic driving tests for existing driving-licence holders to see if they should actually be allowed behind the wheel of a car.


What is needed is a nationwide, holistic road safety awareness programme. This should start right from our schools. The aim should be to inculcate a strong sense of pedestrian as well as driving safety norms among the youth. In fact, a special weekly road safety session should be organised for school students. Wherever possible, schools should also try and organise basic driving classes for senior school students to prepare them for driving schools and driving tests in future — something that is the case in several developed countries. The problem with road accidents in India is that very few people realise that they are one of the major killers in the country. In fact, getting people to recognise road accidents as a problem is itself a challenge. Till now, awareness programmes have largely been run by NGOs. It is high time the Government gets into the act. Having centralised, Government-approved driving schools and stricter, periodic driving tests should be looked at in earnest. But before anything else, a culture of road safety needs to be vigorously promoted to change the current apathy that exists vis-à-vis the rising rate of road accidents.