SENIOR BJP leader Gopinath Munde's death did come as a shock, but the nature of the
road accident did not.
This
is simply because you read about or come across fatal road accidents almost
every day.
According
to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), as many as 461 people died and
1,301 more got injured every day in traffic accidents in the country during
2012.
This
comes to 19 deaths every hour - or more than one death every three minutes.
Even
though we see a number of deaths in road accidents, the authorities concerned
have failed to take any steps to bring the number down.
Whatever
little measures are taken, the implementation is so pathetic, the law is
reduced to being a rude joke.
For
jumping a traffic signal, a person is fined a meagre sum of Rs 100. For those
who have cars and bikes, what value does a Rs 100 note have when they spend
four times as much on fuel almost daily?
To top
it all, there are the name-droppers who seem to be able to get away with
anything. How often have we seen people with connections flout rules only to
escape without any punishment?
Drunk
driving, no problem! Who cares if you crash into another vehicle owing to your
carelessness? A good connection will get you out, don't worry.
And
why just blame the motorists? While most developing countries make rear seat
belts mandatory, India has no such law. As a result, most car companies don't
even provide seat belts on back seats.
Several
experts have opined that Union minister Munde would have escaped the accident
unscathed if he had the belt on.
We
need to take some serious steps to rein in the high incidence of road accidents
in India.
For
example, whatever might the offence, even something as small as jumping the red
light or not wearing a seat belt or helmet, it should be subject to a hefty
fine of nothing less than Rs 5,000.
People
who don't pay can enjoy jail for a week or two. With most motorists having
little regard for traffic rules, we need to tackle rule-breakers with an
iron-fist. It's the need of the hour.
© 2014 Nasreen Ghani
Published in
Daily Mail and Mail Today
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