Education On Road Safety Essential

This author has written several times how it is distressing to read or watch on television the news of the many road mishaps taking place in our country. It could be because of the difficult terrain, bad roads or the lack of proper maintenance of the vehicles, especially the huger trucks and buses. But it is the sheer carelessness of drivers of either four wheelers or two wheelers, which are at fault for most accidents. There was a news report in TRN about how more than two hundred drivers were penalised for over speeding in one day alone. 

Forget in the hilly areas, where the roads are narrow and with sharp bends, speeding even in the highways in the plain areas is dangerous as there are settlements adjoining the highways in many places. So over speeding in the narrow streets of Kathmandu is seriously dangerous, not only for those in such vehicles, but a hazard for others as well. The other thing is there are too many new drivers, who believe that pressing on the gas pedal of a four-wheeler or twisting the speed controller of a bike will take them to whatever destination they are heading for will reach them faster. They don’t care about their own safety or the convenience of other drivers or pedestrians. 

Here one would like to recall a world champion race car driver named Ayerton Senna, who refused to take part in a very famous race in a country in Central America, because he said there were too many amateurs with too powerful cars to race against them. “It is too dangerous,” he was quoted as saying to a media outlet. It is another story that he himself died in a crash in a much safer race course. This author has had a driving license for both four wheelers and two wheelers which is almost fifty years old. That is how long I have been driving without any incident of traffic violation. 

Public vehicle

But even he feels insecure while driving in the streets of the city these days and unless very necessary, he prefers to take a public vehicle to go to different places. It is a good development that public vehicles are easily available now compared to the past when it would be difficult to find a taxi even in downtown areas. Like mentioned by late Senna, this writer is also afraid to drive because there seem to be too many rash drivers with new cars or motorcycles plying in the streets. This pen pusher is of the opinion that the attitude of the whole society has to change before corruption can be discouraged, in making the roads safer also, the behaviour of both the drivers of vehicles and the pedestrians has to change. 

For this to happen, efforts must be made to instil the necessity to observe traffic rules and also be aware of the safety of other people who are using the same road. The traffic authorities should also realise that just detaining vehicles and making drivers pay fines are not enough. Nor is the normal tendency to hold weeklong road safety campaigns enough. The general public should be made aware of their responsibilities in road safety right from a young age.  When the majority of the people are so much conscious of their political rights, there is no question why the same people cannot be taught about the importance of road safety. 

Among the drivers of vehicles, there are certain categories who are the most dangerous, first those who drive rashly, especially young people, those who have learnt to drive very late in life and those who do not realise that vehicles can get out of control, especially heavy vehicles, and no matter what the driver does an accident cannot be avoided. But those who drive safely or walk in the streets in a safe manner, simply cannot fathom which vehicle is safe and which is not. This scribe again was one of the foremost in rooting for people being able to buy what they wanted by paying on an instalment basis, so that the free market economy of the country would thrive further. But now seeing the majority of vehicles bought on an instalment basis clogging the streets, one wonders whether such an idea was right or wrong. 

This system of people being able to buy vehicles has certainly helped many to reach whichever destination they have to go to and also profited the agencies which are sellers of different brands of cars and bikes, but how much damage with so many vehicles plying in the chaotic roads, it is difficult to say. Just making news of how many individuals were fined for drinking and driving or some other traffic offences are not enough. Naturally the government and both the traffic authorities have many responsibilities in making our roads safer. This is the system in most countries of the world and we cannot be different from them. 

Long-term plan

But apart from the government and the authorities, the general public also should be made more aware of the regulations, no matter whether they are driving or just walking in the streets. Naturally this will take time, but the policy-makers and those who enforce the rules of road safety should realise they have a long way ahead to accomplish this task. For this, the short-lived campaigns or reports of how many people were penalised are not enough. There must be a long-term plan to educate the people, and this has to be done if road safety sense has to be instilled into the minds of the public by including this subject in the official curriculum of school education. 

But such vision has to come first from the leaders who guide this country and then the planners and other policy-makers who are at the helm in taking such decisions. Accidents cannot be totally avoided. Everyone has the right to drive or walk in the roads of the country, but accidents can be decreased to a large extent if the drivers of vehicles and also others are taught of the values of their own safety and also the safety of others from an early stage, with not only stiff fines but through proper education as well. 

(The author is former chief editor of this daily.)