What must be done to curb rash driving in the city?
Rash driving has become widespread here. The daily grind of navigating through congested roads becomes a possibly life-risking endeavour due to negligence and flouting of traffic and safety rules by motorists. One could come up with a number of theories as to why people act this way. The one explanation is that they want to be one up on others; another is that there is a lack of fear of the law. Rash and negligent driving needs to be tackled with appropriate level of punishment. The first few incidents of rule violations must be met with harsh fines so that the violators learn a lesson and this will deter them from rash driving in future. Repeated offences should mean cancellation of the licence.
The city roads are populated with motorists who are halfbaked, meaning they have obtained their licence without going through the necessary tests but by paying bribe. It is paramount that new drivers must be thoroughly educated not only on the technical details of the vehicles they are operating but also on the nitty-gritty of traffic and motor laws before they are let loose on the roads. Roads have to be made clean, safe and organised. Trash and garbage on the streets must be cleared regularly. Roads should be organised in a modern and efficient manner so as to facilitate smooth travel.
Pedestrians must be provided with footpaths and zebracrossings to ensure their safe passage across busy roads.
Traffic officials must be posted at regular intervals, with each constable being accorded an area of jurisdiction. A dedicated government department dealing with issues of traffic, motorists and pedestrians may be established both at the municipal and district levels.
Modern methods should be adopted to monitor the passage of traffic. The Maharashtra government has incorporated use of airbornedrones to monitor traffic. There is also a national movement attempting to use 3dimensional images as speed breakers to encourage drivers to slow down. One can also gain inspiration from methods of road traffic control being adopted abroad, which are incredibly modern and sophisticated in their approach.
Rash driving has become a fashion for many here. Younger people as well as the middle-aged are trying to speed away in their vehicles without following the rules and regulations. The authorities are urged to impose heavy fine on such men and once there are repeated violations, three times or so, it would be advisable that their driving licence is cancelled for five years. In city limits, there is a need to install speed meters at all main road and by-lanes to check over-speeding. Big sign boards should be installed for easy viewing for the drivers. To control speed, put speed sensors in four-wheelers. If anyone is killed due to the speed of the vehicle, he/she should be punished for lifeterm. We can control accidents by limiting our speed.
To curb rash driving, we have to adopt foreign technology. We need modify road technology by having magnetic roads, and vehicles must be made with inbuilt speed limit. Racing must be prohibited.