Ed speak SIRISH CHANDRAN
IT HAS TAKEN THE ABSOLUTELY TRAGIC accident involving Cyrus Mistry and his friends to bring the attention of authorities to the topic of road safety. Within days the road transport minister announced that legislation will be enacted to make seatbelt alarms mandatory for every occupant, be it in the second or third row. Alongside came news reports about a study by some government agencies that pegged the cost of an additional four airbags at a mere `6,000. Now I cannot vouch for the accuracy of that figure but fact is that all the airbags in the world won’t help if passengers aren’t belted up. And that’s where we need to take accountability for our actions. Safety starts with us, it starts with belting up in a car and wearing a helmet on a bike, and these are non-negotiable.
The minister himself points out that there is hardly any compliance, deftly pointing out that enforcement lies with state governments. Not to get into politics but doesn’t the same party rule at the Centre and majority of the states? I live in Pune, a city with the second highest number of two-wheelers in India, and enforcement is so lax (and consequently respect for the law at such an alltime low) that, forget riding without a helmet, you now have rampant jumping of red lights, wrong side driving and riding, bikers talking on the phone while riding one handed, even triple seat riding. Nobody gives a damn, the concept of lane discipline doesn’t exist, and in varying degrees this scenario plays out across the country.
Similarly on the highways. Why do we overtake from the left? Because trucks hog the right lane! Even on the expressway authorities do nothing to ensure lane discipline forcing cars, even buses, to weave in and out of trucks lumbering in the fast and middle lane, and leading to the most horrifying accidents — accidents the authorities conveniently put down to speeding. But it’s not speeding! Congestion is so bad you just cannot go fast! And in any case hardly anybody drives fast, obsessed as we are with fuel efficiency.
India’s horrific accident record has its root cause in poor road design, shoddy road construction, zero enforcement and the flagrant disregard for rules of any sort. Enough is enough. While offering our deepest condolences to the family and friends, we pray that the demise of this prominent individual will now spurn the authorities to enact and enforce real change. ⌧