Action should be taken before, not after road accidents
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The situation in our country is that before we start thinking seriously about traffic accidents, there must be an accident, and people have died. It should be added that this applies not only to the traffic police and the government but also to drivers and the general public. It has been four days since four schoolgirls who were returning from school were hit by a lorry and died instantly at the Panayampadam bend in Palakkad, Kerala. Even after that, there is no shortage of news of accidents. An autorickshaw carrying school children to Pothencode in Thiruvananthapuram hit an electricity pole, and a car lost control and crashed in Ponnani. A young man died after a collision between a traveller and a bike in Muvattupuzha. Most of these accidents could have been avoided. In every case that is reported, after the accident the people and the authorities grieve and start thinking about solutions, only to give an impression for the time being that some measures have been taken, and remain inactive until the next disaster. In short, we are not able to move beyond the post-mortem procedures of past emergencies but not to the measures to prevent future ones. Even if something is done, it cannot be checked periodically to ensure its effectiveness. Despite installing road cameras at a cost of Rs 232 crore across Kerala, it has not been possible to ensure that they are working properly. Statistics show that the cameras have not significantly reduced accidents.
When accidents became frequent at the Panayampadam bend, the road was widened. However, the accidents did not decrease due to the unscientific slope of the road. The locals had complained about this many times. There was no solution. After the loss of four lives as a result of that negligence, the minister is talking about eliminating roadside parking, installing dividers, and suspending drivers' licenses. He said that a solution would be found to fix the road's shortcomings. He said that he would examine why the remedial proposals submitted by the MLA three years ago were not implemented. Violations of the law by drivers, negligence of the people, and apathy of the authorities are all situations that expose us to danger in our state. In 2023, 48,091 road accidents were recorded in Kerala in which 3884 people died. Till September this year, 36,561 road accidents were reported. 2843 people died. We are now hearing stories from the remaining three months. Among these, there are tragic incidents like the one in Palakkad. It has been three weeks since the tragedy in which five people, including two children, were killed when a lorry ran over nomads sleeping in a place where vehicles could not enter, on the side of the National Highway Bypass in Thrissur. It is reported that the cleaner who drove the vehicle as well as the driver of the vehicle were drunk. Five people died on the spot and one later after a car accident involving medical students in Alappuzha district’s Kalarcode. There were many reasons behind the accident, including the overload, excessive speed and lack of experience, but all of them could have been included under the category of "avoidable".
After each disaster, the authorities seem to be focusing on such remedial measures that make us wonder if they are limited to revoking driver's licenses, filing cases and punishments, and collecting fines. On roads where rules are broken every minute in spite of knowledge about them, awareness, warnings, and inspections are needed. Dozens of violations occur within five minutes within a half-kilometre distance on Kerala roads. Many are in the race to invite danger around curves, intersections, and upward and downward gradients. Drivers who don't dim their headlights at night, vehicles that don't consider pedestrians, and pedestrians who don't pay attention to road rules are all part of this vast lawless empire. The authorities have no interest either in discouraging lawbreaking. The case of the conveniently delayed sobriety test of the officer who killed a journalist by speeding while drunk and the use of the tactic giving ease to roads in municipal limits to circumvent the Supreme Court's ruling that there should be no liquor shops on national highways do not constitute law enforcement. The intent here is that the defects in road construction should be fixed, and road rules should be strictly enforced to prevent accidents. The eye-wash actions after every incident will always be a farce.
