Sensitise Youth About Road Safety

Anuj Kumar Acharya

(The writer is based at Baijnath)

The heading in the newspapers stating young lives lost in road accidents has put parents in a worrisome position in Himachal. No day passes when such incidents are not reported in some part of the hill state. Life is a precious gift given by the god that today youths are putting to risk their own lives due to ignorance and anxiousness. Only half kilometre radius of Tashijong area of Paprola town in Baijnath sub-division saw death of six young people in road accidents in last one year. One can simply imagine the scary picture throughout the state in the backdrop of this small sample. The lifestyle is rapidly changing on the lines of metropolitan cities in Himachal too. And rash driving by youths under the influence of drugs and alcohol is posing a threat even to pedestrians. To add to the misery is that the number of vehicles are increasing while the width of roads is still the same. Abandoned animals too have made roads their home and are adding to the reason behind road accidents. According to figures from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, a total of 1.46 lakh lives were lost in 5.1 lakh road accidents in 2015 in the country. And as per ‘Save Life Foundation’, mostly young lives are lost in road accidents. 33% of persons who lost life in road accidents were in the age group of 18 to 30 years. India accounts for only one percent of world’s total vehicle strength, but our contribution in death due to road accidents is whopping 15%. In maximum cases, victims lost life due to unavailability of emergency health services.

According to National Crime Records Bureau it is two wheeler riders that contribute for maximum road accidents. The United Nations Organization in its general assembly on March 2010 announced the period of 2011 to 2020 as ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety’ so as to generate awareness among common public for road safety. Under the initiative, it was expected from the governments to implement driving training rules stringently before awarding a license. It was also expected that new driving license holder will be allowed to drive vehicle only after making him aware about road safety and traffic rules in cooperation with different departments.

 In Himachal alone, 866 people died because of rash driving and poor condition of roads in last nine months. Lack of steel crash barriers, poor visibility, violation of traffic rules and marginal presence of traffic cops also contributes to the increased number of road accidents. Lack of appropriate traffic police strength definitely removes fear from rash drivers and youth. And in perspective of Himachal, 90% of road accidents occurs because of human error. The police department should organise awareness camps in schools and colleges to make them aware of traffic and safety rules. Youths also need to understand the value of life.

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