Road Safety - direct from New Zealand to Uttar Pradesh

Road Safety Policy Released

Uttar Pradesh has become the first state of India to introduce a Road Safety Policy. The policy talks of strict penalties the moment someone breaks road safety laws. The government has also constituted a Highway Police for the execution of the policy.

The move by the government is worth appreciation. We also hope that the policy will be implemented in its true spirit, sparing no one - be it a bureaucrat or a politician or a common man/woman.

Nonetheless, if policies and laws were able to tame the human behaviour and put everything or anything in order in society, there would not have been any dowry deaths, sex selective abortions, road rage deaths, child labour, harassment of women, domestic violence and the rest. The list of such crimes is exhaustive! Ironically, there is either a policy or a law against all such criminal acts but how many people face the legal action! 

In Uttar Pradesh, at least 30,000 people die in road accidents, every year. This means at least 80-85 people are becoming prey to untimely and tragic death every day. Unfortunately, the people involved in these casualties are mostly those who are young! The government aims to curtail the situation by launching this Road Safety Policy.   

The New Zealand police force is training the Uttar Pradesh police the tactics of taming the traffic. Acording to Grahame Morton, the New Zealand Ambassador to India, their force is teaching the Uttar Pradesh police about their three-pronged strategy - road design, vehicle safety and driving ethics.

These three points make it mandatory to take a stock of the situation on the roads of Uttar Pradesh.  

A few of the following points emerge instantly:

**  People in Uttar Pradesh do not wear seat belts in their four wheelers and similarly those riding two wheelers are averse to wearing helmets. According to them, these are just another decorative features in their vehicles and the associated law is useless. Therefore, they just hold the seat belt across their bodies or put the helmet on their heads when approaching any crossing with cops around.

**  People in Uttar Pradesh think that 'speed limit' is just another fancy of traffic police. They love speed and therefore never  follow the speed limit signs. They zoom fast, be in a shopping area or on a congested road or even if there are school children crossing the road.

**  People in Uttar Pradesh have a special liking for horns in their vehicles and they honk even in 'silent zones'. The more shrill and ear deafening the horn is the better for them. The first thing they do after starting the ignition is to put their hands on the horn and toot even if the road is empty or even if they are passing next to a hospital.

**  People in Uttar Pradesh enjoy overtaking and for that they cross even the straight double lines in the middle of the road which denote 'no overtaking'. Most of the times these 'speedy people' can be seen driving on the other side of the road blocking the way for people coming from the other side and also making it dangerous for other commuters.  

**  People of Uttar Pradesh do not believe in 'one way' signs. You cannot find even a single one way in the state which does not have vehicles coming from both sides. 

**  People in Uttar Pradesh feel that the roads are meant only for big SUVs and MUVs and the small cars should find their way at the sides of the road. Also, these small cars must allow the big vehicles to overtake them, irrespective of traffic conditions. In a case otherwise, the owners of small cars are sneered at or sometime beaten as well, if the big vehicle owner is a powerful one and in most cases he is. 

**  People in Uttar Pradesh prefer to drive their vehicles on high beam - that too the brighter the better. Either they are not aware of the low beam facility in their vehicles or they just do not care that their glaring light blinds people and is dangerous even for them.   

**  People in Uttar Pradesh do not like to go around a roundabout (too cumbersome for them), no matter if it causes traffic snarls or puts the lives of other people in danger.  

**  In Uttar Pradesh all laws relating to traffic are meant for the common mortals, and the category does not include politicians, their goons and henchmen, as well as bureaucrats. They are never taken in the purview of traffic rules. They can park their vehicles anywhere with no fear of it being towed away. Traffic police confront these government drivers at their own peril, knowing well that they can be abused, manhandled or beaten up by these 'all mighty' drivers! 

These are just a few observations regarding 'road design, vehicle safety and road ethics, which anyone who has ever walked on any of the roads in Uttar Pradesh, would have noticed. 

Now, going back to the original topic of road safety policy, it is pertinent to quote here that the people who cause fatal accidents are mostly the drivers of some influential person. 

The reasons why they are undeterred and arrogant on the road is because no one dares to penalise them when they break any traffic law or do not follow road safety measure or forgo their road ethics! 

In such circumstances how much will this Road Safety Policy help, its an issue of concern. There is only one way the government can underline its seriousness and sincerity to the issue is by ensuring that the new policy covers all and sundry and its implementation does not spare anyone, irrespective how big and influential the law breaker is!