Someone has rightly said, “Every accident is a notice that something is wrong. “Jammu and Kashmir is awaiting to get the better of road accidents; hardly a day passes when news of a road mishap is not broken. last week in Pulwama, one person was killed ; another injured. The ongoing year witnessed a major accident in North Kashmir’s Handwara Tehsil where four members of a family were killed — in a road accident . Another stunning incident took the life of two brothers from Rishipora Kulgam. And a teacher, riding a bike, in Anantnag district lost his life recently. Long is the list. Road accidents do not happen on their own — we cause them .
Reckless driving is not an uncommon sight. Although driving hastily stands strictly prohibited for the dangers linked with it, thousands of drivers ( underaged or adults) can be seen taking to it at will. 90 % underage people drive vehicles — bikes, scooty, auto rickshaws and cars —with or without a licence, and put lives on the line, including their own. Raw emotions best their driving. This Eid , as always, saw teen agers and even some adults driving at an alarming rate for meat distribution. Nobody objected. Such response strengthens rash driving.
Notably, deaths due to road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir/ JK remain as a leading cause. According to a recently released report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), an alarming total of 4,287 lives were tragically lost due to road accidents from 2018 to 2022 in J&K. As per media reports, Jammu and Kashmir in 2023 saw a jump in road accidents, 6,298 incidents reported. These accidents killed 893 people , leaving 8,489 others wounded. The police dutifully say that the chief causes of these accidents are excessive speed, overloading and rough driving. Unfortunately, there are only few takers of the police version.
Tragically, about 60 % bikers ( of every age) — especially in rural areas— do not drive wearing helmets . In some cases, the helmet could be found linked to the vehicle . Not put on. “Why don’t you wear this helmet,” I asked a biker at a petrol pump . “I drive thoughtfully and so don’t need it !” came the blunt response. ” But you have the helmet along “, I said. “I put it on immediately if the police are checking anywhere, ” the middle aged man answered.
Parents mostly are squarely responsible for the (underage) accidents. A friend recently told this columnist that in his neighbourhood, two underage boys met with an accident when they were driving an auto rickshaw . The friend further said the driving minor had received the rickshaw from his home. Had his parents denied the ride, the accident could have been averted. Agreed that teenagers/ the underaged are hard to convince against driving — not to speak of just rash driving— but we as adults or parents must dutifully discourage this routine activity. A firm stance by parents and social disapproval can work wonders . Not impossible although an uphill task.
More disturbing is the glorification of speeding and overtaking, the two chief causes of road accidents . Uncalled for praise for speed driving— from adults and parents on multiple occasions— comes as a pat on the back of the youngster drivers who risk everything, including life, while driving. That promotes the reckless operation of vehicles. Look around, your eyes will sight a teenage biker or car driver with the parents or any adult traveling long . Plus , the vehicles are seen overloaded shockingly . Many adults ignorantly derive pleasure from this pointless behaviour.
Taking heart from this adult attitude, teenagers indulge in unnecessary overthinking, a major cause of road mishaps. Isn’t it bad driving if you race past a vehicle in front of you after coming closer to it? This blinds you to the vehicle zooming towards your direction from the opposite side. You can well overtake calmly and slowly from a safe distance. Impatience, anger and overconfidence are enemies of safe driving. You need a cool head while operating a vehicle.
In addition to good and responsible parenting, effective schooling and education could potentially deter unsafe driving. That calls for a serious intervention by policy-makers, media and civil society to frame curriculum which creates awareness on traffic norms and regulations and safe use of roads . Surprisingly, commuters do not keep to the road sides or footpaths. This behaviour forces vehicle operators to blow horns needlessly, leading to everyone’s inconvenience apart from contributing to accidents on several occasions.
Therefore, the strict implementation of the codal norms in place against irrational driving is a crucial step . The police of this union territory has been doing a sublime piece of work for the past few years to uproot social crimes ; unlawful driving including. Equally important is to discipline general public as to the reasonable use of roads .Religious leaders also can play a pivotal role in containing thoughtless driving and in sermonising people on road use.
Road widening is prudent but speeding and overtaking predominates on wide roads. The real prescription is to demonstrate round- the- clock commitment and fortify the efforts to arrest the alarming growth of road accidents. At the policy level, the philosophy behind vehicle issuance can be reconsidered.
Educating the populace about the harms of rash driving , the importance of wearing helmets and sensible use of roads while driving or walking — is imperative. Ours is this society; it can be reformed when we all act together. A blame game, on the contrary, implies an escape from our responsibilities. Never will it work, accusing one another.
( Author is RK columnist and teacher by profession. Feedback: [email protected] )
