Road Safety Week

Every year we have awareness programmes on Road Safety, more so in the beginning month of year we have a Road Safety Week to serve just one purpose: make roads safe for people to travel on. This year the Week started on January 11 and will continue till the 17th of January under ‘Swachhata Pakhwada-2023’. J&K traffic department is the primal agency to regulate traffic and ensure that road accidents, which have been claiming lives every year, are contained and the fatality rate brought down. It puts the traffic department and authorities therein directly responsible for any mishap that might occur on roads due to the negligence of officers and field workers, traffic cops. However, it does not mean that negligence on the part of public and other parties has to be ignored and adjudging only the conduct of officials. For instance to ensure safety on roads, the roads must be in good conditions. We cannot expect complete protection on worn off roads with ditches and potholes that many a times cause wrecks and crashes. Even if the traffic department does its job well by spreading awareness, observing traffic and road safety rules, something is bound to happen due to poor condition of roads. Nowadays roads are left battered not only by negligence of one department but many. In many areas it is construction material lying on road that increases the risk of falls. Concrete material like sand spread on roads often leads to a motorist losing grip and skid. At many places it is wet surface that acts as spoiler as water is left to drain on roads. What traffic department and municipality together can do is to identify hurdles and unattended obstructions on roads and remove them right away. In City there are low concrete dividers on many roads that are hit by vehicles, especially during winters when visibility is low. Also, the use of headlights on high beam during night keeps some drivers guessing where the road is and where the divider is. It is a common finding and it has been encouraged as at night time there are no traffic cops to correct this wrong practice. In the city there are incidents wherein drivers jump on footpaths. Rarely does an officer get the erring person and impose a penalty. Wearing helmets is also an issue with the youth. Perks once in a year in the form of candies may not be an effective strategy as it needs an elaborate campaign to change habits. Unless the people at large become aware of the traffic rules and start obeying them, organising Road Safety Week every year cannot yield desired objectives. We should all help make roads safe for our own safety and welfare.