Impatience, anger and overconfidence are enemies of safe driving. You need a cool head while operating a vehicle
SHEIKH SHABIR KULGAMI
Life throws curveballs in our way and what we expect of life and what life brings to us is one of its big ironies. Another heart-wrenching mishap raises its ugly head only to wipe out a family in the North Kashmir’s Handwara Tehsil last week.The catastrophe saw the passing of four members of the family — father, his son and his two daughters— in a road accident .
Meanwhile, this tragic accident underscores the rampant occurrences of road accidents seemingly at an incorrigible rate. Recently, a road accident took the life of two brothers from RishiporaKulgam . A few days back, a woman was killed by a speedy truck in another Kulgam area .
Although driving hastily stands strictly prohibited in Jammu and Kashmir for the dangers linked with it, thousands of drivers, underaged or adults, can be seen taking to it at will. 90 % underaged drive vehicles — bikes, scooty, auto rickshaws and cars —without licence, violate the law and put lives at risk, including their own. Thoughtlessness bests their driving. The presumed discourse among the critics is that the matter is not central to the authorities .
Two years back, a road accident in my area, killed three teenage boys when their fellow underage driver was unable to control the scooty he was driving. So powerful was the collision with a load carrier that the scooty riders were sent flying in the air and had fallen down head first with their precious blood flooding the spot.
Notably, deaths due to road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir/ JK remain as a major 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 accident, 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, eight drivers ( of every age) out of ten — especially in rural areas— do not put on helmets while operating the two wheelers. And with no one to stop or council , the teenagers derive pleasure in driving at an alarming speed . Their stunts unbalance the vehicle , causing terrific accidents.
” Why don’t you put on a helmet,” I asked a fellow ‘teacher’. “I drive thoughtfully and so don’t need it !” came the blunt response.
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 traveling in an auto rickshaw to a sports ground. 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/ 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 . A hard nut to crack but not impossible.
More disturbing is the glorification of speeding and overtaking, the two leading causes of road accidents . Uncalled for praise speedy 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 engage in extreme fast driving alone or together. As a bike and car driver spanning several years, I believe that most road mishaps occur by reason of overtaking at wrong places, at wrong time and with overconfidence. 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.
Similarly, as parents or adults, we can well do one important thing: keep the vehicle keys out of the sight and knowledge of the teenagers. I am sure ,many among us are doing it. So am I . But at times , I do not remember where I have kept them because my memory is not good. I believe, yours is fine .
Therefore, with the keys off , teenagers can largely be stymied from driving. In addition to good and responsible parenting, effective schooling and education could potentially deter underage 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 . Social support is essential.
Most importantly, 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.
Religious leaders also can play a pivotal role in containing thoughtless driving : their say can dissuade people from speedy driving.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 thought line behind vehicle issuance can be reconsidered.
(Author is RK Columnist and Teacher by profession. Feedback:[email protected] )
Box: 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 thought line behind vehicle issuance can be reconsidered
