Civic Sanskriti: Time to put road safety plans back in top gear

Number and severity of road accidents can be greatly reduced if municipal corporations, RTOs, Traffic Police, and emergency services work together.

It’s reassuring to see initiatives like the Zero Fatality Corridor on the Mumbai Pune Expressway. Right here in our city, the Save Pune Traffic Movement is working with PMC and the Traffic Police, to repair and install pedestrian signals which provide sufficient time for people to cross safely.

A traffic park is being set up near Bremen chowk, Aundh, to provide ‘live’, on-the-road training and experience to children and youth. (HT PHOTO)

The Pune Mayor’s Road Safety Initiative launched last year took a back seat with Covid-19. Now is the time to revive it and give the city a booster dose of Road Safety. Fatal road crashes occur in Pune almost daily. These deaths are preventable. The Mayor’s Initiative can, and must, set clear plans and targets for the relevant government bodies to improve road safety in Pune and save lives.

Every day we see people placing themselves at risk, jumping over high dividers while motorists speed by, cursing.

This often happens because the next crossing is quite far, or pedestrians are expected to climb two storeys of steps of a foot overbridge.

Proudly proclaiming signal-free corridors and not providing safe mid-block pedestrian crossings as mandated by Indian Road Congress guidelines glorifies speed over basic safety.

Prioritising motorists’ convenience above safety and comfort of the majority of road users who do not drive – children, elderly people, women, and people with disabilities – is that the vision for our city?

Both the number and severity of road accidents can be greatly reduced if municipal corporations, RTOs, Traffic Police, and emergency services work together.

They have specific, differentiated roles in improving road safety. Building and maintaining safe roads, enforcing traffic rules that keep us safe, quick medical response in case of a crash are part of a coordinated ‘Safe Systems Approach’. Currently, our city is at the Learner level, as basic road safety provisions are not in place.

For safe roads, providing usable footpaths, adequate street lighting, and clearly visible zebra crossings at convenient distances is essential. This, the municipal corporation has to ensure, since it is largely their responsibility to design, construct and maintain city roads.

People often say there must be Education about road safety – after all, besides safe roads and safe vehicles, there must be safe road users. Certainly, there should be. RTOs must have much more stringent driving tests, focused on not just mechanical control of a vehicle, but also on whether the driver shares the road responsibly with other users.

But, adults who have been driving for years are hardly likely to start attending road safety classes. Getting fined, losing time and money probably serves as a more effective lesson! Better enforcement helps make safer road users.

In fact, the most important lesson – which Traffic Police can help with by fining offenders – is that helmets are compulsory for front and pillion riders. Since 85% of deaths in road crashes are of two-wheeler riders and pedestrians, Traffic Police should prioritise enforcement of rules that make these road users safer. Let’s support them when they enforce helmets, speed limits, and stop lines at crossings.

Fines in Maharashtra are set to increase as the state implements the related amendment in the Motor Vehicle Act. In case any bike riders are planning to protest, just remember that it’s very easy to avoid the fine – just follow the rules, including wearing a helmet.

People can help create a culture of road safety. As pedestrians, walk such that you face the vehicles as much as possible, and never walk along a divider. Be visible, pause before starting to cross, and raise your hand while crossing a road.

Gift a good, light weight, BIS marked helmet to bike riders, including pillions, among your friends and family.

Residents associations can conduct neighbourhood road safety checks. Ask corporators and ward offices for brightly lit, clearly painted crossings at junctions and mid-blocks, and pedestrian signals with correct time setting. Ask for traffic police personnel to enforce driving safety rules at critical locations. Road Safety is a cause worthy of our lives and time.

Sanskriti Menon is senior programme director, Centre for Environment Education. She writes on urban sustainability and participatory governance. Views are personal. She can be reached at civic.sanskriti@gmail.com