News: Helmets are mandatory in Chennai, for even the pillion rider, rules the High Court, apparently to save the precious lives of its citizens.
Is it a case of Misplaced Priorities?! Let us have a look.
Take a look at some statistics here.
3000 children die EVERY DAY in India from poor diet related illness, that is over one million lives every year.
- 24% under 5 deaths
- 30% neo natal deaths
- 1 in 4 children are malnourished, which means that 25% of the population will not be able to fend for themselves, depending on others for life
- the first 1000 days are critical, from birth to the age of 2
On the other hand, only 207551 people died of road related incidents in India in 2015
Causes mentioned are
Causes mentioned are
- overspeeding
- driving under influence
- not using seat belts and helmets
- failure to maintain lane
- not yielding to oncoming traffic
Strangely, there is no mention of bad roads in these data.
People allegedly claim that they can identify many unmarked speed breakers and bad roads in their respective areas.
In India, we should know and be convinced that laws make no sense. People will do or not do a certain thing, only when they are convinced about it.
And in a population of 1+ billion, let us accept it; there is a sense of peace and tranquility because of the inherent peace loving nature of the citizens; not because of the police or the military.
It is easy to enforce a rule, because of the fact that one is in power. We were wondering if the judge did seek information from the government on the steps taken to educate the children at school on road safety practices. After all, they are the future of the country.
A helmet may save the head, but what about the other parts?
Just step out on the roads and it is very easy to find out school children driving on the wrong side of the road, parents on motorcycles with children driving on the wrong side of the road, speed breakers with no markings, vehicles of all kinds paying scant respect for the traffic signals, foot deep potholes on main roads and highways and so on.
Instead of increasing penalties, which will only lead to misuse of authority, attention should be given to mould the children early, in order to make them responsible future citizens.
That is the way to go for arriving at a permanent solution!
The problem is in the mindset. And, the focus should be long term; short term solutions do not work long-term, as we have learnt from past experiences. Till the long-term solutions bear fruit, short term solutions may be implemented.
To begin with, by regulating the process of providing licenses with a fully automated driving license test, which will test the applicant on the road rules, in addition to the mandatory driving test, the government can ensure that whoever gets the driving license are fully qualified deserving drivers.
References:
https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2015/10/ten-facts-about-hunger/
https://www.indiafoodbanking.org/hunger
https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/hunger-facts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_collisions_in_India
https://sites.ndtv.com/roadsafety/important-feature-to-you-in-your-car-5/
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/every-day-400-people-die-in-road-accidents-in-india-shows-government-data-1403899
People allegedly claim that they can identify many unmarked speed breakers and bad roads in their respective areas.
In India, we should know and be convinced that laws make no sense. People will do or not do a certain thing, only when they are convinced about it.
And in a population of 1+ billion, let us accept it; there is a sense of peace and tranquility because of the inherent peace loving nature of the citizens; not because of the police or the military.
It is easy to enforce a rule, because of the fact that one is in power. We were wondering if the judge did seek information from the government on the steps taken to educate the children at school on road safety practices. After all, they are the future of the country.
A helmet may save the head, but what about the other parts?
Just step out on the roads and it is very easy to find out school children driving on the wrong side of the road, parents on motorcycles with children driving on the wrong side of the road, speed breakers with no markings, vehicles of all kinds paying scant respect for the traffic signals, foot deep potholes on main roads and highways and so on.
Seeking a Permanent Solution to traffic woes
Instead of increasing penalties, which will only lead to misuse of authority, attention should be given to mould the children early, in order to make them responsible future citizens.
That is the way to go for arriving at a permanent solution!
The problem is in the mindset. And, the focus should be long term; short term solutions do not work long-term, as we have learnt from past experiences. Till the long-term solutions bear fruit, short term solutions may be implemented.
To begin with, by regulating the process of providing licenses with a fully automated driving license test, which will test the applicant on the road rules, in addition to the mandatory driving test, the government can ensure that whoever gets the driving license are fully qualified deserving drivers.
References:
https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2015/10/ten-facts-about-hunger/
https://www.indiafoodbanking.org/hunger
https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/hunger-facts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_collisions_in_India
https://sites.ndtv.com/roadsafety/important-feature-to-you-in-your-car-5/
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/every-day-400-people-die-in-road-accidents-in-india-shows-government-data-1403899
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