All in the name of road safety

All in the name of road safety! 

By
Debkumar Bhadra 

I was driving my way back home, when a policeman, at about half past five in the evening, walked across the poorly lit stretch of road near the entry gate of Primary Health Centre (PHC) Wimberly Gunj and stood before my vehicle. I cautiously pulled over avoiding both the policeman at the front and the 4 wheeler driven on my rear. Aapka license dikhaiye/आपका लाइसेंस दिखाइये (show your license) he said. I complied. It was no surprise he could not read a single word from the diving license (DL). Even I couldn’t read the name plate on his uniform in the absence of proper street lighting. Upon asking his name, he simply said he is a police constable.

In a while two more constables, dodging a couple of vehicles, crossed the road making it three of them. I asked if anyone among them could educate me under which section of Motor Vehicle (MV) Act, police constables have been authorized to stop vehicles on the road or ask production of vehicle papers without any officer present on the spot. One of them said we constables being lowest in the rank are supposed to obey our superiors and we are just doing that.

This particular stretch of road between Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS) and PHC Wimberly Gunj is repaired several times a year, yet remains pothole ridden throughout the year. Further it being a right angle turning with three branch roads and presence of several tall trees with thick canopy blocking even the tiny speck of moonlight, combined with non-functional street lights make it a dreaded stretch for motorists. Upon asking whether those responsible for such apparently shoddy maintenance compromising safety of road users, has any penalty been imposed or challan issued as per the new provisions of amended MV Act 2019. The third one intervened saying it is not their duty; we are not issuing challan – we are only checking driving license; indicating they were fully aware they did not have the authority under MV Act, yet they were seen carelessly walking across the poorly lit road, waiving bare hands at moving vehicles, stopping and asking production of vehicle documents, all in the name of road safety.

The place where the police constables stationed themselves is a deliberately chosen spot where street lights are either absent or non-functioning and the road takes a sharp turn thus obscuring visibility from either side. Also safety gears such as warning LED flashlight traffic baton, retro reflecting vests, head gear, traffic cone, barricade with retro-reflecting sticker or any other safety arrangement which could fore-warn approaching motorists of police deployment was completely absent. That is how they think they can spring a surprise forgetting that by operating from such blind spots, they are basically putting their as well as others life at risk.

Let me cite another instance. Recently a press release carried in various local dailies informed, High-tech Speed Laser Gun has been introduced in the city as well as NH-4 and those found over speeding has been challaned. It is no secret that speed limit signs are a rarity as far as island roads are concerned. Thus discussed the issue with a learned advocate who on an earlier occasion successfully defended a speed violation case. He added, the defendant (A&N Police) during the trial could not produce any document specifying speed limits applicable to islands. Following this I searched the web space but couldn’t find any  document prescribing speed limits for A&N Islands. Thereafter got in touch with DySP (Traffic) who was kind enough to share a 20 year old notification wherein 40 kmph has been prescribed for LMV, 35 kmph for Scooter/Motorcycles/Mopeds, 30 kmph for HGV/Passenger Busses and 25 kmph for Autorikshaw applicable for vehicles plying within Port Blair Municipal Area. How far the upper limit of 35 kmph for 2 wheelers and 25 kmph for 3 wheelers, has been successful in maintaining smooth movement of vehicles, I prefer to leave it for the authorities to look into it.

When asked for gazette notification on speed limits for roads beyond Port Blair municipal area, I have been given to understand no such document exist as on date and that the committee formed in this regard is yet to submit its report. Till such time, limits prescribed by MoRTH are being followed. Meaning without appropriate notification or road road signages in place as prescribed under MV Act, motorists are being penalized, all in the name of road safety.

There is no disagreement that vehicles driven at greater speed need greater distance to stop and error in judgement tends to be higher, multiplying the risk as well as severity in case of an accident. At the same time, it is also true that un-necessary slow movement of vehicles is not at all desirable since it leads to piling of vehicles causing traffic snarls. 

It is for this reason, depending upon type of road, vehicle and safety aspect in mind, different speed limits are prescribed under MV Act for different class of vehicles. Also Sec 112 of MV Act stipulates notification of such speed restrictions in the official gazette and by causing appropriate traffic signs to be placed or erected at suitable places so that drivers are able to comply with those restrictions and avoid creating a safety issue on the road. 

While motorists are expected to follow rules framed under MV Act, it is equally important and binding upon concerned authorities that applicable rules are notified in the official gazette, publicized in local media and prominently displayed at appropriate spots in the manner prescribed under law so that motorists and other road users are able to make themselves aware of those provisions and comply with them.

Situation on the ground tell a different story in the islands. Applicable rules are either non-existent or the existing ones have not been updated to keep pace with the changing scenario or kept buried in official files away from the reach of public. Whenever an accident occur in the city, the heat of enforcement is immediately turned on motorists as if those driving on the road alone are the culprits behind accidents. Take the example of the recent accident near Bengali Club junction. From the images of the accident shared in social media it appears the “26 years 6 month old” and “heavily loaded” goods carrier in a bid to generate extra power required to climb the hilly road, broke its drive shaft causing the truck to rollback, hitting an auto rickshaw and killing a two wheeler rider before coming to a halt. 

The heart wrenching scene of the two wheeler rider caught under the rear wheels of the truck with face mask and safety helmet securely fastened on the head of the victim set the social media on fire. The victim, a primary school teacher in his late twenties was riding, following safety norms, to pick up his wife and barely a month old child. Sadly his life’s journey was abruptly cut short, all because someone with responsibility on his shoulders failed to exercise due diligence or chose to look the other way. 

Evidence suggests crash helmet’s protection ability is limited to marginal reduction in impact in case of simple, low speed falls. Helmets do not prevent neck injuries and in fact may increase them due to the additional weight. Particularly in the case of pillion riders, specifically children, women folks and senior citizens there is every chance that the additional load of the helmet could result in neck injury even in case of simple falls. Also contrary to attributed benefits, helmet lessens peripheral vision and the ability to hear which could make situation worse. 

Similarly there is no scientific evidence suggesting carrying DL, insurance, RC or PUC has any bearing vis-à-vis road safety. Yet enforcement agencies are seen employing every tip and trick including risking, hiding behind sharp bends and operating from blind spots to catch minor traffic related violations overlooking the real reasons behind accidents in the city. 

Road safety is a multi-sector, multi-dimensional subject requiring reforms and interventions in several areas. The first is education about traffic norms and safety rules. Second is robust road engineering and post-crash emergency response, the last is enforcement of rule provisions leading to penalising the offenders. Unfortunately when it comes to the first two, the zeal seems missing. For example following introduction of Speed Laser Guns, atleast three press release has come detailing number of violators booked and challan amount collected from them. Had curbing over speeding or safety of motorists and other road users been the motive behind the initiative, authorities could have used the opportunity to educate and make people aware of the applicable speed limits. But not a single word has been spoken on this count ensuring motorists remain in dark and end up on the other side of law.

Occasional checking of DL and vehicle documents is perfectly alright. But to make it everything of road safety, at the cost of overlooking the real factors responsible for accidents is fraught with fallacies. It is for this reason despite several amendments and manifold increase in the quantum of fines, our problems instead of getting resolved have only exacerbated. 

With a highly decorated, President’s Police Medal awardee Dr Satyendra Garg, IPS as DGP of Andaman and Nicobar police credited with doing seminal work on reduction of road fatality, drunken driving and several other initiatives in his illustrious career, I sincerely hope, his leadership will steer the enforcement machinery out of the quota system of challan and allocate resources to identify the factors lying at the root of accidents taking place on island roads, device appropriate interventions and address those issues on priority so that outcomes envisaged in the context of road safety could be achieved.