Serendipity : Musings of an Islander

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 pro...

Implementation of amended MV rules - high on application of law on motorists, lax on everything else By Debkumar Bhadra The amended motor vehicle act which came into force on 1 st S eptember has hit motorists in ways harsh than those moon shaming craters in their path. The amendments brought in to make roads safer by reducing the number of accidents, in practice has been turned into a revenue collection exercise with enforcement agencies singularly applying the revised law on motorists, while the real cause of accidents such as faulty design, poor maintenance, awful condition of roads and the erring road owning agencies, finding itself in the implementation shadow, is having a good laugh. Hefty penalties levied on motorists On the very third day of implementation of amended MV rules, police turning the heat of enforcement on motorists issued a challan for R s 23000 on a two wheeler owner accusing him of driving without licence (DL) , registration ce...

Road safety cannot be limited to enforcement of helmet rule; In life-threatening situations, helmets unlikely to give adequate protection. Debkumar Bhadra                    |           Musings of an Islander             |           South Andaman Last week almost every local dailies carried a news item which reads … persons riding two wheelers in these islands are advised to wear proper ISI marked Head Protective Gear (Helmet) and also the pillion riders are advised to wear helmets for safety of their life. The release further adds that Andaman & Nicobar Police is going to launch special traffic drives against riders/pillion riders who do not wear the prescribed protective head gear. Anyone found violating the [helmet]...

Faulty Speed Breaker: A Nightmare for Motorists Intended as a road-safety measure, speed breakers become hazardous in their own right when engineering standards, adequate visibility and proper warning signage are neglected By Debkumar Bhadra   Roads have played a vital role in the development of human civilisation. The earliest roads were little more than tracks created by repeated movement of people and animals. As societies evolved, the simple tracks transformed into sophisticated transport corridors designed for the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. Despite these advancements, roads continue to present challenges of their own. This article examines a seemingly minor flaw on our roads that creates serious hazards for motorists – a faulty speed breaker.   Imagine driving along a road after sunset. Traffic is sparse and the road ahead appears clear. Suddenly, an unmarked speed breaker emerges from the darkness. The driver brakes instinctively, the vehi...