Road accidents in Kerala are continuing to claim lives at an alarming rate. Around 70 percent of road accident victims in the state are said to be of the prime working age of 18 to 55. But accidents do not discriminate.
Among those who perished in a series of shocking accidents in December alone were six medical and four school students. At the same time, the state has the highest share of the elderly falling victim to road accidents in the country. On highway accidents, it’s second after Tamil Nadu. In all, road accidents kill over 4,000 people in Kerala every year.
Driver-related issues account for most of the 2,34,466 accidents recorded over the past six years. That a third of accident victims are pedestrians also underlines drivers’ recklessness, especially those steering private buses. To put the onus of responsible driving on bus owners, the motor vehicles department has come up with measures that include suspending for six months the permits of carriers that have caused fatal accidents.
It has also been decided to cancel drivers’ licences for reckless driving and make police clearance mandatory for bus crews. The police have proposed to the state government to install smart cameras linked to detection technologies along all state highways as well as minor roads. Police vehicles will be deployed on highways at regular intervals through the night.
While these measures are a good beginning, the government must also rectify engineering glitches that have resulted in poor road surfaces, badly-lit roads and flawed designs, which too play a major role in accidents.
The government must ensure that roads are audited at regular intervals and deficiencies, especially on highways, are swiftly addressed. Once this is done, effective monitoring and enforcement of laws can address the issue more effectively. It is important to continuously monitor young, newly-licensed drivers for a specific period as many accidents are caused by fresh licensees.
Experts insist it is important to inculcate a ‘road culture’ from a very young age - ideally initiated at school. All these measures - better roads, properly trained drivers, stricter enforcement of laws and broader awareness - will save many lives in one of the most dangerous states for those on the road.