Traffic SMART :)

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The culprit...Speeding yet again!!

The newspapers today covered another two major road crashes, where one was in Delhi, the other one in Chandigarh. Ironically, the similarity was overspeeding, loss of control of vehicle and road fatalities in one while injuries to over fifteen bus passengers in another. 

The Audi in which two brothers died was beyond recognition.
Financial loss still can be recovered but what about human loss?
Its time to rethink..

Source: Pics from mail today and Chandigarh bhaskar, June 12, 2014. 

Speed thrills but kills!!

This is a call to action … 

Do you see the motorcycle?  Now do you see it?  This wrecked vehicle, with the motorcycle still wedged inside, was displayed as a Swedish Police and Road Safety Department exhibit at the Stockholm Motorcycle Fair, apparently as a warning to drivers about the dangers of speeding and unsafe driving. The graphic display was placed at the Stockholm Motorcycle Fair by the Swedish Police and Road Safety Department. The sign above the display noted that the rider had only recently obtained his license. The Honda rider was traveling at such a "very high speed", his reaction time was not sufficient enough to avoid this accident. Swedish Police estimate a speed of ~250 KM/h (155mph) before the bike hit the side of the slow moving car at an intersection. At that speed, they predicted that the rider's reaction time (once the Volkswagen came into view) wasn't sufficient enough for him to even apply the brakes. The car had two occupants and the bike rider was found INSIDE the car with them, along with the motorcycle itself. The Volkswagen actually flipped over from the force of impact and landed 10 feet from where the collision took place. All three involved (two in the car, plus the rider) were killed instantly. Learn from this experience. Drive within the speed limits..ALWAYS!! SOURCE: http://www.hoax-slayer.com/motoycle-inside-vw-accident.shtml,  Excerpts from article written by Brett M. Christensen

Road safety crusader who lost her husband and daughter to a speeding bus..strives on!!

Just going through the newspapers in morning, I came across this article on a 'Road Safety Crusader Jyoti Gupta', and her story on how she lost her husband 'Pankaj Gupta', cardiologist at Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon and her three year old daughter 'Lineshya'. 

It was heart rending account of how these two innocent lives were lost to a speeding bus. After the accident, the driver casually said, 'that I pressed the accelerator instead of the breaks'. 

With over three years of driving experience, the driver confessed that he got his driving license illegally through an agent by just paying Rs. 5,000/-, later realizing the gravity of the situation, retorted, "Why blame me? Just my following rules wont make any difference. And I needed money for my poor family back home."

Can this highly callous, indifferent and irresponsible attitude be excused?

While Jyoti has taken up the road safety crusade by writing a letter to the Prime Minister seeking a comprehensive National Road Safety Law, nothing can make up for the life of her deceased husband and daughter. We salute her for her spirit and courageous initiative of making a difference.

With one road death happening every four minutes on Indian roads, there are thousands of unfortunate stories like these. 

Though Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 is in place yet much needed amendments are yet to take place. What can we do till the time a comprehensive road safety legislation is operational?

I want answers from the readers..

Source: Utpal Kumar, Mail Today, New Delhi/Chandigarh, Sunday, June 8, 2014. 

Unfortunate death of Union Minister in road accident

Death of Member of Parliament today in road crash at least have wakened the nation up with tv debates and analysis. Most people are blaming Delhi roads, traffic police, forgetting the fact it is the people behind the wheels who flout laws, and ultimately are facing the consequences. As per the news report, red light jumping was the cause of the road accident.

Red light jumping is one of the most common traffic violation and the reason for road crashes. In order to probe as to how many of us do abide by the traffic rules. In one of my published article, I asked few questions on abiding traffic rules, especially red traffic lights. The study was conducted in Chandigarh, India on a sample of one hundred drivers, and the responses were as follows: 

Questions Gender Yes Always Yes Sometimes Not at all  Unanswered Do you stop at the Red Traffic Lights? Male 76% 20% 4% -- Female 80% 18% 2% -- Do you stop at the red traffic light, if there is no traffic on roads? Male 42% 42% 14% 2% Female 68% 32% -- -- Do you stop at red traffic light if there is no policeman at traffic lights? Male 58% 28% 12% 2% Female 80% 14% 4% 2% Do you stop at red light at night, if there is no traffic on road? Male 34% 36% 28% 2% Female 46% 46% 8% --

It clearly showed that compliance to red traffic lights was dependent on the enforcement,  where there was no visible enforcement, i.e. no traffic police to issue challan/ticket for violation,  there was more probability on part of the driver to violate it. The tendency to violate traffic rules  was more among male drivers than females. Also, there was more likelihood of jumping red lights during night where there is no traffic and no policeman to catch hold of the violator. We forget at times that compliance to traffic rules is an obligation we do for our own safety and  not for the traffic police. Road crashes are preventable. Spread the word.   References: Vinayak, S., and Assi, G.S. (2011). Do gender differences really exist when it  comes to Driving Anger? A psychological probe. International Journal of Current Research,  Vol. 3, Issue, 10, pp.194-199.