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.

Ganpati Bappa Morya!!

Celebrating road safety ..the ganpati style :)

Always wear seat belts while riding four-wheelers

World's most dangerous roads!!

With one road crash fatality happening every four minutes on Indian roads, nothing could be worse than that. This short documentary made by the BBC gives an overview of how risky and dangerous it is to drive on Indian roads. As an Indian I feel miserable and really bad but ironically it is the truth!!

Watch...Listen...Think

This is a brilliant ad by Mahendra's featuring Aamir Khan.  The message is for every youngster. Watch it. Listen to every word carefully.  And drive safe. 

Are they Immortals??

Overspeeding, triple riding, riding helmetless on two-wheelers is a common scenario on Indian roads. What these youngsters do not understand is they are staking their own life as well as of other road users. These girls riding at more than 50kmph on internal roads of the city are compromising their lives with no safety gear at all. Its almost similar to committing suicide. Kindly take a lesson, DO NOT do this, YOU HAVE ONLY ONE LIFE, PROTECT IT, ITS PRECIOUS!!

Keep Zebra crossing free!!

Keep Zebra crossing free, have a respect for pedestrians. Someday you might have to cross that road...