Need for discipline among road users to prevent accidents

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, OCT. 16. Indiscipline among road users is one of the main reasons for the increasing number of accidents, speakers at a seminar on `traffic offences' said here.

Organised by the Institute of Criminological Research, Education and Services and D. G. Vaishnav College, the seminar dealt with the educational and awareness aspects of road safety. Mere enforcement of the laws would not be enough to prevent motorists from violating traffic rules, the speakers said.

Mr. T. Pitchandi, Highways Secretary, said thrust should also be given to the design of roads and parking lots besides removing encroachments to clear carriageway. Over the last seven years, the condition of roads was not improved but the number of vehicles had increased manifold. This was one reason for increase in the number of accidents. At least 75,000 fatal accidents are reported every year.

Mr. R. Sekar, Joint Police Commissioner (South), Greater Chennai, said over the past three years, 10 lakh cases regarding traffic offences were registered and a compounding fine of Rs. 3 crores was collected from motorists. But whether this was successful in enforcing discipline among motorists was a moot point.

Stressing the need for helmets for two-wheeler riders, he said of the 5,000 accidents recorded in Chennai every year, at least 500 were fatal and 95 per cent of them were due to head injury. About 80 per cent of the accidents were due to human error.

Dr. S.P.Rajagopalan, Principal, D.G.Vaishnav College, said regulation of fish carts, preventing people from smashing pumpkins on the road and proper relaying of roads dug up by various agencies such as the TNEB, Metrowater and Chennai Telephones could go a long way in bringing down accidents.

In the academic session, which was chaired by Mr. Pon Paramaguru, retired IPS officer, it was pointed out that about 33 per cent of the vehicles violated traffic rules at intersections of which 25 per cent were two-wheelers. Accidents were generally caused due to lack of lane discipline, absence of communication between road users and due to intolerance, ignorance and negligence of motorists and pedestrians. The significance of the traffic rules was not well understood by the road users.

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