Meetings after meetings were held to define how to manage roads and highways safely, assurances poured, commitments made and unmade, pages of calendars turned, and tales of surprising development told but no effective measures have been taken to stop road accidents in the decades of ceaseless road accidents. A high-powered task force, formed to tackle road crashes and bring discipline to the sector, in its second meeting in December 2020 decided that transport workers have to be given appointment letters following the newly enacted Road Safety Act 2018. When it comes to enforcement, this is a big zero.
Several statistics showed that the number of accidents and fatalities rose by 30 per cent last year, compared to 2020. The government formed the task force to implement 111-point recommendation, placed by a committee led by former shipping minister Shajahan Khan, to curb accidents and bring discipline on roads. Instead of giving appointment letters and setting a salary structure, transport owners appoint drivers on a daily basis, paying them based on the number of trips. As a result, drivers engage in unhealthy competition among themselves to get more passengers to get more fare. This is one of the major reasons behind road crashes. Workers often say financial needs, lack of recognition and dignity, and uncertainty over their jobs makes them reckless, which ultimately increases the risk of accidents.
Almost all the authorities’ decisions remain unimplemented. Just like in previous meetings, the third one saw the task force decide to ban the operation of battery-run auto-rickshaws on roads and highways. But that too remains unimplemented. The local Government Division (LDG) is also asked to prepare recommendations to control illegal easy-bikes. The task force also planned to take effective measures to tackle reckless motorcyclists and bring all bikes under registration. But the situation has not changed, as a police report shows that bikes were involved in 1,358 accidents last year, which is 41.46 per cent higher than in 2020. We do not want to hear any assurance and plans; we simply wish to see implementation and outcome. How a state remains so apathy to its citizens’ life when the constitution depicts it as the highest priority.
