Added on November 26, 2024  KV News

Need to curb road accidents

By: Mohammad Imran Reshi

We are fully acquainted with the news of accidents reaching us from every nook and corner of the valley, every now and then. Not a single day passes without such news becoming the headlines of the newspapers and the resounding words and heartbreaking visuals circulating via social media, radios, televisions and the like. There is hardly any accident devoid of loss of life otherwise in most of the cases the loss of life and property is confirmed.

There may be numerous reasons which give birth to such devastating incidents throughout the valley. There may be some mistake on the part of the drivers, sometimes of commuters, sometimes the reason may be the inadequate and damaged infrastructure as well.

Irrespective of the fact who can be held responsible for such menaces, one thing is crystal clear the we are losing our loved ones day by day and the loss is undoubtedly irreparable and irrecoverable.

So far as my knowledge and observation is concerned, I have listed down few reasons which lead to such devastating accidents in our valley. Actually I have classified them in three categories of mistakes committed by three different groups of people. Let’s have a look over them:

Mistakes/Ignorance on the part of Driver or drivers

Mistakes/Ignorance on the part of General Public

Mistakes/Ignorance on the part of the Administration

Let’s discuss the first and foremost part i.e. mistakes on the part of Driver/s. This is one of the major cause which leads to incessant and life-taking accidents in every part of the world let alone the valley of Kashmir. Following is the list of mistakes or we can say blunders on the part of the driver/s.

1. Rash driving of driver/s on roads and highways: The drivers manoeuvre the vehicle in such a lightening pace and that too without looking to and fro. Sometimes just to impress others or compete with other drivers they go on driving at an enormous speed and when any other vehicle or any commuter encounters them, they cannot manage to control the vehicle and such incidents take place.
2. Carelessness in using the accident preventive measures and tools: This is also the significant cause of such incidents taking place every now and then. The important tools of the vehicle to avoid accidents such as side mirrors, horns, and dipper and so on, which are installed in the vehicle with the objective of preventing such accidents, are not properly and timely leveraged. This becomes one of the significant reasons of road accidents in our valley.
3. Overtaking with other vehicles: in many of the cases we have found that drivers are in the habit of overtaking and compete with other drivers to attain some minimal benefits of bus fare and even just to satisfy their ego. This also becomes one of the main causes of accidents in Kashmir, leading to loss of life and property or both in some cases.
4. Substance abuse: There are also a number of cases where after probing the case, it came out, that the driver was addicted to some narcotics or alcoholic drinks. Even the driver in many cases was found taking liquor while driving, and the hangover caused by such drinks tends to lose the mental stability of the driver which in turn results in the accident.

Now the second one, i.e mistakes on the part of the General Public. This is the most important reason of the accidents in valley which is always overlooked and goes unnoticed all the time. Here are some points of how general public is responsible for accidents in the valley? :

a.Encroachment of Roads: We are well aware of the public encroachment of roads which is going on at large scale in Kashmir. The public living in and around the roads use it as their own property without paying any attention or concern towards the movement of the vehicles and commuters.

We see roads dug by the public for their own advantages. It tends to create bottlenecks and narrowing of the road which disrupts vehicular movement and resulting to such incidents.

1. Throwing Garbage on Roads: One of the careless things on the part of the general public especially the shop keepers on the roadsides is that they are throwing the wrappers of products, or the remains of any use and throw article especially the empty containers(Plastic Bottles and tins) of cold drinks or any edible oil or lubricants on the roads, which poses a greater risk for the vehicles and thereby to the commuters as well. Sometimes motorcycles or scooties skid on them, though the driver is injured badly the commuters also fell prey to such accident.
2. Window-Dressing by Shopkeepers: The shopkeepers with an intention of attracting the customers and quick catching of eyes of customers stack their commercial products outside their shops and that too beyond their premises. This not only obstructs the pedestrian walking but also narrows the road and hinders the movement of vehicles. These elements also create risk of accidents and in return the loss of the life and property or both.
3. Amateur or Child Drivers: One of the main problems that lead to increasing accident rate in valley is the permission given to young and inexperienced adolescents to drive the vehicles. Parents give their wards who are not fully aware regarding the rules of the road and even do not know driving very well. This also leads to compounding rate in the degree of accidents in our valley.

The third reason is mistakes on the part of administration.

The administration also lags behind and functions in a way where day to day accidents do occur. Some of the mistakes committed are:

a.Irregular execution of construction works : If we observe with a keen eyes on the reasons of accidents increasing in an accelerating pace in valley, we find that irregular working schedules of administration also becomes the main cause of accidents in the valley.

There are construction works going on in some road and the scene is that only one way traffic runs that too at snail’s pace. This poses risk of accident for both the vehicles as well as the personnel engaged in construction works. While having such construction works the road must be blocked totally so that construction goes on smoothly and will be completed in time and in optimum way. There must be proper traffic advisory regarding the diversion of the traffic from some alternative route and the public should be given adequate awareness of the same.

1. Leaving construction works Halfway : Sometimes what happens in the infrastructure works, the work is left halfway owing to the insufficient supply of resources be it raw materials, labor or the funds.

We have seen many times the open pits for poles neither the pole is installed nor the pit is filled, it remains wide open for a quite long time.

c.Improper Disposal of Construction Debris: Sometimes during the construction works on a bridge or drains, the debris which comes out from such construction is not disposed properly. And the concrete block pieces or the sticky or slippery material from the debris of construction sites tends to create the risk of hazardous accidents for vehicles and the commuters as well.

1. Lack of Retaining wall on bumpy roads: There are some roads which are not properly reinforced using the hard soil or pebbles. Those roads are usually a little bit bumpy and watery. This road being weak could not bear the weight of huge and heavy vehicles. Especially, when the one vehicle is giving way to the vehicle coming from the opposite side. The extreme edge of the road does not bear the weight of the vehicle and slips down including the vehicle which sometimes leads to the loss of the life of the driver and the damage of the vehicle is already confirmed.
2. Improper Drainage System: In addition to the above mentioned reasons, the improper drainage system is also the important reasons which sometimes leads to the accidents in the valley. Even a little amount of drizzle leads to the blockage of the drains, and the road are flooded with that dirty and filthy stuff.

Sometimes while crossing such road which is filled with such material, the driver gets caught into some pit or porthole invisible to the driver, and is badly injured including the damage to the vehicle.

There may also be many reasons for such accidents in addition to the abovementioned reasons. It was just a my observations and experiences were concerned, I inwardly felt it obligatory to aware the general masses about such mishaps so that the degree and intensity of accidents can be curbed and curtailed to a substantial degree.