The recent spate of shocking accidents highlight the poor state of road ethics and policing in Goa. The most recent, where five people were killed and a further five injured in Corlim, has even spurred the government into working on plans to combat this. The knee jerk reaction would be to bring in speed guns, alcometers and deploy police personnel at vulnerable locations. All these would only paper over the cracks that exist in the extremely poor systems in the state. The reason is that the fault does not just lie with the government but also with the people. In fact, it is here that the people are probably more to blame than the authorities.
The biggest reasons why accidents take place in Goa are “ poor road ethics, a lack of knowledge of how to drive, a blatant disregard for rules, no speed limits, improper road infrastructure and miniscule traffic policing, among others. The police will say that they don’t have the personnel to man every bad junction or highway. They would be correct. People will point out to bad roads and say that they need to be fixed before policing gets stricter. Not a bad point, but it’s irrelevant. But bad roads don’t make for bad accidents. Bad drivers and riders do, and Goa has a lot of them. We need to come to terms with that.
The way forward is a series of parallel changes. Awareness campaigns don’t work, heavy fines and strict policing does. This is where even a bare-bones police team can make a difference. Identify areas where people speed and break rules regularly and then clamp down on erring drivers and riders. Set up patrol units and enforce the rules to the extent of jailing serious offenders. A Rs 100 or Rs 500 fine for speeding, not wearing helmets or seat belts, or driving with tinted glasses is not a deterrent, a Rs 2500 fine possibly is, especially when the cost of a good helmet is Rs 1000. There is also a dire need to change the licensing process. People need to learn how to drive and ride; a mere few days at a school isn’t sufficient. Check procedures in America and England for instance. There superbikes and premium cars require more training and special licences.
But all this requires alternatives too. A good public transport system, affordable and available round the clock, takes care of drunk driving and many regular commuters as well. This is as important as enforcing speed limits or creating stricter license approval processes. The government and the people have to realise that they both have an equal stake in making Goan roads better. It’s only then that we will see change.
