While the State slowly slipped into celebration mode with an air of festivity engulfing all around, there was this one gruesome accident last week which literally went unnoticed. A 20-year-old girl lost her life in a macabre road mishap. Apparently in an intoxicated condition, the boy was heading home on full throttle on a two-wheeler from their party destination in Panaji with the girl as pillion. Tragedy struck on their way home as he failed to negotiate a curve along the Agassaim bypass. While the boy suffered multiple injuries, the girl died of severe head injuries, soon after being admitted into GMC.
Rash and negligent driving and drunken driving are very common during festive days and it’s not only the tourists. An increasing number of teenage Goan boys and girls are now hooked on to clubbing and late night parties. There is song, dance, free flow of alcohol and even narcotics happening on the quiet. In most cases, road rage and drunken driving go hand-in-hand.
This is where the traffic police and enforcement comes in. The routine awareness weeks and drives conducted by traffic police have failed to rein in speed and discipline drivers. Two drives in the past two months have managed to book 345 and 425 drunk drivers respectively, just in a matter of a few hours. This only shows the magnitude of this menace. Mind you, this has happened despite the clause of an arrest now. The obvious question that arises here is: are these surprise exercises or random checks enough to streamline skewed lifestyles?
DGP Muktesh Chander had assured that traffic violators would be undergoing alcohol tests at key zones like Mandovi and Zuari bridges, but enforcement continues to be patchy. Why is there no consistency in alcohol tests and why should it be restricted to only a few days? If helmets and seat-belts are being monitored very closely, why not drunken driving?
There are only late-night nakabandis happening where police patrol use every trick in the book to harass tourists and settle scores under the cover of darkness. Drunken driving and over-speeding are not only responsible for a majority of accidents, but also endanger the life of other motorists as well. Hence, these should be handled with even greater seriousness.
Accidents in the state may have dipped by 9 per cent in 2017 compared to figures of 2016, but this is hardly a reason to feel proud, because in the same year Goa topped figures across India with 217.7 accidents per lakh population.
If Goa is known for its free flow of booze and parties, the State is well-equipped with alcometers and laser speed radar guns, too. Over-speeding can be tracked from a distance of 300 metres and there is even video footage available. Traffic police have to up the ante and crack down hard on road rage and drunk driving. There should be zero tolerance towards such infringements.
