The State government has tweaked an earlier scheme where the family of an accident victim gets a compensation of Rs 2 lakh in case of a death. Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho said on Wednesday that the file is being cleared. Undoubtedly, financial assistance will bring some relief to families, but the frequency with which accidents are happening in Goa lately is a matter of grave concern.
There has been a spurt of mishaps, with even 3-4 persons dying in one day. Earlier this week, four persons lost their lives, including two of a family, on a fateful day. The year 2023, up to now, has witnessed on average one fatal accident per day, and there seems to be no letup.
Unfortunately, the trend of accidents indicates that many youths aged between 19 to 25 have either lost their lives in road tragedies or are responsible for mishaps. The post-accident analysis points to over-speeding, reckless driving, road violations, and even faulty roads as reasons behind the fatalities.
Interestingly, beyond the statistics and figures, there is a notified Road Safety Policy with an avowed objective of bringing down the accident rate by 50 per cent by 2030. The transport department has outlined a plan on how it will work to iron out deficiencies and failures. On paper, this appears to be a healing touch to a State that is battered and bruised from the spate of road accidents.
Last October, in an unprecedented action, the State government invited suggestions from the public on ways to improve road safety and reduce accidents. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that a short-term and long-term action plan would be prepared and implemented within a time frame based on the suggestions. A public programme was organised to facilitate people putting forth their suggestions before officials of various departments, including police, transport officials and PWD. A 3-member committee was also appointed under the chairmanship of IGP Omvir Singh.
The action plan to reduce road accidents was to be implemented from January this year. However, there is no clue of any plan of action since it has not been put in the public domain. Neither has any official made any reference to a schedule. Therefore, the umpteen announcements of studying road safety and action plans have been hollow and aimed at calming the situation.
It is paramount that the transport minister speaks on the Road Safety Policy and pulls the brakes on human tragedies that are currently going on unchecked. There cannot be comfort in a scheme of financial relief when lives are being lost at such a frequency.
While the new Motor Vehicle Act was intended to put brakes on road indiscipline, the reverse has happened, indicating that higher fines and penalties have failed to act as deterrents. Instead, it clearly demonstrates that the fault lines lie somewhere else.
It’s time departments dwell on this subject as a priority and look at corrective measures instead of providing a fake sense of security.
