It is learnt that Goa’s network has been mapped and some two dozen locations across the state have been identified as ‘accident prone zones’. It must be said that 24 locations which have been labelled as accident prone is quite a substantial number for a small state like Goa. Reasons why certain sections or the road has been identified as accident prone needs to be looked into and necessary action needs to be taken to rectify anomalies like poor road engineering. Inputs from locals as regards the reasons for the road accidents at the location need to be taken into consideration. While it seems necessary to educate school children on road safety, it also seems necessary to have a test for the elderly people who drive vehicles when they renew their driving license. Those driving heavy vehicles and are illiterate need to be checked for their knowledge of road signs during the time of renewal of their driving license. While pictorial road-signs play a vital role, road-signs which have written instructions for road users should be depicted in English and Hindi as well.
