road safety

Hop, skip, jump or dance—follow any of these strategies and you may be able to navigate across Bengaluru’s footpaths! The Constitution of India guarantees its citizens the right to move freely throughout the territory of India. However, in cities like ours, enjoying that right seems to require a motor vehicle! As a pedestrian, you may be knocked down as soon as you start your journey. The National Urban Transport Policy, formulated in 2014, calls for “universal accessibility” and transport services for all including children, the aged and disabled. It goes on to say, “Walking is a zero-emission mode of transport…

The safety helmet for two-wheeler drivers has become a bone of contention between resistant citizens and firm authorities in two cities this year - Puducherry and Pune. It is compulsory for two-wheeler riders to wear safety helmets under Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The rule also says that a helmet should have a thickness of 20-25 mm, with quality foam. It should also have an ISI mark and follow the Bureau of Indian Standards. Yet, the resistance against safety headgear has always been high. Gangotri from Save Life Foundation clarifies that the rule for pillion riders varies from state to…

On August 7th this year, transport workers waged a nation-wide strike in protest against the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which was passed by the Lok Sabha and is awaiting passage in the Rajya Sabha. The stir saw support from two state transport corporations of Kerala and Haryana as well as unions across party lines through the country. While the proposed law has largely been welcomed by experts as one that will bring about greater focus on road safety, several proposed changes to the existing Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 do not seem to have gone down well with the opposition parties and transport workers.…

India’s road safety crisis is no secret anymore. The numbers are so staggering that they could cause a few accidents from shock, if you just read them! At least 4,80,652 accidents led to 1,50,785 deaths in 2016, which means 413 people died everyday in 1,317 road accidents. There were at least 17 deaths in 55 accidents every hour. However, the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act was passed by the Lok Sabha last year, but never got the nod from the Rajya Sabha, which got adjourned indefinitely this year. Meanwhile, a recent report shows that most accidents in India involve “newest vehicles”!…

For Tinku Biswas, the idea of attending a three-day training workshop in an IIT was like a dream. No, Tinku is not an engineer, though she is a sort of a trailblazer in her own way, being a rare woman owner and manager of a motor training school on the outskirts of Kolkata city. But she was not going to the premier technology institute for any tech training. Tinku was chosen to attend a workshop conducted for driving school owners and trainers as part of a programme jointly initiated by the Transport Department of the Government of West Bengal and…

Hoskote. East Bengaluru. March 22, 2016. The case of 22-year-old Kishore Kumar, whose bike was hit by an unidentified vehicle and who was turned away by two private hospitals in the city, was reported by several local media. The first hospital reportedly refused treatment to the victim, as he was unaccompanied by family members or any persons known to him and had been taken to the hospital by a good samaritan. Cut to a year later. On March 17, 2017, The Indian Express reported the case of Sunil Patra who was critically injured when a truck rammed into his motorcycle…

In March 2014, Bengaluru In March 2014, Bengaluru Traffic Police conducted a novel experiment. They erected fake cut outs of traffic police in accident-prone areas. This was just one of the ways to beat the staff shortage among police. Despite some folks taking offense, it did get a few nods of appreciation and laughs as well. These cutouts were perhaps a reminder to drivers that there are rules to follow and a body to enforce them. Traffic on Outer Ring Road on a typical weekday. Pic: Mayur Channagere In Bengaluru, vehicular traffic has become an economic, environmental and a safety issue.…

A two-wheeler collides with another vehicle, spilling its rider onto the pavement. An onlooker reacts immediately, pulling out his or her cellphone to dial the emergency number, 108. What happens next is a series of snap-decisions and hasty phone calls to ensure a medical professional arrives on site as quickly as possible. Depending on the location, the Emergency Disaster Management Unit call centre, being run by GVK-EMRI, sends an emergency vehicle. Since mid-April, a new type of vehicle has been added: the bike ambulance. For these two-wheelers, weaving through Bengaluru’s terrible traffic, is much quicker than their four-wheeled counterparts. If…

footpath noun A path for pedestrians in a built-up area; a pavement. A path for people to walk along. Source: www.oxforddictionaries.com If Bengaluru’s footpaths could talk, they’d have many a tale to tell. Perhaps about the mounds of garbage that are dumped on them… Or about people pitching camp to sell their wares, or sometimes even build their homes. While some could claim that they have sent people to the hospital with injuries, some others would state that they have claimed lives! Even today, when there is so much conversation about road safety, and despite pedestrians being at the fore…

Illustration: Narasimha Vedala On April 10th the Jayanagar police station in association with  Bengaluru  traffic police held an awareness programme called Pehle Aap (after you), to emphasise the need for vehicle drivers to heed the safety of others on the road, especially pedestrians, especially elderly pedestrians. Ironically, less than 24 hours later, I had occasion to visit the Jayanagar police station to file a complaint. I and another elderly pedestrian (male), were waiting  to cross the road at the busy intersection facing the shopping complex at 4th block, at 11 am  on Saturday April 11th.The signal turned  red for traffic flowing …