Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Road accidents should be prevented or reduced in number' that was published in Newsband

Road accidents should be prevented or reduced in number

India’s high rate of road accident fatalities is the inability to get timely medical treatment for victims. Fifty per cent of accident victims can survive if they get medical attention within an hour. But there exists fear among bystanders that they could be embroiled in a police investigation or be subjected to harassment due to the legal procedures involved. This is why a ‘Good Samaritan’ legal protection is vital. Parliament has not enacted such a law,

In January 2016, a guideline was introduced saying that the police should not compel Samaritans to disclose their particulars or to be witnesses. The Union Health Ministry also directed hospitals that they should not detain those who bring accident victims for admission and that they should not be required to pay for admission or registration.

Accidents can be reduced if everybody follow the traffic rules strictly. Further if accident occurs bystanders think 10 times before ferrying the injured person because of the fear of police investigation. Accident and emergency cases should be exempted from the payment of fees and the victims should be attended without delay. Furthermore they should be attended by senior doctors.

In Our country, Many Driving license are not being issued properly. Many drivers who are given license don’t know the driving rules as well as proper driving. Overloading, high speed and poor roads are the main reason for accident on highway. Government as well as public should provide timely help to victims because all victims are not responsible for accidents.

Poor infrastructure (road, illumination, signage etc.), bad working conditions for drivers (long driving hours without break, lack of rest & toilet facilities ), outdated/poorly maintained vehicles, lack of adherence to safety rules are primary cause of the accidents.

India is the world leader in road deaths with over 1,20,000 killed on our roads every year. The fact is our public services are not numerous or fast enough to respond to a traffic accident. An ambulance bleating in traffic is ignored by vehicle drivers around while government cars zip by with their sirens. Among other things, the fear of harassment by the police and being identified as the accused prevents good Samaritans from giving aid, however simple.

Strict traffic laws and speed limits would prevent 75% of fatalities. If only the RTO and the Traffic Cops including Highway Police are sincere to their job 75% of the accidents could be averted. All of them are only interested in issuing Chalans or in its lieu extracting bribes.

It is also necessary to educate the masses on how to respond to such situations like whether to offer water to the victim or not, how to handle leg injured, head injured etc. Many deaths take place due to lackadaisical attitude of the people (driving in inebriated condition, speeding, not knowing the road conditions during night etc.). How much time will it take paramedics to reach the spot? We are speaking about the statistics that pronounce one government doctor per 11,528 people, whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) gives one doctor per 1,000 people. How much does government spend on its annual budget to health care and pharmaceuticals? The nation has survived on Samaritans only, if not the figures will be dismal. One can quote Tennessee Williams who in his famous play ‘A streetcar named desire’ says – “I always depend on the kindness of strangers”.