Motorists as responsible for their safety as officials

Pic/Sameer Markande

In order to prevent mishaps on the Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the transport department and a tyre company have been checking tyres since April 14. Around 15,000 tyres were checked and 750 vehicles denied entry to the Mumbai-Nagpur expressway as their tyres were found to be bad.

A transport dept official has said in reports that the checking is to stem accidents due to tyre bursts. The transport department has been claiming that the number of road accidents on state highways has come down. A team is checking the tyres of vehicles near the Shirdi interchange. According to officials, the transport department has set up centres at various spots on the expressway to provide counselling to motorists who cross the speed limit, too.

We need these good initiatives at points just before Expressways and highways, especially in this season when accidents tend to increase, thanks to slick roads and traffic jams. Plus, there are more vehicles to getaway destinations and hill stations for picnics.

While these checkpoints are helpful, it is important that car owners/drivers themselves ensure safety. Their cars, brakes, tyres, all aspects have to be in top condition especially during the monsoon. Every car has to have wipers and lights working well. Let us take the onus for keeping our vehicles in mint condition, rather than have check post personnel greenlighting whether the car is fit to run or not. A check post can simply be one more layer of safety or caution, after the individual has ensured the car is working well. We should not need counsellors, though they are yet another safety layer telling us about the dangers of speeding. We should live and drive by the philosophy that speeding kills, pure and simple. A big thumbs up to all initiatives but let a real sense of responsibility for one's life and that of others be ingrained in us.