Need better roads, driving discipline to avoid mishaps

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Cyrus Mistry's death puts the spotlight squarely on roads and safety. Reports state that the vehicle Mistry and his co-passengers were commuting in, was speeding. The passengers in the rear were not wearing seatbelts.

Excerpts from The Geneva-based International Road Federation (IRF), an umbrella global body, state: India accounts for more than 11 per cent of the road accidents deaths worldwide with 426 lives lost every day and 18 every hour. Over 1.6 lakh lives were lost in the year 2021, it stated, emphasising that most of the road accident deaths are avoidable.

One big factor contributing to avoidable deaths would be better conditions of our roads, across, not just this particular stretch where the accident took place. Top industrialists, those with clout and voice, should join activists, calling out those responsible for bad roads. With their heft and weight, we might see a real change in conditions, rather than passing the buck, designed to wear down not just the vehicle but the most stoic in spirit.

Closer home, we have had at least seven pothole-related accidents in Thane, till August. Recently, two people on a bike died after trying to negotiate a pothole-ridden stretch in Borivli.

Potholes though are not the only killer contributors on our roads. We need better signage everywhere, signs that warn motorists from afar, not at the last minute. Lighting is indifferent on some stretches.

We come to the road surface itself. There have been some improvements, but roads that simply ‘disintegrate' are a significant contributing factor.

Absolute road discipline from drivers and superlative roads work in tandem to send the accident graph into a much-needed nosedive. India is a signatory to the United Nations (UN) Decade of Action for Road Safety globally, which aims to reduce road fatalities by 50 per cent by 2030, according to IRF.