Editorial: Include Passengers in Discussions on Traffic Issues

The weather played foul and the open forum facilitated by the Press Club of Sikkim between traffic and motor vehicles personnel and road users could not be held on Friday. The ‘Khulla Manch” has now been rescheduled for Wednesday, and this time called for a weather-safe time slot starting 11:30 a.m. at MG Marg. Hopefully, the meeting will be well attended, thus allowing the roads to breathe slightly easier during this peak rush-hour phase. On a more serious note though, one hopes that the open forum sees some clear deliberations on how the battered roads of the State can at least be made safer. There is an outside chance that this might just happen, but not unless commuters [and not just drivers and traffic and vehicle management personnel] also decide to attend the meeting. If the forum becomes just an interactive session between drivers/ vehicle owners and traffic and Motor Vehicles officers, then they will end up discussing primarily parking and paperwork issues. These are not unimportant, but it would be a waste of the opportunity created if road safety was not adequately addressed. Past experience shows that unless commuters - hopefully also some who have suffered in an accident caused by either reckless driving or poor road-worthiness of a vehicle - either make time to attend or are expressly invited to the Khulla Manch, this important issue will be only superficially addressed. This “third-party” presence is also necessary to temper the proceedings because there is a very strong possibility that the public nature of an open forum will embolden groups on both sides to hijack the platform to exchange allegations or spill personal woes and chew up the time. The presence of ‘passengers’ at such a forum is also necessary to address issues like taxi fares and the still unaddressed complaint of taxis often refusing to pick up passengers when the destination does not suit them.
The most important issue that needs deliberation at a gathering which has all concerned parties – traffic cops, motor vehicles personnel and drivers – has to be road safety. Even accepting the poor road conditions and difficult terrain of the State, there are a huge number of accidents which could have been avoided if safer driving habits were instilled through effective and diligent policing. Also, it is often times claimed that a mishap was caused by “brake fail” or some other mechanical error, and yet, one has not heard of any traffic intervention bothering to check the road-worthiness of vehicles. While engine health and other technical issues will require time, training and equipment, some obvious signs are plain for all to notice – like bald tyres or sputtering engines. There should be no excuse for vehicles profiting from passengers or goods to not be in safe health, and yet, for all the surprise checks and impromptu verifications, this aspect remains ignored. The entire focus of traffic personnel and motor vehicles’ wing seems invested on checking documents and parking violations. Neither of these makes the roads any safer. Dangerous driving gets flagged only after an accident has occurred. The commuters will be much better served if speeding and reckless driving are challaned more often. Admittedly, this presents a technical problem in that it is difficult to make such charges stick, but perhaps acquisitions like speed guns and breath analysers will make such action possible. After all, the road-worthiness of a vehicle is wasted if the hands on the wheels are driving “under the influence” - more of chemicals nowadays than alcohol. In this regard, some basic training for traffic cops on recognising signs of drug-induced inebriation could be considered as well. Perhaps even some more training and coordination so that the traffic police and motor vehicle inspectors do not keep essaying out each other’s roles and can thus deliver better on their respective responsibilities. One could go on about the various issues which could be taken up at the Khulla Manch, but these are best taken up when the open forum finally takes place and is used as effectively by those already lined up for it as by those [commuters] overlooked thus far but still with time to be included in it…