Lethargic Govt and senseless public : Dangerous cocktail
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 15, 2014 -

Lack of sense and Government lethargy can sometimes make a lethal cocktail and increasingly it has become clear that it is this cocktail which is responsible for quite a number of road accidents in Imphal.

Lack of sense amongst the people behind the wheels of any vehicle and lethargy on the part of the Government to put in necessary road safety measures.

The result is there for all to see on a daily basis. Fortunate it is that not all road mishaps result in deaths, but then so many deaths could have been avoided if only the people and the Government had placed a premium on the safety of all.

That the people as a whole lack civic sense is a given. That traffic sense is non-existent is there for all to see and experience.

Put in a Government which does not seem to have put in any thought on how to make the roads safer for the people in Imphal and the other towns of Manipur and each vehicle is turned into a potential killer on the road.

Youngsters zooming around in a two wheeler without knowing the ABC of driving, motorists literally turning the roads into racing lanes, motorists not giving a care to road safety, not only for themselves but also for others, over crowded vehicles, drunken driving, the list can go on and literally all roads in Imphal and other parts of Manipur have been turned into dangerous zones.

Making the situation all that more dangerous is the presence of a Government which has never given a thought to road safety and has no compunction about turning all roads into potential killers which may come in the form of absent street lamps, road dividers without any sign to highlight them especially in the dark, failure to strictly implement traffic rules and regulations etc.

No exact statistics on the number of accidents or deaths caused by a motor mishap in a year.

However this should not blind anyone to the fact that the streets and roads of Imphal and other places have become major killers in recent times. If not anything then at least the reports carried in the daily newspapers should suffice.

The rapid increase in the number of motor vehicles has not been complemented by an increase in the width of roads, not only in Imphal but in other towns of the State.

The increase in the number of vehicles has not meant an increase in traffic sense.

On the contrary it has only meant that more and more people are taking the wheels and the tragedy is in numerous cases many are not mandated drivers.

No wonder then that there are numerous underaged people possessing a driving license.

The concept and understanding of driving schools is yet to catch on and to many driving has not moved on beyond the understanding of starting the engine, holding or kicking the clutch, activating the gear and releasing the clutch to put the vehicle into motion.

The confusion is there for all to see. All the more reason for the Government to strictly enforce all traffic rules and regulations.

A scary thought it is to even think that the Government has not deemed it proper to seriously give a thought to road safety.