The latest incident of rash driving involving a VIP vehicle leading to the loss of a precious life and injury to several others once again raises the all important public issue of road safety. Ironically, the accident involving the vehicle of an MLA comes barely a few hours after the conclusion of a Road Safety Week organized in Kohima by the district administration and the Regional transport Authority. Several pertinent points were discussed during the weeklong awareness programme on road safety with concerned citizens and civil society groups emphasizing on self discipline and obedience to traffic rules and regulations. One of the concerns pointed out several times in this column is related to the manner in which our high profile politicians and army officials in particular use our public roads. For these privileged class of citizens, traffic rules and regulation are meant for lesser mortals while they can get away with anything, including causing serious injury or death to innocent road users.
The latest killing of an innocent public through reckless driving involving a VIP convoy is not going to be the last that we will hear of unless off course our high flying Ministers and VIPs learn to behave with more dignity and humbleness. For this, our VIPs must themselves take the lead in giving clear orders to their drivers and escort personnel to drive with dignity and care keeping in mind the overall safety of everyone using the public thoroughfare. The State DGP should also take a serious view of the indiscipline and attitude of riding roughshod which some of the police escort vehicles accompanying these VIPs are known to have. Proper awareness and education must be given to the police personnel so that they remain sensitized to road safety. For this, a more long term initiative needs to be put in place through a vigorous safety education program so as to inculcate a safety culture among motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. It is not that only police personnel and VIPs are responsible for ensuring safety on the road but rather the general public must also adhere to traffic rules and regulations.
Maintaining self discipline on the road is the best solution to avoid accidents and if every person sitting behind the wheels can adhere to the basic safety norms travel on the road would be a much safer experience. There is also an underlining need that the practice of responsible and safe driving has to begin at the top and for this the Chief Minister and his Ministerial colleagues could themselves lead the way by promoting self discipline. For this, they would do well to begin by following traffic rules and regulations and thereby promoting road discipline that will ensure not only their own safety but those of the public who are most of the time exposed to the dangers inherent with rash driving when VIP convoys pass through. So please drive carefully because at the end, the very issue of road safety is a matter of life and death and requires a commensurate attention.
