Though Dehradun police has claimed to have taken several measures to check road accidents, the number of such mishaps is spiralling fast in the State Capital and other parts of the district. The rising trend of people being crushed under the wheels has left senior administration and police officers aside from the common people deeply worried.
Observers opine that despite police claiming to have taken measures to check road accidents, the initiatives have failed to achieve the desired goal. City buses in are still indulging in rash driving. Despite bus stations having been set up at many places, they are picking up passengers on their whims, leaving the people inconvenienced aside from slowing down the traffic flow, they say.
Several reasons like over-speeding, rash driving, triple riding and drunk driving aside from the grimly deplorable conditions of the roads are spawning the rising number of accidents. Under-age riding is another reason. Though police have recently taken measures to stop this the teenagers in Dehradun as elsewhere are witnessed violating traffic rules with impunity with the traffic rule enforcers generally tending to look the other way.
Dehradun being hub of education, the number of students riding two-wheelers and even driving cars is huge. And what is alarming is that the parents are allowing their wards to go for this despite being aware of the fact that underage driving is in defiance of the traffic rules.
“Roads are dug up and they take hell of time to have them duly filled up. Besides, craters gape right on the roads, resembling death holes. Add to this rash driving, drunk driving and underage driving, the grim picture of the vulnerability of the common people’s life on the roads is complete,” said Krishan Singh, resident of Vikaslok.
A 25- year- old Supriya, resident of Dalanwala, said, “I ride scooty but I am nervous as others, tending to drive vehicles at break- neck speed mostly in inebriated condition, can cause mishaps any time. Underage driving is another menace that should be stopped effectively. Parents should not allow their wards to ride two-wheelers until they reach 18. At the same time, the police should enforce the traffic laws strictly so that no one dares to violate the traffic rules.”
Shreya, a house wife and resident of Kewal Vihar, said that they fear to move outside as two or three road mishaps are happening almost daily. “The Government should embark on a massive awareness campaign among the people on road safety and the subject should be included in the school curricula,” she added. Dehradun Senior Superintended of Police Dr Sadanand Date said that the matter is indeed serious. “ The width of roads remaining the same, the number of vehicles is rising day by day.
“Drunk driving, rash driving, underage driving are among the main reasons leading to accidents. We are determined to end it,” he affirmed. “ Station police officers have been directed to identify accident prone areas . Traffic police have been directed to conduct drives at important crossings to enforce the traffic laws in the city. Speed breakers have been put up at various places and some more will come up in future to check rash driving,” he added.