NEED FOR ROAD DIVIDERS

Urgent need for road dividers

The increasing number of road-accidents in Kerala is a matter of great concern.. Most of these can be avoided, if there were enough road dividers along the important roads in the State.

It is certainly the duty of the Government to provide its citizens with the right to drive their vehicles safely and comfortably along the roads and not just collect road tax without fulfilling this requirement.

Most accidents occur when vehicles come face to face. The number of vehicles coming on to the road every month is increasing rapidly and the roads do not expand proportionately to accommodate them. When the number of vehicles doubles, the chances for accidents increase exponentially. The occasions of vehicles coming face to face increase multifold. Accidents are highly fatal when this happens; such occasions can be drastically reduced if the roads are modified in such a way that vehicles move only in one direction along a single lane.

We do not have enough roads to make them one-way, but most of them are wide enough to allow two-way traffic in either direction. Such roads shall be divided with ‘physical’ dividers, instead of drawing just a white line as is done at present. The white line does not prevent the drivers from crossing them whenever it suits their fancy, to speed along or to overtake. Most accidents occur when fast vehicles overtake others. Many drivers are overconfident about their ability to swerve the vehicle at the last moment, but frequently this fails them. While overtaking other vehicles, the drivers increase the speed, and when they are in doubt about clearing the oncoming vehicle, they increase it further. Such accidents are highly destructive.

Many studies regarding accidents have come to the conclusion that 90% of the accidents are the result of the negligence of the driver. But my reading is that we provide them with enough opportunities to err and put the blame on them. I believe that nobody ever drives a vehicle to commit suicide. Reducing the chances of vehicles coming face to face will reduce such incidents to a great extent. That will also save a lot of life.

Most of the roads in Kerala are typically accident prone because of the absence of road dividers. Roads are wide enough for three or four vehicles to pass either way, but there is nothing to prevent them from coming face to face. If only dividers were provided, a major share of the accidents could be averted. Also, shoulder lanes should be provided wherever possible to allow the movement of slower vehicles. Wherever possible, bus bays also should be provided.

The dividers don’t have to be permanent or stable. They can be structures made of steel, plastic or cement blocks, propped up along the white line. Vehicles might hit them occasionally, but that will not cause such a great disaster as loss of life. The government may not have to spend a lot on such dividers, because the cost of installing them can be passed on to local business houses, who will be happy to display their advertisements on them. Corporations, Municipalities and other local bodies can take care of finding the sponsors for this in their respective areas. The role of the government is almost restricted to giving permission or enacting a law to enable this. It can also help in designing the most effective structure of dividers.

This is an urgent necessity because lots of lives are sacrificed everyday for want of this safety precaution. The pain is felt only by those who lose their kith and kin. It is high time that the Government acted on this.