NEW DELHI, June 8 (Xinhua) -- It is a fact well known that Indian roads account for highest number of accidents in the world. As per government data, India reports 400 road deaths per day or one death every four minutes.
To deal with this problem, which is rightly a public health emergency, the central and state governments have often chalked out different plans and launched schemes to both raise awareness and curb accident numbers. The latest in this regard is the "no helmet, no petrol' policy launched by the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh recently.
According to provisional police data provided by states, Uttar Pradesh records the maximum number of road deaths every year (17,666), followed by southern state of Tamil Nadu (15,642), Maharashtra in the west at 13,212, Karnataka in the south at 10,856 and western state of Rajasthan 10,510.
Most of the accidents in Uttar Pradesh are recorded by two-wheelers. Therefore, in order to discipline them and initiate a sense of responsibility, the government initiated the policy of refusing petrol refill to two-wheelers who ride without helmet.
The government has asked petrol pumps to also counsel two-wheelers regarding safety measures they should follow on roads and look out for repeat offenders. It has also promised to provide petrol pump owners with adequate security measures to prevent any law and order challenges that the move might pose for them.
While the "no helmet, no petrol" policy may sound like an innovative move to tackle the perils of irresponsible driving, it is actually an old campaign taken from different states where it had failed.
Earlier, the same move had been introduced in the states of West Bengal in the east, Maharashtra in the west and Madhya Pradesh in central India to both enforce the compulsory helmet rule and arrest the alarming number of road accidents. However, the move didn't go down well with either the motorists or petrol pump owners, forcing the state governments to eventually withdraw the orders.
For instance, in West Bengal's capital Kolkata, where helmets are mandatory for years, the re-introduction of the move fuelled tempers and several fights were reported from petrol pumps. Owners were also seen flouting norms and giving petrol to helmet-less drivers a few days after the initiative was launched. The move therefore died a premature death.
"The government keeps introducing these initiatives without real preparation. It is easy to take petrol even when not wearing helmet. I borrowed it from someone who had just filled fuel and bought petrol. So I am not very positive about the move," a two-wheeler driver said.
R. Chaudhury, a member of the Lucknow Petrol Pump Owners' Association, said: "Denying fuel isn't going to discipline motorists. In a state like Uttar Pradesh, we risk our lives by denying fuel to customers. But nonetheless, we will support the government in the initiative and also put up banners and posters to raise awareness."
"However, we still feel that the entire responsibility should not be put on petrol pump owners. The high numbers of accidents require serious, productive measures unlike this one which has failed in other states," he added.
In 2016, transportation-related deaths touched 150,000 across the country. Besides this, nearly half a million were reported to be injured. By all accounts then, road accidents leave more people dead in India than any other epidemic each year, rightly making it a public health emergency. It is also believed that these numbers are far higher because only a limited get reported.
Pooja Shah, who is associated with a Delhi-based road safety organisation, said: "In the case of accidents, affected parties generally reach informal agreements and try to settle the matter among themselves. Only when the accidents are serious in nature, police get involved. Formal reporting is done only after passing these stages. Therefore, we believe that the actual figures of accidents in India are much higher than what are reported each year."
She added: "All states in India should make 'no helmet, no petrol' mandatory in all states to curb road accidents."
A 2015 report by the premier Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, called Road Safety in India, had also pointed to the lackadaisical attitude towards accidental injuries that require hspitalisation.
Besides, those who were mostly killed in road accidents were among the young population, i.e., 15 to 34 years of age, making it calamitous for the young generation. In the face of these facts and figures, campaigns like "no helmet, no petrol whose effectiveness has been marred by poor implementation seem too small to address this epidemic.
"While the campaign puts the onus on petrol pump owners, what is needed are joint efforts from the state, police and the civil society alike. Productive measure like enforcement of zero tolerance and strong policing will only lead the way for making roads less vulnerable for the users, especially youngsters," said a petrol pump owner in Delhi.
