Open house: What measures need to be taken to curb reckless driving and ensure road safety?

First of all, fix responsibility of the area police officer. Secondly, as per traffic rules in India, cars are allowed to drive at a maximum speed of 70 kmph on urban roads, and 100 kmph or highways. Therefore, manufacturing companies should come up with certain speed limits in the vehicles, which do not exceed the permitted maximum speed limit. These companies should be penalised in case of mishaps. Also, proper roundabouts must be constructed to avoid accidents. Lastly, camps should be organised to spread public awareness.

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Kirpal Singh

Put violators behind bars, suspend licence

Incidents of reckless driving are on the increase. Day-by-day, it is becoming difficult for the pedestrians and the two-wheeler drivers to travel. There is always a fear of reckless driving by four-wheeler drivers. The need of the hour is to control them at the earliest. They can be deterred by installing more CCTV cameras and people driving recklessly and carelessly must be subject to strict penalties like jail terms, suspension of driving licences and heavy fines.

NPS Sohal, Chandigarh

Pedestrians victims of reckless driving

A majority of victims of reckless driving are either pedestrians or two-wheeler riders. There are well developed cycle tracks in Chandigarh, but these are not being used to the fullest as there very few cyclists in the city. These tracks should be converted into two-wheeler tracks, where scooters and motorcycles are also allowed to move. This will ease the traffic congestion on the city roads.

Col P S Gill (retd)

Parents must educate children on the issue

Despite knowing the outrageous circumstances of driving on a high speed, a number of people continue to drive rashly. Speedy driving by people, especially the youngsters, should be controlled well in time. Parents must be encouraged to educate their children on the issue. Workshops must be introduced by the government to spread more awareness.

Jayani Mattu, Patiala

Safe driving incentives should be given

The administration should provide safe driving incentives based on some of the leading indicators. Incentives focusing on promoting changes in driving conduct have the potential to minimise accidents. Some mobile applications can be linked with traffic tracking, allowing drivers to gain points for safe driving and subsequently redeem them as a discount on auto insurance policy.

Aarti Rana Chauhan

Wards of the rich violating norms

Many precious lives are lost every month due to rash and negligent driving by tricity residents, especially by the youth seeking thrills by overspeeding. This happens despite so many functional CCTV cameras installed on the city road. It is mostly the wards of the rich that violate the traffic norms by overspeeding and that too without their helmets or seat belts on.

Yash Khetarpal, Panchkula

Traffic police should spread awareness

Parents must educate their children on the consequences of rash and negligent driving. School authorities too must teach the students about traffic rules and good driving sense. Traffic police should organise traffic week, four to five times a year to spread awareness of traffic rules among the public. Schools and colleges and other institutions like government and private offices must be covered during the drive.

AS Kahlon

Revisit traffic laws, make amendments

Traffic laws must be amended. Causing death due to rash and negligent driving should be made a non-bailable offence. Suitably enhancing the quantum of fine as also period of punishment in all such cases. Driving licence of the convicted individuals should be cancelled forthwith.

Kumar Gupt, Panchkula

Deploy cops at entry, exit points of city

With automation in place on city roads, many roads are physically unattended by the Chandigarh Traffic Police. It is the basic duty of the administration to ensure road safety. All major city roads and intersections, especially the entry and exit points, must be manned by traffic police officials.

Vijay Shukla

Adopt radio frequency identification

Speed of the vehicles can be controlled and reduced with the help of the radio frequency identification (RFID) module. This will limit the speed of the vehicles automatically. The RFID transmitters can be placed in the restricted areas and the receivers can be placed inside the vehicles. The speed will be compared and monitored by the controller.

SP Rana

Hefty penalties must be imposed

On breaking the traffic rules in the city, people are fined a mere sum of ?500 or ?1,000. Hefty fines must be imposed. Awareness drive must be conducted to educate people. Citizens should know that a broken rule and negligent driving is not just about a fine. These can lead to loss of lives.

Aashita Sood

Stringent traffic laws needed

Traffic rules have been made for the safety of the public, but are seldom followed in the right spirit. Schoolchildren must be taught about road safety measures and traffic rules to inculcate in them the habit of following them ardently. There is a need to have stronger road safety laws to act as a deterrent for violations.

Col TBS Bedi (retd)

Work on improving road signage

The Chandigarh Traffic Police must aggressively work on improving road signage and markings; the speed sign boards on major roads should be repainted at regular intervals. Most zebra crossings in the city are either faded or not visible, these need immediate attention.

Nitin Kalra

Overtaking by vehicles must be kept in check

Traffic police and the National Highways Authority of India have failed to educate commuters on traffic rules. They have failed to make people adopt these in their daily lives. Overtaking by vehicles must be kept in check and challans should be issued for the violation. But the challans should be issued so that vehicles are not stopped in the middle of the roads, thus avoiding traffic jams and unruly road rage.

Babu Ram Dhiman, Pinjore

Install speed cameras

Mandatory retro reflective cautionary boards of speed limit with thick rumble strips of thermoplastic white paint should be provided at suitable intervals in accident prone areas. Like in Europe and North America, speed detecting cameras of low height should be installed at multiple stretches in the city.

Sharanjit Singh Kallah

Failure of law enforcing agencies

The recent accident at Dhanas, in which a speeding car ran over seven persons, has shattered the lives of three families. The city is witnessing more deaths due to accidents than natural deaths. It seems that all is not well with the law enforcing agencies. The traffic police have failed to curb reckless driving in the city. There is a need to instil the fear of the law among the people that drive.

Vidya Sagar Garg, Panchkula

Offenders should be jailed for 15 days

The people mostly involved in reckless driving are wards of the rich and influential people. They know they will be covered, so they continue to violate norms and destroy the lives of the others. Offenders should be put behind bars for at least 15 days. Compensation should be demanded from the offender instead of the government.

Arun Jain, Mani Majra

Violators released after ‘paying bribe’

Certainty of punishment here is more important than the severity of the punishment. Drivers take chances as most of the violations go unnoticed. Some offenders are released after they pay a small amount of bribe. Schoolchildren must be taught about following the traffic rules since a very young age.

Shashank, Zirakpur

Act against guardians of kids violating laws

To effectively curb reckless driving and ensure road safety for all, the administration should take necessary steps immediately. Parents should teach their children about traffic rules and consequences of violations. Strict action should be initiated against the guardians of the children driving recklessly on the city roads.

Adish Sood

Adopt emerging technologies

Speed bumps, roundabouts and traffic islands should be constructed to reduce vehicle speeds and encourage safer driving. Intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) technology must be adopted to assist drivers in adhering to speed limits. Encourage carpooling and ride sharing initiatives to decrease traffic congestion and minimise the need for reckless driving due to time pressure.

Anita K Tandon, Mundi Kharar

Public awareness drives should be held

Overspeeding needs to be controlled using public awareness drives as well as frequent checking and challaning of violators. People must understand that life of every individual is precious so traffic rules and speeding guidelines must be followed religiously to avoid accidents.

Sanjay Chopra, Mohali

Educate, inculcate and empathise

It is the duty of every citizen to understand the right of way for all. It is the primary function of the traffic management authority and government to make everyone feel safe while walking down the streets. In India, there is no specific legislation or policy enforcing the rights of pedestrians. In addition to engineering solutions for speed management, elementary education should inculcate empathetic behaviours in children.

Geetanjali Kapoor, Chandigarh

Impound vehicles involved in violations

Speed cameras should be installed on the roads to monitor the speed of the vehicles. Challans should be issued to those overspeeding. CCTVs should be made operational even at nights. Vehicles of those involved in rash driving, overspeeding or hit-and-run cases should be impounded for a long period.

Abhilasha Gupta, Mohali

Install smart CCTVs at vulnerable spots

Smart CCTV cameras should be installed not only at the traffic light points, but also along all roads dividing the sectors and other vulnerable locations so as to record any hit-and-run cases. This will also help in tracing the offenders. The CCTV cameras should be monitored at all times.

AS Ahuja, Chandigarh

Speed governors be made mandatory

Licences of drivers involved in reckless driving should be immediately suspended for 2 years for the first time and permanently if an offence is committed for the second time. Pedestrians crossing the road should be allowed to do so even if the traffic lights go green as is done in western countries. Proper barricades should be put for people walking alongside the roads. Last but not the least, speed governors should be made mandatory in vehicles for local driving.

Savita Kuthiala

Identify and mark accident-prone areas

Ensure proper system of challaning, speedy recovery of fines, and attendance of offenders in court. However, more steps are required to bring down fatalities on roads. Mark and identify accident-prone areas with proper warnings, display hoardings, construct more speed breakers.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma

Laws need to be more stringent

The high technology CCTV cameras and timers should be installed at all major road crossings. The laws need to be more stringent with deterring penalty for the offence. In case of a habitual offender, his/her driving licence should be suspended. Presence of traffic cops at vulnerable points in the city will instil a sense of fear among the violators.

SS Arora, Mohali

Ensure enforcement of traffic norms

Bureaucrats and politicians must ensure proper implementation of law and order. The administration and the Police Department should work jointly to make the roads safer for the commuters. All roads and roundabouts should be constructed smoothly. Traffic lights must be functional.

Sumesh Kumar Badhwar, Mohali

Offenders should be blacklisted for a year

Speed is thrilling and more so for the young ones. Lately, rash driving has become the norm and many innocent people are losing their lives on account of this. Other than spreading awareness, the administration should impose a huge penalty and the offenders be blacklisted for a year.

Anil Kumar Yadav, Chandigarh

Establish compulsory driving schools

To effectively curb road mishaps, the administration should establish compulsory driving schools for new drivers and those who violate traffic laws by overspeeding, lane changing, and reckless driving. These driving schools should implement strict rules during the training. Driver’s licence should not be issued like an ordinary certificate.

Mohammed Nasser Gorsi

Patrolling should be increased at night

The administration should increase patrolling and should not allow bars to operate till late night. People often tend to break the rule of speed limit during the night hours despite CCTV cameras installed at various locations across the city. The cameras should be functional at all times. Putting up check can help tackle the problem.

Avinash Goyal, Chandigarh

Instil fear of law in residents

The need of the hour is to enact necessary changes in the current Motor Vehicles Act to curb road accidents, traffic jams, underage driving, violations of speed limits and traffic signals, driving under the influence of alcohol and other psychotropic substances. Instilling fear of law among the citizens can make the city safe.

Charu Malhotra, Chandigarh

Encourage the use of public transport

Despite installation of smart cameras to monitor speeding and traffic challans, the city continues to witness loss of innocent lives in mishaps involving cars being driven at a high speed. Encouraging the use of public transport can help reduce the number of vehicles on the roads, thereby, reducing the risk of accidents.

Saikrit Gulati, Chandigarh

Speed radar cameras should be functional

Road casualties have been the talk of the town these days. Advanced technologies must be adopted to tackle the problem. Speed radar cameras on major roads should be in working condition, followed by periodic inspection of the devices.

Manseerat Kaur, Chandigarh

QUESTION

In light of the recent gangrape of a minor girl by her schoolmates, who subjected her to prolonged blackmail before she disclosed the crime, what steps can the UT Administration and schools take to effectively prevent and address such incidents?

Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to openhouse@tribunemail.com