The Hindu : Set up multi-disciplinary team to probe accidents: researchers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 07, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Set up multi-disciplinary team to probe accidents: researchers

A speed gun being used on Kamarajar Salai to measure the speed of vehicles. — Photo: V. Ganesan

CHENNAI JAN. 6. The city is observing yet another safety week, even as residents have to wait for Chennai roads to become safe.

This morning, infront of the Secretariat, a motorcyclist was stopped for travelling at 50 km per hour whereas the limit is 40 km. He was issued a ticket. A few minutes later, a lorry and a white ambassador with red siren light sped past. Both of them were travelling at a speed of 63 km per hour and 68 km per hour.

The police personnel did not stop the vehicles. Instead, he told the motorcyclist that the registration numbers of the two vehicles would be recorded by an instrument and the authorities concerned would be informed. The ticket issued to the motorcyclist only shows the speed limits. There is no mention of the vehicle's registration number.

The national urban transport policy stands for making roads friendly to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users. Figures of the Chennai City Traffic Police show otherwise. The number of cyclists killed in 2002 was 73 and it was 81 in 2003. In 2002, 138 pedestrians were killed and the number rose to 181 in 2003.

Researchers say efforts to rope in the public in policing the roads have not yielded the expected results. Instead of holding the police responsible, a multi-disciplinary team could be set up to investigate accidents. Safety commissions as in the Railways could include the police, highway and traffic engineers, doctors and psychologists to analyse the cause of accidents and arrive at scientific findings, says K.P. Subramanian, assistant professor at the division of traffic and urban systems, Anna University.

A combination of factors - human, road, traffic and environment - cause accidents, though police theorise that the driver of the larger vehicle is often held responsible for the accident, he says. This ensures that the victim benefits from the mandatory accident insurance cover for vehicles but the public never learn the real cause of the accident. A major cause for accidents is poor road conditions, bad illumination, defective geometric design and sharp curves that result in inadequate visibility for the drivers.

Mass transport vehicles like buses suffer from defective manufacturing designs. The national policy notes that buses have been built on truck chassis and are designed for optimal speeds that are possible only on highways. The Indian Road Congress set a speed limit of 80 km for highways but vehicles are built to travel at higher speeds now. This means that road designs should be changed to incorporate high-speed vehicles.

A driver making 80 km per hour requires a road visibility of 120 km ahead of him, but this is often not the case. Speed limits for highways were set when the optimal speed was lower than what it is today.

In Chennai, the response to community policing has been poor. Participating residents tend to focus on localised problems and want to keep motorised vehicles off the road. Where more people have to be transported from one place to other, mass transport systems should be welcomed, says Dr. Subramanian.

Urban development planners note that area wise community involvement like designing roads in residential areas in consultation with non-government organisations will make road users more responsible. People's participation while introducing new technology, including CCTV, will promote defensive driving and infuse faith and confidence in road users.

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