"People are not born with a finished moral code. Behaviour is shaped by temperament, family, peers, education, social norms, experience and consequences.
Wealth, physical strength, popularity and sporting achievement are not measures of character.
Character is revealed through restraint —tolerating disagreement without aggression," writes former IPS officer and ex Lt Governor Puducherry, Kiran Bedi.
In an article to 'Hindustan Times', she refers to one road accident and said even 'family members' and others can play a key role in avoiding such accidents.
"Families and peer groups can prevent danger before it reaches the road.
Boys must learn that masculinity is not domination: being overtaken is not an insult, losing an argument is not humiliation, and a woman riding a motorcycle is not a challenge to male authority.
"A car is never a weapon for settling an ego dispute".
On September 13, a woman biker, Shivani Chauhan, was reportedly pursued and struck by a car on Golf Course Road. Her action-camera footage became central to the investigation, and police reportedly added an attempt-to-murder charge. The main accused, Kalyan Bainsla, 33, and his cousin Lavnish were arrested in Rajasthan and placed in police custody, according to media reports of police statements -- she refers to the case.
Alcohol may impair judgement, but it cannot erase responsibility.
"Whether it played a role in this incident must be determined by evidence and the legal process," she notes.
"The case also exposes weaknesses in detecting and investigating road crimes. India needs an interconnected digital road-enforcement system linking CCTV, automatic number-plate recognition, speed and red-light cameras, drones, traffic-control rooms, police patrols and vehicle databases."
Bedi also points out that :
"The United States offers one useful principle despite differences among its state laws: certainty of detection and consequence.
"Chemical testing, licence suspension, vehicle sanctions and ignition-interlock devices can make it harder for impaired drivers to evade responsibility.
"India need not copy that system, but the underlying lesson is broadly applicable:
... laws deter dangerous conduct only when people believe detection is likely and lawful consequences cannot easily be avoided," she said.
India records an average of about 502 deaths per day from road crashes, translating to roughly 1,200 to 1,300 total road accidents daily.
Around 485 to 502 deaths occur daily based on recent government and National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.
Roughly 20 people die in road mishaps every single hour in the country.
ends
No comments:
Post a Comment