Essays

The main roads, highways and the expressways in our country are used by many types of vehicles. Cars, lorries and motorcycles travel along them. The roads in cities and towns are often choked with vehicles until traffic jams are created. The roads that link big towns are also so full of vehicles that it is almost impossible to go any faster than the slow lorries.

The jams and the crawling pace are unavoidable and tolerated as much as possible However, the danger posed by such overcrowding is something else. Traffic accidents take hundreds of lives each year and cause many more people to be scarred and maimed. The newspapers and TV' channels carry news of such accidents everyday. Sometimes whole of a family is wiped out and we read the news like "it took two hours to extricate the mangled bodies from the wreck." Thus, it is of utmost importance to us, the road-users, to know some basic facts concerning road safety so that we don't become a victim of rash accidents.

While it is impossible to prevent all accidents, we can try to minimize them at least. If we walk, then we must be careful not to get into the path of the oncoming traffic. It is far safer and less tense to use a subway or an overhead pedestrian bridge on zebra-lines to cross a road. However, for the sake of speed and may be excitement, many people simply cross a busy street however they like. I can imagine that an old lady may have problems climbing an overhead bridge, but mothers with young children take enormous risks by moving across the road.

Human flesh and bones cannot hope to challenge the unyielding steel. So if we value our lives, it is better to cross the roads via safe routes, not by playing a cat-and-mouse game with cars and other traffic.

Those who use bicycles and motorcycles are the worst road offenders. Cyclists and motorcyclists constitute the largest number of road fatalities. It is not difficult to see why. Cyclists travel against the traffic, motorcyclists carry three or four persons instead of the maximum of two and crash helmets are worn carelessly or not at all. Young boys race their souped-up machines in the middle of town. They weave in and out of traffic causing danger to everyone. It seems many of these young upstarts do not want to live to see their next birthday. So we should ride our motorcycles with utmost care and respect for other road-users. That way we can hope to live to see our next birthday and the next and so on.

In the hands of a madman, a car can be a weapon for killing. Many drivers, in times of stress can bring on unpleasant consequences. Reckless driving is the cause of many accidents. Travel along any road and we can see dozens of these would-be-madmen overtaking dangerously. Drivers of lorries and other heavy vehicles are the worst culprits, A fully-laden timber truck, trying to overtake another one not only holds up traffic but makes it so easy for an unsuspecting oncoming car to smash into it. Then there are army trucks that overtake you at 100 kmph while prominently displaying their speed limits of 40 km/h to you. These are all causes of accidents. It is quite impossible to expect them to stop doing all these dangerous things. On our part we should not get involved with these danger-men on purpose. Keep as much distance as possible between yourself and such people. It would be stupid to race with a lorry or an army truck, or even a young man on a two-wheeler hoping to make an impression. It is simply stupid to race at all.

So to minimize the probability of being a victim of an accident certain things must be taken care of. First of all, respect traffic signs and rules; never race with anybody; use pedestrian crossings; keep away from potential dangers and finally ensure that your vehicle, including yourself, are in good condition. Having faulty brakes or blown lamps at night do not contribute anything to your well-being. Nobody likes broken limbs and spilled blood. Safety is very much up to you.