Road safety – what can I do?

I was talking to my brother the other day, and he stated talking about road safety and how he felt something should be done about it. My immediate response was – Well… road safety … umm… there is nothing much you can do about it …. Most of the people in Bangalore are educated people and hence giving them information about rules and safety measures may not give you the desired results.

My brother said – this is exactly the point – most of the Bangaloreans are well educated people, and still we have one of the worst traffic and accident statistics. Well… I said… there is a simple reason for that – the road infrastructure in Bangalore does not support the increasing number of vehicles on road… hence the accidents.

My brother was also not going to give up easy – he replied in a simple sentence which changed my mind. He said, I believe there is more than one reason for the accidents and I chose to act upon it rather being a passive audience to it.

I realized that I, like many others, was just trying to take the simple route. My brother went ahead to do something different to help this cause, and I, well settled for this blog and my honest efforts to follow what I preach.

So, here is an attempt to highlight what little efforts we all can make to ensure that the roads are safe for our families.

1. Stop on yellow light, do not speed up - We all know it but we do it anyway. I know it is frustrating to spend another 10 minutes on the same traffic light. But in the bigger scheme of things, I assure you, you will never regret staying those extra 10 mins. Can you be confident of the same when speeding up on a Yellow light…?

2. Do not drive rash – Already we know that Bangalore roads are so narrow, rash driving only increases the risk of an accident... is reaching 10 minutes early worth the risk?

3. Do not lose patience while driving – it is very easy to get frustrated struck in traffic, but then what are the music systems in the car for? Keep your cool… even if someone disobeys the basic rules of the road, just try to normalize them, and do not contribute to the problem.

4. Do not take the wrong way to save fuel – it could cost you someone’s life!

5. Turn off your engine on red lights – you will get lot of opportunities to save fuel by following this advice. A healthy environment also is for our own safety only. You will not only save up on fuel, but also contribute towards a larger cause of a healthier environment.