Road Accidents on Highways

The State Crime Records Bureau has reported that during 2011 on an average 44 people have died everyday in road accidents compared to 27 people in 2006 in the State of Tamil Nadu. Similarly the number of registered vehicles in the state went up by almost 40% in the last five years from 82.2 lakh to 1.32 crore in 2010. The road width or the condition of roads has hardly registered an increase or improved simultaneously and proprtionately to the extent required. The result is chaotic development on the roads with no effective control by any agency. A glance at the behaviour of drivers of vehicles on the Chennai-Bangalore Highway or Chennai-Madurai Highway would clearly justify such a statement. All the slow-moving heavy vehicles move mostly on the right-lane of the road or the way they like with the result the fast-moving vehicles try to overtake from left or right the way they like with a speed that would only lead to an accident. Speed-limits? - there is no one to follow the prescribed limits. All the cars move or rush on the highways in not less than 100-120 KMs per hour. Maddening speed leading to deaths for worthless reasons! On city roads the noice pollution is terrible in contrast to total no-horn principle being followed in developed societies. In our banana republic the greatness of a man lies in violating the traffic rules with impunity. God help this nation!