Last year, 2,295 road accidents and 15,000 deaths were recorded in the state. But the biggest blow is that there has been no significant fall in the number of mishaps from 2010 to 2013. We have not learnt any lessons or made any improvements. This realisation led Malcolm Wolfe, to form an NGO Roadkraft, in order to find a solution.
“Death on roads occur due to potholes, or, because somebody didn’t care about traffic rules. Is life so cheap?” questions Malcolm, who is back in his hometown after spending 19 years in the UK.
“Anything that causes loss of life is a serious issue and has to be dealt with urgently,” says Malcolm who has started Roadkraft along with six like-minded people. And his plan is to reduce death rate on roads by about 20 per cent by 2018. But how is he going to ensure results about something that the government and a lot of NGOs have worked towards to no avail?
“There are three areas that we are working on: Proper road infrastructure (pedestrian walks, roundabouts, sign boards), awareness about traffic rules and close interaction with the enforcement authorities.” says Malcolm.
“This has worked in the UK, where I had worked as a police officer. So I don’t see any reason why it should not work in India. In fact, the Motor Vehicles Act of the UK is not very different from India’s,” says Malcolm, who has published a book for Indian road users in 2007 titled Streetwise.
He adds, “While enforcement is important, road users should be aware of the rules in the first place. And, that’s not often the case. Autorickshaw drivers are fined without warnings. Ideally, a cop must explain where he went wrong. I believe policing has to be done with consent.”
The traffic authorities find his plan promising, “We have asked for a certain stretch in the cantonment area where we can educate people about traffic rules, signals and do’s and don’ts of driving. The cops have also agreed to train the participants,” says Malcolm, who is also a former airforce officer.
