The State Traffic police are up in arms against the violators of the road safety rules, particularly in light of five fatal accidents reported in just four days. The collisions have resulted in the death of 10 persons including two elderly pedestrians.
With rash and negligent driving, drunken driving and non-wearing of helmets leading the violations list chart, the traffic enforcers have begun a major crackdown on such violators. As many as 1,000 riders are booked for not wearing helmets on the highways in last 36 hours alone.
The traffic personnel are also keeping a tab over young bike riders considering that a large number of violators are in their 20s and early 30s. Against the backdrop of the disturbing trend of rising accidents in the last 10 days, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has intervened into the matter taking daily updates on the traffic situation in the State. While he conceded that enforcement is weak, he also slammed that reckless driving are attributing to rising accidents.
“I feel education to safe driving does not exist because enforcement is weak. I will ensure that awareness on road discipline is in place but I would also like to urge the people to understand that they should ride/drive carefully. We need to value lives,” he said addressing a press briefing after chairing a high-level meeting to review accident cases in the State.
Parrikar also had a piece of advice for the parents, most of whom bow down to the demands of their children for high-capacity bikes. “Parents too need to be given education. They should not give high-capacity bikes to their college going children and if they do so, ensure their children are responsible riders,” he stated.
A marketing executive who worked with a local news channel, an infant and two senior citizens are amongst the persons who lost their lives in separate accidents at four different places. In atleast two cases, police say the accidents were a result of rash and negligent driving.
The government has also shown concern over rising number of Goa-registration vehicles plying on the streets. As per statistics furnished by the transport department, there are over 12 lakh vehicles in the small State that has a population of around 14 lakh.

TEAM TNV