Over the years, like in the rest of the country, Sikkim has also seen a sharp rise in the number of road accidents. Every year, road accidents take a heavy toll on precious human lives, especially during the Monsoons. The National Highway 31A is undoubtedly the most accident-prone, given its track record. The smooth roads have made it convenient for the drivers, especially those of taxis, to indulge in rash driving, often mistaking the highway for race tracks.
The country’s roads network has had all the hallmarks of many such accidents much before such swanky new highways were built. In the pre-expressway era, when such roads were barely two lane affairs, poorly paved and full of fast vehicles and trucks whizzing past each other, mishaps used to happen because of the shoddy infrastructure.
Since then, India has been paved with expressways of international standards but old habits have not changed. Indeed, with newer and faster vehicles, the dangers have multiplied. Yet, many of the familiar problems — lane changing, driving way above the limit, overtaking — continue. Add to that the propensity of drivers to change lanes and fatigued drivers ferrying more people than legally permissible, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Road accidents are a common occurrence today and the taking into consideration the recent spate of such accidents across the country, especially those involving school children, they emphasise the dangers that constantly lurk on India’s roads.
Several problems are immediately obvious. We build and use with great pride these highways, but we do not make allowances for standard Indian usage patterns when we import these ideas. Speed limit signs are put up but since there is hardly any highway patrolling or speed checks, the signs become merely decorative. Most accidents happen because of speeding. These high-speed roads exist at odds with their surroundings, and lack of maintenance leads to people breaking barriers and even walking across. Vehicles speed recklessly — this particular one was travelling at 130 kmph when the limit was set at 80. In case of Sikkim, the hilly terrain add to the risk factor.
It seems incredible that in spite of all the loss of life on Indian highways — we are still so sanguine about safety regulations. But much as our governments want our infrastructure to be 21st century, our usage patterns and mindsets still remain 19th century. If we get away with it, then we feel proud of our cleverness. When we do not, we rail at everyone but ourselves. Blame must be shared by the various agencies whose job it is to maintain these expressways. After having built them, maintenance takes a back seat. Vigilance on the roads, especially to check over-speeding, is poor. These highways are a source of pride, no doubt, but without proper infrastructure and without users sticking to the rules, they will turn into killer highways.