The third Sunday of November is observed as World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. On this day, we pay our respects and remember our beloved ones and other individuals who lost their precious lives in road accidents.
The day is observed especially to create awareness about road safety and to send a message to drivers to drive responsibly.
Glenn Souza Ticlo, BJP state vice president of Goa, tweeted, "World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is observed on the third Sunday of November every year to remember those who have been killed or seriously injured in road accidents and to acknowledge the suffering of all affected victims, families and communities, in an effort to reduce road casualties.”
He further wrote, “Let us pay our respects to all those who lost their lives in traffic accidents and pledge to commute responsibly in order to avoid adding to the endless list of victims. We should follow the motto ‘Remember. Support. Act’.”
Ashish Parit, a resident of Valpoi, pointed out that bad road conditions and poor illumination of roads could also lead to vehicular accidents.
Ashish informed us that on Saturday there were three accidents at Redeghat, Valpoi. This road stretch has become a deathtrap with big potholes and no streetlights on either side of the road.
On Saturday, a youth who tried to dodge these big potholes while riding his bike, skidded and injured his face badly. During the afternoon, another scooter's tyre was damaged, and the two girls riding the scooter fell onto the rough road.
Similarly, on Saturday morning, a youth going to work fell on this rough road and injured his elbow badly.
All these vehicular accidents could be avoided if our roads are tarred well and appropriately lit to improve visibility on the road.
GOACAN, an NGO from Goa, has been actively creating awareness on road safety and responsible driving.
GOACAN member Roland Martin and others have been very prolific in giving awareness talks, presentations and workshops on road safety at educational institutions and other places.
Available data reveals that the total number of accidents in September 2022 was 235 and in 2021 it was 228. There were 27 fatal accidents this year and 17 last year.
Grievous accidents are 21 in number this year and last year it was 15. Last year there were only 19 deaths due to road accidents, but this year 30 persons were killed. Pedestrians killed this year were 11 and last year it was nil.
This year cases booked under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, were 29,830; fewer compared to last year, which was 37,615.
Although the cases booked under the Motor Vehicles Act may be low, the fine collected this year by the traffic police is higher, that is, Rs 1,96,36,500, while last year it was Rs 42,11,950.