What Are The Main Causes Of Road Accidents In India
In the following we will be discussing an important topic that is “What are the main causes of road accidents in India?” and can discuss it in detail within the article: Road accident is the most unwanted thing that might happen to a road user, even-though they happen quite often. The most unfortunate thing is that we do not learn from our mistakes on the road.
Most of the road users are quite well aware of the general rules and safety measures while using roads however it’s solely the laxity on part of road users, which causes accidents and crashes. The main reason for accidents and crashes are because of human errors. We are elaborating on some of the common behavior of humans which results in accidentFor this motorbike helmet manufacturers are doing a great work. .
- Over Speeding
- Drunken Driving
- Distractions to Driver
- Red Light Jumping
- Avoiding Safety Gears like Seat belts and Helmets
- Non-adherence to lane driving as well as overtaking in a wrong manner
Various national and international researchers have found these as the most common behavior of Road drivers, which leads to accidents.
Over Speeding:
Most of the fatal accidents occur because of over speeding. It is a natural psyche of humans to excel. If given a chance man (human being) is sure to achieve infinity in speed. But when we are sharing the road with other users we will forever remain behind some or other vehicles. An increase in speed multiplies the danger of accident and severity of injury during an accident. Faster vehicles are more susceptible to accident than the slower ones and the severity of the accident will also be more in case of faster the severity of an accident will also be more in case of faster vehicles.
Higher the speed, greater is the risk. At high speed, the vehicle needs larger distance to stop i.e. braking distance. A slower vehicle comes to halt instantly while faster one takes the long way to stop and additionally skids a long distance because of the law of notion. A vehicle moving on high speed will have bigger impact during the crash and hence will cause a lot of injuries. The ability to judge the forthcoming events also gets reduced while driving at a faster speed that causes an error in judgment and eventually a crash.
Drunken Driving
Consumption of alcohol to celebrate any sort of occasion is quite common. But when mixed with driving (i.e. drinking and driving or to say drunk driving) it turns the celebration into a misfortune. Alcohol reduces concentration. It decreases the reaction time of a human body. Limbs take more or longer to react to the instructions of the brain. It hampers vision due to dizziness. Alcohol dampens fear and incites humans to take risks. All these factors while driving cause accidents and lots of times it proves fatal.
For every increase of blood alcohol concentration by 0.05, the risk of accident doubles. Apart from alcohol several drugs, medicines also affect the skills and concentration necessary for driving. First of all, we recommend not consuming alcohol. But if you feel your merrymaking isn’t complete without booze, do not drive under the influence of alcohol. Ask a teetotaler friend to drop you home.
Distraction to Driver:
Even though distraction while driving could be a minor issue but it can cause major accidents. Distractions could be outside or inside the vehicle. The major distraction these days is talking on a mobile phone while driving. The act of talking on the phone occupies major portion of the brain and therefore the smaller part handles the driving skills.
This division of brain hampers reaction time and skill of judgment. This becomes one of the reasons for crashes. One mustn’t attend to telephone calls while driving. If the call is urgent one ought to pull out beside the road and attend the call. Some of the distractions on the road are:
- Adjusting mirrors while driving
- Stereo/Radio in vehicle
- Animals on the road
- Banners and billboards
The driver mustn’t be distracted due to these things and reduce speed to stay safe during diversions and another kind of outside distractions.
Red Light Jumping:
It is a typical sight at road intersections that vehicles cross without caring for the light. The main or primary motive behind Red light jumping is to save time. The most common conception is that stopping at a red signal is a wastage of time as well as fuel. Studies have shown that traffic signals followed properly by all drivers always save time as well as commuters reach the destination safely and on time. A red light jumper not solely jeopardizes his life however also the safety of other road users.
This act by one driver incites another driver to attempt it and finally causes chaos at the crossing. This chaos at the intersection is the main reason for traffic jams. Eventually, everybody gets late to their destinations. It has also been seen that the red light jumper crosses the intersection with larger speed to avoid crash and challan but it hampers his ability to evaluate the ongoing traffic and quite often crashes.
Avoiding Safety Gears like Seat Belts And Helmets:
The use of a safety belt in four-wheeler is now necessary and not wearing seat belt invites penalty, same in the case of helmets for two-wheeler drivers. Wearing seat belts as well as helmet has been brought under law after proven studies and researches show that these two things reduce the severity of injury during accidents be it small or serious. In case of a serious accident, wearing seat-belts as well as helmets doubles the possibilities of survival. Safety Gears keep you intact and safe just in case of accidents. Two-wheeler deaths have been drastically reduced after the use of helmet has been made necessary. One ought to use safety gears of prescribed standards and tie them properly for optimum safety.