PRECIOUS YOUNG LIVES LOST ON ROADS

Experts call for road safety lessons in school curriculum, measures like probation period for new licence holders

- KRISHNA KUMAR K E @Kochi

SERIES of fatal road accidents have shook the state in recent days. Even more distressing is the loss of young lives in the mishaps.

While external factors like road conditions are a reason, an analysis of road accident statistics shows reckless driving and carelessness have doused the hopes of many families in the state, with the tragic bus-car collision in Alappuzha in which six MBBS students died serving as a classic instance.

Experts now call for initiating a series of measures that include the inclusion of 'road safety' as a topic in the school curriculum of small children itself, continued monitoring of young drivers for a specific period even after receiving the licence, and strict enforcement of speed restrictions as per the topography and road conditions.

In fact, the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) rolled out the 'Road Safety Youth Leadership Programme' aimed at inculcating a 'road culture' among youths. It failed to yield desired results, leading to calls for including 'road safety' lessons right from junior classes.