Pedestrians - Victims or Perpetrators of Accidents
by Florine Roche
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, Jan 17: In September 2009 Mumbai High Court in a significant judgment held that in an accident even if the pedestrian is negligent while crossing the road, the driver of the vehicle is liable to pay the compensation to him or his family members.  Pronouncing its judgment in a 23 year old accident case the court held the mere fact that the pedestrian had not used the Zebra crossing cannot absolve the driver from paying compensation.   The court felt that the driver could have averted the accident and ruled in favour of the victim’s family.  

The state is observing 21st National Road Safety week 2010 from 13 to 19th January, 2010 and it is necessary to focus on the role of pedestrians in preventing accidents and thus save precious lives due to accidents. “Life is safe if Driving is Safe”, thus read a small poster on a two-wheeler and such banners and posters are splattered all over for public attention. This is the slogan adopted for the 21st National Road Safety Week. Every year Road Safety Week is observed in order to educate the public and create awareness on the importance of safe driving. It is true that safe driving can save many precious lives which are otherwise lost due to fatal accidents, mostly caused due to negligence or over speed. 

Ignorance not Bliss Always 

One has to accept the fact that many a time negligence on the part of the pedestrians while walking or crossing the road has resulted in serious accidents and worse still, such accidents due to casualness or ignorance of the pedestrians are on the increase.   Any road safety activity usually targets the vehicle drivers - both light and heavy motor vehicles, completely ignoring the role of pedestrians, which may not be intentional. Accidents involving pedestrians are on the rise and calls for urgent steps to prevent them.  

In most accident cases involving pedestrians the public focus usually shifts to the vehicles involved though the pedestrian might have been responsible for the mishap.  The public wrath also usually targets the driver and the vehicle involved in the accidents which is a spontaneous reaction at the spur of the moment as they will not be guided by the nitty-gritty of the matter. Public take the law in their own hands and resort to burning the vehicle and even thrash the drivers black and blue as they are guided by emotions rather than discretion. That is why most of the times the driver tries to run away from the scene of accident to save his life, sometimes risking the lives of victims as it results in delay in hospitalizing victims. The law also is in favour of the pedestrians as is evident from the above cited example and is rightly so.  Compensation apart, the sad fact is that here the pedestrian had lost his life which was partly due to his own negligence.  

This is not an effort to shift the blame and absolve the drivers of buses, trucks or cars which are known for their rash and negligent driving. Pedestrians can safeguard themselves and ensure their own safety by adopting some precautions or showing some alertness while walking or crossing the road.  The public has to remember these monsters on the road are machines manned by humans and one should not take it for granted that everything can be controlled by applying a break.   The public also has to remember that it is their precious lives they jeopardize by taking undue risks when it comes to bigger vehicles and their drivers who may not face so much threat to their lives in accident cases involving pedestrians.  

Self Precautions

Traffic Circle Inspector M Manjunath Shetty giving a word of caution to the pedestrians saying “pedestrians should always cross the road in the zebra crossing area.  Wherever zebra crossing is not there they have to cross the road generally used for crossing by the people rather than using a secluded areas for crossing”.  This is true especially at night in sparsely lit roads when pedestrians try to cross the road on areas not frequented for crossing.  With the headlights of opposite vehicles partially blinding the driver it is not that simple and easy to spot the pedestrian on the road even when the vehicle is within the accepted speed limits.  Sudden crossing and running on the road, pushing and pulling in the middle of the road, uncertainty while crossing with a few members of a group pulling and pushing from opposite directions leads to panic among drivers which may prove fatal for pedestrians.  

 In today’s fast-paced world people are always in hurry.  Everyone wants to reach their destination and in time and in that urgency precaution takes a backseat leading to disaster.  We have seen people waiting at the signal and honking which shows that people are restless and impatient.  Similarly pedestrians too are caught in a vortex of urgency that can often prove fatal for their own safety or life. Manjunath says “it is not that pedestrians do it intentionally.  Caught in a world of urgency there is a mad rush to move faster and quicker forcing people to cross according to their whims not bothering about their safety”.   

Mobile Menace 

The mobile menace is another major nuisance with both drivers and pedestrians equally sharing the culpability for causing accidents.  We have seen drivers including two-wheeler riders doing precarious circus while riding who often endanger their own lives and that of others.  Pedestrians who even cross the road while engaging in animated mobile conversation, also are at high risk of playing with their lives as their concentration gets diverted reducing their alertness.  

In a city like Mangalore where the condition of roads is chaotic to say the least pedestrian’s lives are at high risks.  There are no foot paths in most of the roads and most of the roads are encroached for parking forcing pedestrians to stroll on the edge of deadly precipice putting their lives to risks.  With most of the barricades and medians disappearing due to road repairs law of the jungle prevails on Mangalore roads posing more threat to lives than before.  

In 2009 there were 455 accident cases including 34 death cases resulting in the death of 35 people.  Out of this 409 people have suffered injuries due to these accidents. The traffic department has written to the Corporation authorities to speed up the process of barricading to prevent pedestrians from crossing anywhere and everywhere and bring some road discipline. The response so far is a big zero.  

Circle Inspector Manjunath says last year 3060 cases were booked against offenders for talking on mobile while driving.  But the menace continues unabated which only proves that we need policing at every step even when it comes to the safety of our own lives.   The Road safety week organized jointly by RTO and D K Police department has been making determined efforts to inculcate some road sense among the people both drivers and pedestrians.  It has involved NCC cadets and school and college students to create the much needed awareness among the people.  We have to remember that we are the custodians of our own lives.