Editorial: India untethered

From the refusal to wear helmets by those riding two-wheelers to violations like speeding and signal jumping by state-owned buses, water tankers, and lorries, sticking to the rules is a challenge for a majority of drivers in the nation.

It is amidst such a scenario that the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways introduced a proposal that would make it mandatory for drivers of two-wheelers to ensure they stick to the 40 km/h speed limit when ferrying pillion riders aged four years or lesser. The Ministry has also proposed the inclusion of a safety harness to be attached to the rider when travelling on two-wheelers with children between the ages of nine months and four years. The pillion riders will need to start wearing crash helmets like those used by bicycle riders.

The implication of these proposals is significant in India where three-fourths of all vehicles plying on roads are two-wheelers, essentially 75% of the 277.1 mn vehicles as per the government portal Vaahan’s dashboard. Data from an NGO working on road safety awareness reveals that more than 30 children are killed in accidents every day in India, and many of them happen to be riding on two-wheelers.

India’s lackadaisical attitude on the safety of young pillion riders or even passengers in cars is contrasted by how many States in Europe enforce child safety rules. In Portugal, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, and Austria, children under seven are not allowed to ride pillion. Similarly, in many states in the US, children under the age of one are prohibited from being ferried in bicycles, while some states allow this if kids are secured in a sling or an accompanying trailer or sidecar. One wonders how practical it would be to implement the measures as proposed by the Road Transport Ministry in the Indian context.

For starters, riders of two-wheelers here are barely content riding doubles. Often, three or four riders are crammed into bikes, mopeds, and scooters, despite the government warning that such commuters can be penalised with a fine. Even infants and toddlers are usually cradled by their mothers on the pillion site, even while riding in a side-facing manner, without any harness, so to speak.

Commuters in four-wheelers are no less guilty when it comes to flouting rules pertaining to the transport of young children. In 2014, the Centre had made it mandatory for carmakers to include child restraint systems in vehicles. As per the rules, children under 13 are to be seated only after being tethered to the child restraint belts. The failure to do could attract a fine of Rs 1,000 as well. But when was the last time anyone was pulled up for driving with young children or toddlers fastened to the front passenger seats in a car, instead of being properly secured in a booster seat in the rear?

A zero-tolerance policy vis-à-vis road safety violations involving children must be adopted by state governments. Just like how seat belts were made mandatory for drivers and co-passengers in the front seat in passenger vehicles, and the use of helmets for two-wheeler drivers, similarly stringent enforcement must be carried out for child safety on the roads. It’s one way to ensure that the next generation of motorists and commuters turn out to be compassionate and tolerant. Additionally, improving public transportation infrastructure, in terms of accessibility, affordability, last-mile connectivity, safety and comfort will go a long way in relieving the burden placed on the nation’s road networks by passenger vehicles.