Jamshedpur: Road accidents are on the rise in the city and its adjoining areas in the last several months. Notwithstanding an order issued by the Jharkhand High Court to put reins on road accidents, the state police department has miserably failed to stop fatal road accidents.
Although the police department has intensified helmet checking drive all over the city, it has not taken any initiative to control high-speeding heavy vehicles plying on the roads and causing deaths due to negligence.
In majority of cases involving fatalities, it has been found that the heavy vehicles were being driven in the absence of cleaner. Due to the absence of cleaners in heavy vehicles, accidents are taking place in large numbers, causing death of innocent citizens.
�It is a good step that police are conducting helmet checking. This is a welcome step towards creating a safer traffic system in the city. But the cops should also pay attention to heavy vehicles which are being driven in a rash manner, especially at night with impunity,� said Asha Mishra, a resident of Kadma, who drivers a two-wheeler to fetch her children from school every day.
Police department is neglecting the root-cause of road accidents. Cops are only checking helmets and documents of two-wheeler drivers. But heavy vehicles are being allowed to ply uninterruptedly.
The traffic police and transport officials are hardly checking heavy vehicles for cleaners or documents showing compliance with traffic norms.
Rajat Sharma, a resident of Mango, said the police were yet to play their expected role in minimizing road accidents. �Police should ensure that heavy vehicles are now allowed to speed up on city roads.
They should also make sure that cleaners are essentially present on the left side of the driver�s chamber. This would ensure safety on roads,� he said.