Kerala has yet again witnessed a Railway Level Cross disaster at Aroor that claimed five lives. Accidents at level crossings kill more than train collisions or derailments. The statistics of the Railway Board show that train collisions and onboard fire together in the last 10 years have brought lesser fatalities than the accidents at level crossings.
No doubt, the unmanned level crossings are deadlier than the manned or user worked level crossings.
In every Railway Budget, there are bare proposals for closing down or upgrading unmanned level crossings. However, seldom it works out either due to budgetary constraints or due to objections from locals. Local public share the apprehension that by closing down unmanned level crossings, it hinders their free movement. There is no attempt from the part of Railway Administration to create public awareness by conducting campaigns to educate people on safe movements through the crossings. Even upgraded crossings lack a gateman or proper surveillance.
Accidents at unmanned level crossings constitute a significant proportion of the total rail toll in the country. Consequently, it is becoming one of the most serious safety issues confronted by the civil society and the Railways these days. Despite the fact that it involves fatalities, the issue has not been so far included in the National Road Safety Action Plan, whereas in countries like Australia, level crossing safety has been included in the National Road Safety Action Plan.
The Rules of the Road Regulations, 1989, that are in force in our country also do not address safety challenges at level crossings. It is high time that level crossing is included in the road safety strategies of the Central, State and Local Governments.
Risky behaviours on the part of driver of the approaching vehicle such as trying to beat the train across a crossing, crossing with undue haste, crossing in poor visibility situations, ignoring warning devices, crossing without due attention to the situations in front of them are to be treated as culpable conduct to be forbidden by appropriate legislative measures.
Commuters should be educated not to enter a level crossing when a train is seen approaching. There should be frequent inspection and check by railway officials at unmanned level crossings for ensuring safety compliance. There should be proper speed breakers, road signs and sign boards and most important of all, a vibrant effective system of assessing the vehicular traffic at level crossings.
There should be steps to identify hazardous crossings and to develop a black spot list of hazardous sites, prioritised funding allocation and maintenance and elimination of unwarranted level crossings. Equally important is the need to create public awareness about the rules of the road regulations and level cross safety management strategies and the formulation of a healthy road use culture. Stringent law enforcement and controls should also receive topmost attention.
(The writer is a lawyer at the High Court and Research Guide at NUALS, Kochi)
Comments
0 comment