Finally, one of India’s great heroes, all-time great cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, has had to intervene. Too many lives have been lost needlessly, too many people disabled, and this hurts not just families but also the national economy – the road safety in India. Tendulkar, focusing on road accidents in India and the increasing number of tragedies, said, “Throughout my career, I have learned that discipline and awareness are essential not just for success but for responsibility,” adding “The same is true on our roads. Every day, our actions affect others. Wearing a seat belt or helmet, staying alert, and respecting the rules of the road can save lives… Our road crash fatality rate is 10 times higher than the volume of vehicles we own. But with greater awareness and collective action, we can protect our families and communities.”
As Tendulkar rightly said, “Every life matters,” he said, hoping that his safety statement for the United Nations (UN) will help to “create safer roads for all of us.”
Road accidents killed about 25,000 people in India last year, a huge number, even if there were about 40,000 deaths in the United States of America. Still, many of them were preventable, according to the UN, which is why Tendulkar was invited to speak out.
Speaking at a function, Jean Todt, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, said, “If Sachin Tendulkar says ‘Don’t use your phone when you’re driving,’ people will listen. If Sachin Tendulkar says ‘wear a helmet,’ people will listen.”
So many people are dying every day in road accidents in India, Todt said: “When people are on the roads, they think nothing will happen.” He spoke of the need for people on two-wheelers to wear helmets, not just helmets but good helmets.
“People do not wear helmets even if it is compulsory,” he regretted. And there are helmets and helmets. “A helmet that breaks if it is thrown on the floor cannot be a good one. Helmets have to be ventilated. Otherwise, they are uncomfortable. They have to be inexpensive,” he added. This is why the UN is pushing for helmets that cost less than $US 20.
It is about simple safeguards, he said. It is about wearing seat belts or helmets, driving carefully, and not drinking and driving. Of course, the quality of vehicles and road conditions can improve, but if basic precautions are taken and people follow the government’s guidelines, the number of deaths will come down, Todt said.
