Jammu and Kashmir requires many reforms to make its roads safer and reduce the number of accidents causing a dilemma in the lives of the people who lose their relatives and friends in fatal accidents. It is a matter of great concern that hardly a day passes in the UT when there is no road mishap leading to either injuries or even deaths of the commuters. The situation is so grim that the government should no longer treat road safety as a matter of chance or individual responsibility.
It is important that the government should intervene and come up with a robust system having an inherent approach for improving the skills of drivers rather than merely passing a driving test to get a driving license. It should be ensured that a person having a driving license should be competent enough to drive the vehicle with discipline, maturity and knowledge of the traffic laws besides developing a knack to drive safely. To make this a reality, it is vital to make it mandatory for every license applicant to complete a structured driving course through government-approved or accredited driving institutes.
The government can also open similar institutions in all the district headquarters with trained driving instructors given the responsibility of first training the aspirants desirous of having a driving license, then conduct a preliminary test to gauge whether they are eligible to go for the actual driving test. Such systems are common in western countries and therefore there is no harm in emulating the same in J&K also to make roads safe and reliable. The sad part as far as J&K is concerned is the fact that there are many driving license holders in the UT, who are unaware of the basic traffic rules and signs, making the roads risk prone.
With all drivers receiving a systematic training before getting a permission to drive a vehicle will drastically reduce the possibility of untrained or inadequately skilled individuals obtaining licenses.
The situation is grim and therefore it is necessary that all the aspirants of driving licenses should go through quality driver education at the entry level to lay the foundation for safer roads, fewer accidents, and a substantial reduction in road fatalities and injuries, while fostering a culture of responsible driving across the Union Territory.
