Bengaluru: The recent incidents of road accidents that have claimed Sonika chauhan, model and celebrity from Kolkata, Kannada actress Rekha Sindhu and Andhra Pradesh minister’s son’s life has shaken the common man on the road.

According to a report in a leading daily, 410 people lost their lives daily in road accidents across India last year as compared to 400 lives the previous year. Approximately 1.5 lakh people died of road accidents alone last year in India. “As a common man driving to work and getting back from work, driving back from parties has become a scary thing. You never know when you will be hit, or when will be under the wheels. Look at what happened in Sonika Chauhan’s case. Celebrities or the ones who drive in an inebriated state can twist the law to get away. If they don’t care for the law, they will meet such a fate. But what happens to people who are innocent, and fall prey to someone else’s callousness?,” asks Piyushi Sharman, Journalist.

Voices for stricter law to curb fatal accidents are growing stronger, but many argue if that would be adhered to. ” In our country, the rules are very much there in place, but do we adhere to it. Do we follow them. We still drink and drive. We still jump red lights , and we still drive beyond the speed limits. So, it isn’t the lack of laws but the mindset that ruins it for us,” says Santosh Rawat, Incharge, Traffic Police.

This alarming figure is scary, and officials have spoken about working on reducing the fatalities and injuries. but fatal accidents don’t happen just like that. As evident in the recent case of Sonika Chauhan where the car was speeding beyond a permissible limit, and the actor behind the wheels was allegedly drunk. Though, the actor has denied both, the internet is divided on the same, many pointing fingers at the state of the car that he was driving, which is in a terrible shape. So, evidently, the most common causes for accident is speeding, drunk driving and violating of traffic rules. In a recent report, it was stated that nearly 40000 lives could have been saved from fatal accidents had they slowed down. WHO’s call to “slow down, save lives”, should be seriously embraced and adhered to.” The question is not of inadequate laws, but the adherence to it. We have put our laws behind bar, and not the criminals who flout it. The enforcers are corrupt, and don’t do their job well. The traffic police who should be strict in enforcing the rules, are themselves casual about it. We need reforms in the Police department to address their problem, unemploy them with adequate salary, so that they don’t succumb to greed out of compulsion. They should put all drunk drivers , violators of traffic rules and racers behind bar. This will make a difference,” concludes Anuja Kapur, Psychiatrist, Advocate.