Road safety in Kashmir can no longer be treated as a seasonal concern, a police advisory or a subject that returns to public discussion only after a fatal accident. Every day, roads across the Valley carry schoolchildren, workers, patients, tourists, pedestrians, cyclists, two-wheeler riders and commercial vehicles. For many, a journey that should take a few minutes becomes a test of patience, discipline and survival. The growing number of road accidents is not merely a traffic problem. It is a public safety crisis that exposes failures in planning, enforcement, infrastructure and civic responsibility.
The response to road accidents has often followed a predictable pattern. After a tragedy, officials visit the spot, statements are issued, condolences are expressed and instructions are circulated. Temporary barricades may appear. A few drives against overspeeding or drunk driving may be conducted. But once public attention moves elsewhere, the old practices return. Roads remain poorly marked, dangerous bends remain unprotected, illegal parking resumes and traffic rules continue to be treated as optional.
This cycle must end. Road safety cannot depend on public outrage after lives are lost. It requires a permanent system that anticipates danger and prevents accidents before they occur.
The first requirement is better road design. Several roads in Kashmir have developed into busy corridors without corresponding improvements in width, drainage, lighting, pedestrian space or traffic management. Urban expansion has pushed homes, shops, schools and markets closer to highways and busy link roads. In many places, pedestrians are forced to walk along the carriageway because footpaths are either absent or occupied. This is especially dangerous for children, elderly people and persons with disabilities.
A road is not safe simply because it has been blacktopped. Its safety depends on visibility, lane discipline, shoulder space, signage, lighting and the protection it offers to vulnerable users. Blind curves require reflectors and warning signs. School zones need speed-calming measures, marked crossings and trained crossing personnel. Busy markets require designated parking and loading areas. Roads passing through settlements must be designed for people, not only for vehicles.
The condition of many roads during bad weather adds another layer of risk. Potholes, loose gravel, waterlogging and damaged shoulders force drivers to make sudden manoeuvres. In mountainous areas, weak retaining walls, falling stones and unprotected edges can turn ordinary travel into a dangerous undertaking. Road agencies must conduct regular safety audits rather than waiting for complaints or accidents. Every major route should be inspected not only for engineering quality but also for the behaviour it encourages.
Enforcement is equally important. Traffic rules lose their meaning when violations are visible and punishment is uncertain. Overspeeding, driving on the wrong side, dangerous overtaking, using mobile phones while driving, carrying passengers in unsafe conditions and riding without helmets continue to endanger lives. In some cases, drivers treat the presence of traffic personnel as the only reason to obey rules. This reflects a deeper failure: enforcement has not become consistent enough to shape public behaviour.
The aim of enforcement should not be to collect fines. It should be to prevent dangerous conduct. Fines must be proportionate and unavoidable. Repeat offenders should face stronger penalties, including suspension of licences where necessary. Commercial drivers who repeatedly violate rules should not be allowed to continue operating without review. At the same time, enforcement must remain transparent and free from selective application. If rules are enforced only against ordinary citizens while influential violators escape scrutiny, public trust will weaken further.
Driving licences also need to be treated as a responsibility, not an entitlement. A licence should be issued only after a meaningful assessment of driving skills, knowledge of traffic rules and awareness of road conditions particular to the region. The process must not become a formality. A person who cannot understand basic road signs, manage a vehicle safely or demonstrate responsible driving should not be placed behind the wheel merely because they have completed paperwork.
The issue of underage driving deserves special attention. Children on motorcycles and cars are a common sight in many parts of Kashmir. Parents who permit this are not showing trust; they are exposing their children and others to grave danger. Schools, local authorities and families must work together to discourage the practice. A child’s convenience can never justify a risk that may have irreversible consequences.
Two-wheeler safety also needs a stronger public campaign. Helmets are not decorative accessories, and wearing one only to avoid a fine defeats the purpose of the rule. Riders and pillion passengers must understand that a helmet protects against the most serious consequences of a crash. Similarly, seat belts must be used by all occupants wherever available. The culture of short-distance exceptions has cost many lives because accidents do not recognise distance.
Public transport must be brought into the centre of the road safety debate. Overloaded buses, unregulated stops and competition among drivers for passengers create unsafe conditions. When public transport vehicles are poorly maintained or driven recklessly, the risk is multiplied because one careless decision can affect dozens of people. Fitness checks, route discipline, driver rest requirements and regular inspection of commercial vehicles should be enforced without compromise.
Driver fatigue is often ignored. Long working hours, insufficient rest and pressure to complete multiple trips can impair judgement as seriously as alcohol. Commercial transport regulations must therefore address working conditions, not only vehicle documents. A tired driver is a road hazard, and forcing drivers to work beyond safe limits is an institutional failure.
Technology can strengthen road safety, but it cannot replace governance. Speed cameras, traffic surveillance, digital challans, emergency response systems and accident mapping can help identify dangerous behaviour and locations. Data should be used to determine where accidents are recurring, what times are most dangerous and which violations are most common. Road safety planning must be based on evidence rather than assumptions.
Emergency response is another neglected area. The minutes immediately after a crash often determine whether an injured person survives or suffers permanent disability. Ambulances must be available near vulnerable routes, and emergency numbers must function reliably. Police personnel, highway workers and local volunteers should receive basic training in first aid and safe rescue practices. Hospitals along major routes should be linked to a coordinated trauma-response network.
Yet infrastructure and enforcement alone will not solve the problem. Road safety is also a matter of social conduct. Drivers must learn to see pedestrians not as obstacles but as fellow citizens. People must stop parking at turns, blocking crossings or driving against traffic to save a few minutes. Shopkeepers and residents must recognise that encroaching on road space increases danger for everyone. Civic discipline is not an abstract virtue; on a road, it is a condition for survival.
Educational institutions can play a major role in shaping this discipline. Road safety should be taught through practical awareness rather than occasional lectures. Children can learn how to cross roads safely, why helmets and seat belts matter and how to respond responsibly when adults violate rules. They can also influence family behaviour. A child who insists on wearing a seat belt or refuses to ride with an intoxicated driver may help prevent a tragedy.
Religious leaders, community organisations, transport unions and civil society groups should also be involved. Messages about safe driving must reach people in familiar spaces and languages. Campaigns should focus on real consequences without becoming moralistic or repetitive. A photograph of a damaged vehicle may attract attention for a day; sustained local engagement is more likely to change behaviour.
Accountability must remain at the heart of the road safety agenda. When a dangerous road remains unrepaired despite repeated complaints, responsibility must be fixed. When a school zone lacks a crossing or a known accident spot has no warning signs, the failure cannot be dismissed as unfortunate. When an unfit vehicle continues to operate, the question must extend beyond the driver to the officials and systems that allowed it.
The government should publish a district-wise road safety action plan with clear responsibilities, timelines and measurable targets. Accident-prone locations should be identified publicly. Progress on black-spot treatment, signage, lighting, enforcement and emergency response should be reviewed at regular intervals. Citizens should have a simple mechanism to report hazards and track whether action has been taken.
A safer road culture will not emerge from one campaign or one department. It requires coordination among the traffic police, road agencies, transport authorities, municipal bodies, schools, hospitals, elected representatives and the public. Each institution has a role, and each must be judged by outcomes rather than announcements.
Every road accident is not preventable. But many deaths caused by overspeeding, reckless overtaking, poor visibility, unsafe design, weak enforcement and delayed medical help are preventable. Calling them unavoidable only protects the failures that produced them.
Kashmir’s roads must become spaces of movement, not corridors of fear. The measure of development is not only how quickly a road is built or how many vehicles it carries. It is whether people can travel on it safely and return home. Road safety measures must therefore move from paper to practice, from reaction to prevention and from scattered action to sustained public policy. Every journey deserves that commitment.
(The author is a columnist and holds PhD in public administration)
