MLA claims “Good roads are causing more accidents”

The road infrastructure in India has improved quite a lot in the past few years, although it is not perfect and there are still numerous roads that are not in the most optimum conditions. It is the job of the government authorities to repair and create better roads for the public however once in a while there comes a comment from one of the leaders where they blame an odd reason for the lack of their competence. Most recently, according to the BJP MLA Narayan Patel, from Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, a startling explanation for the state’s rising rate of traffic accidents was revealed. He said improved roads, particularly in his district, are to blame for the rise in road accident cases.

#MadhyaPradesh: 'Good roads are causing accidents…', says #BJP MLA Narayan Patel. He represents the #Mandhata assembly constituency of #Khandwa district.#MPNews #NewsAlert #NewsUpdate #NewsToday pic.twitter.com/fm4AB5nUig

— Free Press Journal (@fpjindia) January 22, 2023

The BJP MLA recently while being interviewed after a big accident in his constituency was asked if he believes bad roads lead to lesser road accidents. To which the leader replied, “Nowadays, roads are better, especially in my constituency where a lot of accidents are happening. Due to good roads, vehicles run at a faster speed, and due to fast speed, they become out of control. I have experienced it.”

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Although there’s some truth to his explanation it cannot be justified for the keeping the roads in poor condition and not repairing them. India has always maintained a reputation for having a bad road infrastructure and if leaders of the country keep on justifying them with such statements it will not lead to any improvement.

Numerous accidents in the past have also been brought on by potholes and damaged sections of the road. In India, there are several roads and motorways with speed limits of 100 kmph or above and a key factor in lowering traffic accidents is the road’s scientific design. CCTV cameras being deployed on the majority of motorways and city streets to monitor compliance with traffic laws and speed restrictions is also one of the preventive measures to reduce the number of accidents.

This is not the first time that a statement like this has come forward. Earlier last year, while attending a de-addiction drive Prem Sai Singh Tekam, a Cabinet Minister in the government of Chhattisgarh stated, “There’s another reason. Wherever there are roads in poor conditions, we get calls to get it repaired… but there are less accidents there. Such roads see fewer deaths. Where the road conditions are good, you will see that there’s so much speeding there that every day there’s a road accident. So, roads should be good but there should be control… on speed… on addiction of mobiles, drugs or alcohol.”

Furthermore back in 2019 a BJP MP in the Lok Sabha from Tezpur, Assam, Pallab Lochan Das, also made a same claim. The minister said that more accidents occur on good roads. He offered a similar justification to what Tekam stated. According to him, better roads encourage more vehicle “acceleration,” which in turn increases the risk of accidents. A few months prior to this occurrence, Govind Karjol, the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, also asserted that the increased number of accidents in India is due to the country’s decent roads.

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