On the night of July 19, an incident on Iskcon flyover in Ahmedabad left a trail of destruction. A Mahindra Thar, driven by a 16-year-old, collided with a dumper truck. As bystanders gathered, a Jaguar driven at 150 km pr hour by a 19-year-old, sped into them. Nine people died – but this is just one of many, many tragedies in India caused by overspeeding.
The conversation around road safety in India briefly gained momentum in September last year, following the death of businessman Cyrus Mistry in a road accident. Soon after, union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari mandated the strict enforcement of rear seatbelt laws. While traffic police initiated awareness campaigns and imposed fines for a short period, the issue soon faded from public discourse. It resurfaced three months later when cricketer Rishabh Pant was injured in a road accident .
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