While a school of thought holds that harsher punishments are the most effective way to curb road accidents, others contend that there are more viable solutions to ensure commuters’ safety. Personally, although strict penalties for driving offenders could be useful in reducing car crashes in a way, I opine that other approaches, such as education and investment in the transport infrastructure, are even more important.
It is understandable why some subscribe to the idea that imposing strict punishments is the best method. The key rationale is that many commuters, in order to save a few seconds, are more likely to jump the red lights, since a limited number of observers and the fines for passing traffic lights are no deterrent for some. As a result, they may inadvertently hit other cars or even pedestrians, so that more stringent penalties such as hefty fines or even imprisonment need to be implemented to deter them from breaking the law. However, to this end, the government will have to either organise traffic police or install an enormous number of traffic cameras that provide evidence for the sake of punishing reckless drivers. This, in turn, will put an enormous strain on government coffers, let alone other expenses to deal with imprisoned offenders afterwards.
On the other hand, other viable measures, such as raising people’s awareness and upgrading transport facilities, play a more pivotal role in ensuring the safety of drivers compared to introducing harsher penalties. Regarding the former, many youngsters are allowed to drive a motorbike too soon, without a driver’s licence and without being fully aware of traffic rules, leading to a host of road accidents associated with the young. An effective remedy to tackle this issue is to widely educate traffic regulations in schools and the locality as well, along with parental intervention. In addition to this, the deterioration of traffic infrastructure should be taken into account, as if people have to drive on a damaged road surface with a whole lot of potholes over a long period, the incidents of commuters having car accidents will be on the increase. Once road conditions become better, drivers could actively avoid road accidents, ensuring their security.
In conclusion, while it seems sensible that people fervently advocate the idea of punishing strictly as the most effective method to deal with disobedient drivers, I would contend that alternative measures, such as enhancing individuals’ insights and enhancing the road traffic conditions, are superior to the former.