The Lithuania Example- Blanket Ban On Pedestrians Using Their Mobiles

October 25, 2018

Using mobile phone on the street — Image used for representation only.

Pedestrians talking and texting is a growing concern now and often the reason for several accidents in the city.

According to a recent study on road accidents in India in the years 2016 & 17, a staggering 18% of accidents were caused due to the irresponsible behaviour of pedestrians. Another 9% occurred due to their lack of attention.

In an interesting move (that Pune ought to adopt! ) to curb pedestrian related accidents, the Lithuania government has introduced a ban on citizens using mobile phones the moment they step out of their home.

Their government felt that such a law is required to prevent deaths on roads. Lithuania has reportedly the third worst record in the European Union in terms of pedestrian deaths.

The country’s Transport Minister Rokas Masiulis said this during a live cabinet meeting recently. “Pedestrians must not use mobile devices before stepping onto the street or walking across it,” he said. It has been decided that from November, people talking on the phone while crossing the streets or even checking their devices while on out of their houses will be slapped with a fine of €40 (approx Rs 3,400).

We at Pune365 believe that this is the need of the hour in our city, we decided to take reactions from our citizens on such stern measures to curb accidents.

Raghav Patkar, Financial advisor says, “It is next to impossible to adopt such rules in Pune city.

Our traffic personnel are so lenient and casual about every traffic violation that people hardly care now. The city had made helmets compulsory a few years ago, but even now, 9 of !0 riders are without helmets.”

Considering the increased rate of accidents in the city, traffic personnel should start penalising the pedestrians for using a mobile phone, crossing the road when a signal is green, not using the zebra crossing. It is not always the drivers fault, Patkar added.

No matter how important and essential it is for the city to adopt this kind of ban on mobile phones for pedestrians, this city’s commuting citizens will never get disciplined, says Krutika Keshav, Advocate.

Every day is a nightmare to drive on Pune roads and the pedestrians have become very irresponsible while walking on main roads, says Gargi Patil, Marketing Manager.

They are so busy with their smartphones, that they just don’t notice a vehicle coming.

Most often, they concentrate only on one side of the road even when the road is a two-way road, it is one of the major reasons why nowadays accidents are on the rise.

Patil further opines If the driver has to pay a penalty for using s phone, why not pedestrians? The motor vehicle acts allow traffic personnel to fine pedestrians too.

But in reality not a single pedestrian is penalised, if the traffic department is trying to enforce new laws for drivers, it should be the same for the pedestrians too, she added.

#All views expressed in this article are those of the individual respondents ( some names changed on request) and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.