Essay 33 (Strict punnishments for drivers)

The only way to improve safety on our reads is to have stricter punishment for driving offenders.  To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Careless driving and violation of traffic rules certainly result in a large number of accidents and stricter punishments are necessary to reduce them.  However, there are also certain other measures that have equal or more effectiveness in ensuring road safety.

In the first place, there are certain accidents that occur not because of traffic violations.  To explain it further, poor road condition is considered a major reason for road casualties.  For example, narrow roads and sharp curves often force even law-abiding drivers makes mistakes.  Therefore, it should be noted that drivers alone cannot be blamed for such mishaps and giving them stricter punishments in these cases is no solution.  A more effective strategy by the government would be to straighten accident prone curves and widen narrow roads.  Larger number of road signs and proper traffic signals can also be effective in reducing accidents on roads.

Furthermore, poor climate condition can be a major cause of accidents.  For instance, poor visibility due to dense mist and rain, slippery roads on account of snowfall cause make driving difficult and cause serious accidents in many countries.  Stricter punishment for drivers is a futile exercise in handling such problems.  Modern technological innovations should be used to deal with such emergency situations.

On the other hand, reckless driving, speeding and breach of traffic rules by careless drivers have caused many accidents.  Moreover, drunken and drowsy driving have also resulted serious traffic mishaps.  While we admit that more stringent punishment for drivers would be an effective measure to an extent, it should not be considered the only way towards road safety.

In summary, there are certain situations where drivers are not responsible for a particular accident.  Hence apart from punishing drivers with heavier penalties other effective measures should also be taken.