Together Everyone Achieves More.
Together Everyone Avoids More.
If we are discussing responsibility, then the first statement is our focus. The corporate mantra of teamwork and its advantages are familiar to most of us and we do bring-in to practice to a large extent in our work, business and even otherwise.
But in the context of road safety, it is applied in a miniuscule way. Although everybody has equal access to the road facilities, are governed by the same laws and function under the purview of standard guidelines, the conduct of every individual is vastly different.
Why is that so? This is something to think about.
In my view, this behavior is due to lack of ‘Ownership’. We don’t want to accept the fact the we are part of the system and the easiest way-out is to pass the buck onto others. We criticize authorities, the rules, inadequate infrastructure, blame the ongoing engineering work, or fellow road users and so on.
Take note – all this is a part of change and in any developing country, the process of ‘Change’ is constant. So, we have to adapt for the good of the future. A sense of ownership is the most powerful weapon an individual can have.
‘Mind your step’ assume there was no sticker on a staircase, would you still not be alert while stepping down or climbing up? You would right! Because your mind prepares you for the task and you take ownership of your reflexes. Therefore, a sticker or no sticker, safety comes naturally to you and you regulate your actions to mitigate risk.
Everything begins and ends with ‘Self-regulation’. Today, make a commitment “I promise to adhere to the traffic rules to ensure a safe and secured environment around me”.
Lastly, it is upon ourselves to mind our actions – by driving the car within the speed limits or rather slowly, adhering to the traffic lights, giving pedestrians and cyclists their right of way, wear a helmet, a seat belt, refrain use of a mobile phone while driving and neither honk carelessly. These are elementary duties which we intentionally or unintentionally tend to skip and hence being reminded.
If all of us function with a responsible mindset, road safety can gradually become a challenge of the past. A collective problem needs a collective solution.
A short story found on the internet sums it up in a humorous way, author unknown.
There are four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
Moral of the story:
This is a terrible example of teamwork. A team can win only when everyone contributes equally and shares responsibilities. Once again, I reiterate, ‘Self-Regulation, Ownership and Teamwork can improve Road Safety’. Practice it daily!
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Author: Vijay Malhotra, Mumbai
