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Speed gives us a sense of freedom. The open road, the wind in our faces, the vast blue sky overhead. Cars and bikes are often advertised as speed machines with little thought given to their safety features. Yet, apart from the ever present danger to life, this thrill has another cost that is often ignored. Speeding pollutes the air, damages ecosystems, endangers wildlife, and ultimately harms the very environment that makes these journeys enjoyable.

The Union Government budget of 2026-27 has allocated a whopping 3.09 Lakh crore rupees to the Ministry of Road Transportation and Highways (MoRTH), an increase of 7.9% compared to the 2.87 lakh Crores allocated in the 

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If you think that wearing masks was the mark of safety over the Covid years, think again of residents of metropolitan cities such as Delhi where wearing masks had already been the norm - a practice particularly essential over the winter months when air pollution levels were (are) shockingly high.

Every day, thousands of children in Chennai walk, cycle, or are dropped off on streets that were not designed with their safety in mind. While streets where schools are located are officially labelled as “school zones,” the ground reality is very different. Speeding vehicles, broken, encroached or no footpaths, unsafe crossings, and chaotic pick-up and drop-off practices expose children to serious road safety risks during their daily commute.

The other day I was watching a film called ‘Dude’ and no, this is not a movie review but I will say to watch it at your own peril. I was struck by a scene in which the hero and his friend are riding without helmets on a bike (mystifying because in earlier scenes they are shown wearing helmets) and are chased by a pack of dogs. While trying to avoid them, they both collide with a car, fly over the car and land on the road beyond.

Every time we step out, we take for granted that we’ll return home safely. But for many families, that simple expectation ends in heartbreak. In 2023, across India, 1,72,890 people lost their lives in road crashes. In Tamil Nadu, the number stood at 18,347. This translates to around 50 people dying a day on our roads.

What is it about buses that brings a wave of nostalgia over most of us? I still remember the bus numbers of routes I used to frequent decades ago, and my heart skips a beat when I come across them on the road today. I remember taking the bus alone for the first time in Madras (now Chennai) when I was ten.

This article was first published in elets egov (print) on September 24, 2025.

This article was first published in https://roadsafetynetwork.in/ , CAG is a part of the Road Safety Network.