‘To be a successful police officer be a bit early to office; Remain a bit late in office’.

When does Rashness Happen?

Shri Amalraj IPS | @ MCC Today

Road Safety Awareness Programme

“Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others,” said Otto von Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor and founder of Modern Germany.

Should we remain a fool to learn that an accident can happen to us?

asked Mr. Amalraj, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Tambaram, while addressing NSS Volunteers during the Road Safety Awareness Programme in the Chemistry Seminar Hall today.

He added saying –

You are the centre of Tambaram. In the year 2022, we had 1720 road accidents.

Last year we had 1986 accidents. That means, almost 2000 accidents take place every year, on an average of three to four accidents per day.

Accidents can happen to any of us. There is no partiality when it comes to accidents. We are not batman to escape all accidents. Anybody can get injured.

Last year 19 college students died in road accidents. 56 were injured. Who are those College students?

They're not unknown to us. They're not disposable commodities. Luckily we survived road accidents.

What are the types of vehicles that meet with accidents?

273 two-wheeler riders died in road accidents out of the 593.

10 fatal accidents on bicycle, while 164 pedestrian deaths were reported.

Other vehicles like buses and vans are less in number.

Two-wheeler riders and pedestrians are prone to accidents.

1432 people were injured while riding 2 wheelers.

581 road users were injured last year.

Accidents take place at all times. There’s no hard and fast rule on that aspect.

However, the maximum accidents happen not during midnight, but from 2 to 4 pm, in the afternoon.

121 accidents took place between 1 and 2 pm.

As regards the roads prone to accidents – National Highways are prone to most of the accidents.

Road safety is a life science in which we learn from the experience of others.

The easiest way to prevent accidents is to follow the basic rules of road safety at every stage, like, wearing helmet, stopping at the red light, give way for pedestrian crossing, etc,

Don’t follow the rules just because someone is watching you or the police might impose a fine on you. Sometimes, police personnel may not be on the roads at all.

So my dear students, always make it a point to stick to the rules.

When does rashness happen?

Rashness happens only when you’re late. So you should remember to start early.

By habit you should make it a point to start a bit early.

In the police force, we have a saying –

‘To be a successful police officer be a bit early to office. Remain a bit late in office’.

Never rush.

We used to have periodic meetings in the Marina office. Some officers always come well in advance.

For them it’s become a habit. When the Chief Minister calls for a meeting, you’re there on time. Once you make it a daily routine, it becomes part of your habit.

80% of the work that we do, happens because of our habit: be it the dress we wear, the food we eat, or the friends with whom we talk, etc.

Similarly, the habit of being early a bit always helps in preventing accidents.

To catch a bus, be there a bit in advance. Tell this to your friends and relatives as well.

The beauty of life is not just winning. It’s about following rules.

Winning is always there. You will always win. Win depends on your opponent. If your opponent is a child, you win easily. At the same time, if your opponent is tougher than you, then it’s quite a task to win!  

So what matters is, follow the rules and win. When you write an exam, no one is watching, still you follow the rules. That's integrity. Winning that way, gives you credibility and integrity.

In China, they say it's not the result that counts, but the journey. Getting the mark sheet is immaterial. The three-year journey will stand with you. The journey makes it memorable!

Any challenge that you have in life, always make sure that you stick to the rules. If so, nobody can question you in your times of crisis.

When we die, people forget. We becomes statistics. Let’s not become the cause to add up to the statistics. If life is taken away, we become statistics!

So to sum up what I’ve said –

1. Follow rules always

2. Be a bit early by habit on a regular basis.

3. Lead by example. Be a perfectionist.

The Principal and Secretary of Madras Christian College, Dr. P. Wilson welcomed the gathering and spoke on the importance of road safety.

The programme was followed by the Road Safety Awareness Rally which was inaugurated by our Principal and the Commissioner of Police Mr. Amalraj IPS.

Volunteers of NSS participated in the rally in large numbers, carrying placards, posters and banners.

The Road Safety Awareness Programme was organised by the Deanery of Student Affairs, in association with Department of Social Work (Aided) and National Service Scheme, MCC. Prof. Daniel and team gave a wonderful rendition of the Tamizh Thaai Valzhthu.

Dr. Huldah Samuel, Dean of Women Students did an excellent compering of the programme.

The rally began near the infirmary and congregated near the Bell Tower. Dr. Sudarshan, Prof. Tony Thomas were coordinators of the programme, along with this blogger. 😊