STRESS AND ACCIDENTS: DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR
Stress if not managed properly leads to defects in regulation, control, coordination, harmony, efficiency inside and outside us.

Stress leads to hundreds of psychological, neurological, endocrine and metabolic disturbances, which are reflected in the behavior also. One of the defective aspects of disturbed behavior is accident proneness. The mismanaged conscious and subconscious stress; directly leads to defective driving behavior and increase in vehicular accidents on road.

But apart from this; when our stress is mismanaged; and when we are in positions of power; it leads to defective policies, rules and regulations related to vehicular production, marketing, conditions of roads, facilities of public and mass transport and maintenance of traffic in general. Accidents and many other related and consequent problems; are created by such defective policies and their implementation.

Strangely; billions of us; the sufferers; who are so much stressed and are unable manage it; fall victim to the diseased model of progress. They can’t even identify and understand the defects in the policies; which are responsible for the increase in the number and severity accidents. The stress seems to have made these sufferers amongst us; so much incapacitated, inactive, indifferent, apathetic, cynical and frustrated; that they refuse to; or are unable to participate rectifying the causes responsible for accidents and their complications. Thus, they indirectly support and promote defective policies and their implementation multiplying accidents.

It is easy to understand how a stressed individual is more prone to commit accident, but how mismanaged stress can lead to wrong and disastrous policies can be clear from the following example of policy about production of vehicles.

Thus the policy of excessive production and marketing (and passively buying and using) of cars and two wheelers (for the affluent few) and suppression the production buses, trams, trains and other modes of public transport, which are urgently required for billions; leads to suffering of billions in many ways, one of which is increase in road accidents.

The brief explanation of how this single policy can increase not only accidents but cause many related and consequent problems; is as follows.

1. Excessive increase in number of vehicles on roads leads to congestion and tremendous and unnecessary load on traffic police

2. Commensurate increase in fuel consumption causing chemical pollution and also in import expenses; leading to increase of fuel prices and subsequent increase in the food prices and unbearable load on the farmers living in villages, where electricity is barely available for few hours. Thus the farmer community which is the heart of society becomes sick and moribund! This alarms real danger!

3. Wear and tear of roads increases. Consequently there is increase in accidents due bad condition of roads as well as increase in the maintenance expenses and disturbance and delay to smooth traffic

4. Excessive increase in noise pollution results due to; blowing of horns; which is especially troublesome; to hospitals, schools, and other places; where silence is essential.

5. Traffic jams adding to further increase in fuel consumption and wastage of time, disastrously affecting the performance and/or productivity of the people of different occupations.

6. Increase in the number of vehicular accidents is largely contributed by simply the huge and increasing number of vehicles on road apart from other factors

7. Increase in vehicular exhaust causing global warming

8. Excess of load on local trains and other means of public transport [where ever available] and consequent accidents, quarrels and mishaps

9. Overall increase in tardiness in the traffic and increase in anxiety and tension, further increasing the quarrels, traffic crimes the number and severity of accidents and difficulty in providing medical aid (and disaster management) due to difficulty in movement of ambulances and fire fighters.

10. The eco-friendly bicycles production and sale suffers due to “imposing and threatening” presence of cars, motorcycles, rickshaws, scooters etc.

11. Excessive production of vehicles; is associated with; unproductive and wasteful work; such as insurance, registration and traffic policing!

12. Increase (due to difficulty in enforcing law and order) riots, thefts etc due to slowing of police movement

13. Excessive production of un-degradable solid waste.

14. The need and construction of excessively wide and cement or asphalt roads at the cost of irreplaceable trees (extremely important for avoiding global warming, pollution, rain and organic manure) and open earth surface (extremely important and vital for absorbing and holding rain water) and unnecessary disruption of the natural habitat of the animals.

Thus, one wrong policy and its implementation can cause and increase several problems in society; apart from road accidents. Since this is one of the fallouts of mismanaged stress, the holistic solution is Total Stress Management (The core of which is NAMASMARAN); of every one of us.
The immediate solution for the accidents is improvement of public transport system by improving; the production of buses (quantitative and qualitative), bus maintenance, bus frequency, preferential lane for buses, bus service and so on!

More holistic solutions can be worked out and implemented by the experts with holistic perspective; solidly supported and strengthened by public opinion, consensus and movements.

As stated earlier; one of the simplest ways for such stress busting; is beginning our own emancipation; through the practice of NAMASMARAN!