As police investigate the circumstances surrounding the horrific road accident at Davuilevu in Nausori yesterday morning, we are left to ponder on many issues.
The accident will certainly raise concern about road rules and how prepared we are to adhere to them.
Safety issues are important.
Road accidents happen because we allow them to.
Of the factors linked to many of our road accidents, speed rates quite highly it seems.
It isn’t easy to shrug aside thoughts associating speed with accidents. Not that it is the sole responsible factor though. Let’s be clear about that.
Speed limits are clearly not just numbers we ignore then.
In fact, laws that govern our usage of roads around the country are essentially a guideline that should keep users in check, and safe.
We break them at our own risk.
It is worth a mention that these very same laws were meant to ensure there is order on our roads.
Every year, we pursue a course of action that places road safety on a very high pedestal.
We come up with campaigns designed to create awareness, and hopefully jolt into us a measure of concern for road safety.
Yet every year road accidents happen, and we all wonder why.
Why are road accidents still happening and why is it that some people are killed on our roads?
The answer is within us.
Then there is the other issue that popped up yesterday morning about pictures being posted on social media.
Police are also investigating the issue of people allegedly posing with decapitated limbs of the dead person at the accident scene.
Thousands of people consider social media a revolutionary invention.
In the face of this digital leap forward, we are left to ponder on issues of communication, how it impacts our lives, and the opportunities available to us to voice an opinion, raise a thought, and to stay connected with thousands of other like-minded users and audiences around the globe.
The choice to post or not to post is left to the whims of the user.
Do we then take into account values?
Do we consider standards? Understandably, we will embrace freedom of expression.
Where does the appreciation of moral values factor in though?
Surely, we do not want to be considered a fragmented society that is devoid of moral standards and decency and far removed from the appreciation of the feelings of others.
There is a sense of power surely, but shouldn’t we guard the freedom to express ourselves with a great sense of responsibility?
