I drive a lot. In the city (when my driver is absconding), and down the countryside (which is a passion, the driver gets paid leave). I have done many long journeys, the most memorable one being Delhi to Bangalore… totally awesome, Outlook featured that yatra, here’s the link: http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?226162
And I have come to a clear conclusion, having encountered lakhs of vehicles on Indian roads: Drivers in India, a good number of them, do not know how to drive. Not only is there no respect for the laws, I am quite sure in many cases people don’t even know the laws! Not even basic rules.
There is a general belief that the main reason for road accidents is driving under influence. Quite certainly alcohol plays a role. (It’s a different matter though that I drive better after a couple of pegs… it de-stresses me… and I must have been a lorry driver in my previous birth, but this is not something I recommend to others.) So there is a massive campaign on against drunk driving in the cities, and that’s a good thing. It’s another story, of course, that the rich get away easy, and that there are no checks on the highways, but that’s not my topic today.
The issue is this: Yet, accidents continue to occur, even when people aren’t sloshed. So why must this be the case? The answer is quite simple: we people DON”T KNOW how to drive safely. And as in all other evils in the nation, the root cause is corruption. Our RTOs (with the help of their pimps), literally give away licenses to kill. These guys distribute licenses like channa watana.
Before I go any further, here’s a confession. Years ago, I too obtained my driving license through devious means. I had gone for a test to the Tardeo RTO in Bombay. I flunked the test, khilaoed 200 rupees, and was cheerfully granted a license. And then what did I do? The very next evening I ran my car into a labourer, but thankfully she got away with very minor injuries. (And yes, I did take her to the hospital, and no, I wasn’t drunk or drugged, just in case you’re wondering.) As usual, I pretended ‘losing control’ of my vehicle. And was back in action soon thereafter! So yes, I am guilty as well of this dirty business.
Net: Our RTOs are essentially doling out death. In no other nation (except Pak and Bangladesh… surely we aren’t in the same league!) can one get a driving license this easily. So what’s the way out of this mess? Only one: the media needs to run a sustained, lasting campaign against the nation’s RTOs. Not the sort they do with the usual stories… milk the masala, suck it dry and then chuck it. It has to be dealt with in the way a Jessica Lal murder case got dealt with. Continuous pressure and hammering till the RTOs get cleaned out. The tests become very strict and the process becomes ghoos-free. And only the truly deserving people get licensed to drive.
Frankly, I can’t think of another way out of this mess. Hope the mass media journos are reading in. With some effort, we can save many lives.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
What's the solution buddy? We all realise the problems.
Re-test 100 million or more drivers? Get them to pass hand eye co-ordination tests? Require re-validation of licenses under a 'corruption free' system? Will we even be able to create such a system?
The sad bit is laws here are only for us middle class folks, the poor can't be bothered, the rich can buy their way out... till that changes, nothing else will.
mere knowelege of rules isn't enough....the average guy driving doesn't give a ---- about the other people on the road.....if he can jump lanes,speed,overtake,he jolly well will.
why? because he knows he won't get caught...and if he does, he WILL get away.
The ideal way out is to suspend all current licenses in a phased out manner,force everyone to be retested on their driving skills under strict rules,harsher sentences for rash driving,fast track courts for road accidents....and a media campaign aimed at making the average moron more sensitive to the consequences of his stupid irresponsible driving.
i think the trick is to make sure all new licenses and renewals get tough to procure. that itself will be a start. anil
Yup. I agree. Every single day i see the traffic police enforcing a rule and also enabling to break several. Honestly im so tired of it all, i no longer feel compelled abiding to the rules if the enforcers dont care. I can go on and on about this issue. :)I absolutely love bombay and driving but its a pain to own a car in this city.
sometimes i wonder how the rickshaw drivers get their licences...i think psycological tests very imp before giving driving licences...lots of pple on the road with anger/false sense of superiority, overwhelming their decisions...also ego hassels..becomes difficult for normal pple with sme semblance of decency to drive...in dubai...people fail their... See more driving tests several times before they are given a licence...its amusing to see my daughter who lives in dubai being driven here...have to tell her to keep her eyes shut while she is being driven...
simple common sense is all that is required... maybe we need to invent a vaccine. with every generation we seem to lose a bit more of common sense!
My first experience of the sealink: Was raining heavily and while getting back from worli to bandra, one SUV makes a U turn, no signal... guess the driver had a mood swing and just decided to turn back... had a narrow escape. About the rto: a friend of mine went to the rto (some years back) for a driving ... See morelicense test. The rto officer showed a sign board and asked her to identify. She didn't know... the rto guy had a sense of humour (must say)... he told her "Madam, am not surprised... not many people can identify this sign....... it is the STOP sign!!!!!!!!!!"
Nice fill someone in on and this mail helped me alot in my college assignement. Thank you as your information.
Good dispatch and this enter helped me alot in my college assignement. Thank you for your information.
Post a Comment