A thing called abusive driving

H. Kishie Singh

Some years ago, two couples, one from the UK and the other from the USA came to India for a holiday.

Before returning home, they wrote to the editor-in-chief of a Delhi newspaper. Their remarks were extremely poignant. They said that Indians display an exemplary lack of manners, indiscipline and apathy towards just about everything.  “And yes, we never saw a queue, but only  crowds. As pedestrians, we were shoved, pushed, jostled. The ladies were pinched,” they narrated their experience.

They said this behaviour in the corridors of Connaught Place and Parantha Wali Gali, in Chandni Chowk was replicated on the roads. When they took taxis, the drivers drove with wild abandon, not caring a hoot for anybody. 

The only difference in the taxi was that ladies felt safe. They made it clear that every moment spent in a taxi was a life-threatening experience. There wasn’t a taxi that was not dented. Paint on each taxi was scrapped off and doors never closed properly. These were rattle traps. There was no evidence of pride of possession.

In India, this is the sad reality. If the car is bashed up, let it be. It will get bashed up again. Social etiquettes and good manners are unheard of. Simple things like offering your seat on the bus to a lady or holding open a door does not happen. These good manners translate themselves in giving way to traffic on your right. Overseas, this is an accepted road etiquette. Everyone follows rules which make driving a pleasure and more importantly, safe. Good road manners are what make roads safe. Switching lanes, overtaking from the left, jumping a red light, blocking a car in the parking lot are worst of driving habits. We have them all.

Which is why our roads are the unsafest in the world. The other day I was in one of the fancy hospitals. The parking lot was full of expensive cars. One would imagine that the owners would be from good families, well-educated and most important, well-mannered. Well, is there a correlation? The notice outside the lifts belied all this. It read, ‘Please make way for stretchers and wheel chairs!’ The ‘no horn’ sign is ignored.

Do you have to be told this?

One reason for unsafe roads is arrogance. The driver of an expensive SUV takes it for granted that he has more right on the road over the driver of a humble small car. This arrogance is very prevalent in the parking lots when you compare the Sector 9 and Sector 15 market of Chandigarh. The Sector 9 market boasts of expensive cars.

A young lady driving her father’s Mercedes was exiting from the entry lane, causing a jam. Politely I said, “Miss, you are in the entry lane!” Snarling at me she spat out the famous four letter word, “Buzz off.” I did!

Sector 15 is a different story. Swifts, Wagon-Rs fill the parking. These are genuine shoppers, not show offs. Polite, no punch-up episodes like that of Sector 9 you will encounter here. A couple of kilometers separate these two sectors. The moral of the story, road safety can become a reality in India if we control our ego. Be polite!

And yes, Marmite is much cheaper in Sector 15.

Happy motoring!