The many Ching Fung-Lis on road

Surinderjit Singh Sandhu

Road safety week functions, like several other ceremonious oath-takings the year round, have not yielded any fruitful transformation. Punjab is among some states that have decided to put on hold the amended Motor Vehicles Act. 

I have been hearing for the past over half a century that magician Ching Fung-Li could drive a motorcycle in busy areas completely blindfolded. I thought he could do this because he possessed clairvoyant powers. But these days, hundreds of such magicians are visible on roads, driving all sorts of vehicles while using mobile phones. 

Sometimes, six people can be seen on a scooter. Even cyclists, rickshaw-pullers and pedestrians are on mobile calls, oblivious of the dangers of such activity.

I remember an incident that happened about 15 years ago. My friend’s son, an engineering student, often indulged in odd behaviour. He would drive his car in the high-security residential colony, where ministers and bureaucrats lived. He was passing near the house of an ADGP when he hit a stationary police vehicle. The driver of the vehicle sustained minor injuries. Before the youngster could reveal his identity, he was given a beating and handed over to the nearby police station, where with great efforts, he was eventually released. It was later revealed that he would read a book while driving! 

A person who does any other work while driving is akin to a blind person. Should the government give a driver’s licence to the visually challenged too? Some use only one hand while driving. My colleague, a district transport officer, told me once that a man with only one hand, that too with two digits missing, had applied for licence. He had also procured a fitness certificate. His case was rejected twice, but he urged my friend to take his driving test in the most difficult area. He did so, and found that the less-abled drove the vehicle better than most able-bodied people. He got the licence. However, after about three months, while driving in the hills, he met with an accident as he could not negotiate a sharp curve. My friend had to appear before the claims tribunal for his dangerously innovative work. After burning his fingers, he was convinced that physical, and even mental fitness, was essential for a licence.

During my tenure as a district transport officer, I came across many drivers, particularly truck drivers, who would keep five licences with them. If one was impounded, they would use another. Called ‘Lahori licences’, these could be procured from any part of the country.

The fear of law is missing. Earlier, the most dangerous aspect was drunk driving, but the use of phones has become more lethal. In 2014, the government wanted to bring about revolutionary legislative changes for safe  traffic/transport. Nothing came of it. The state government has also abolished the posts of district transport officer. The number of Ching Fung-Lis is growing alarmingly. The enactment of laws without logistic support and implementation is similar to building castles of sand.