Need to sense the urgency

H. Kishie Singh

Road-sense is the off-spring of courtesy and the parent of safety’. That is an Australian traffic-rule. Safety is not inborn. It has to be inculcated into a person. That is why the Aussies have one of the most thorough driving tests in the world. Down Under, it can take up to a year to get an Australian driving license. In India, you can buy a driving license without taking any tests. It is worth all the trouble that the would-be driver goes through as the Aussie Government makes the aspirant jump through a series of hoops.

Australia, as a country is so large that it is a continent. It has super-fast highways and a population of just about 24 million. Total road-fatalities in Australia last year were 1,193! That’s right. One thousand one hundred and ninety three! We kill that many on a long week-end. Little surprise that Australian MP Vaughan Johnson said, “Drivers of Asian descent have no comprehension of road rules.”

This sparked a row! The truth usually does. The fact is that India kills 1,50,000 people a year. The reason is simple and clear. Indians are the worst drivers in the world. We have 60 million (approx) cars on our roads, so does Germany. Road fatalities in Germany are 8,700 killed annually!

What is the reason for this?

There are certain traits that are a must for being a good driver. Decency and courtesy, the very foundation of a society are invisible. Go to a hospital, no one slows to accommodate the old, the ailing, the infirm. Rampant use of horn in a silence zone in another problem. An ambulance may be off loading a stretcher with a patient, the driver in the car behind will not hesitate to blow his horn. No one respects the fact that a hospital is a silence zone, so are the roads adjoining the hospital. Noise has a very negative effect on the well-being of a patient.

Noise has a detrimental effect on healthy people also. People who drive a car to work may not notice it, but bus and truck drivers who spend 8-10 hours or more of driving are reporting a loss of hearing and a constant buzz or singing in the ears. It may take 6-7 years for the symptoms to manifest themselves. Chances are by that time the damage is irreversible. This malady is called tinnitus. Constant honking, traffic noise, plus loud blaring music, plus the confusion and cacophony of Indian roads are all contributing factors.

One of the symptoms is irritability. It is a deadly mix; fatigue of 8 to 10 hours of driving on Indian roads plus the additional irritants are all causes for crashes. A bus driver could have the lives of 60 or more people in his hands.

Next time, there is an accident involving a bus, the police should check the number of years the driver has been driving. How many hours was he at the wheel? Test his hearing and his eyesight. Drivers on long-distance routes have the tendency to develop ‘tunnel vision’. This means they could easily miss a car, pedestrian or cyclist or biker coming out of the side road.

Don’t be surprised if the driver is found physically unfit to be driving.

Happy Motoring!