Sreelekha IPS: Blood on the Roads

‘Three boys, all of them below the age of 15 died when the bike they drove hit against a lorry in Kasargod. The bike belonged to one of the boy’s father. None of the boys had helmet.’

‘An autoriksha with 5 passengers crashed with a bus killing six people, including the driver and an infant.’

‘A reckless, over-speeding private bus hit two ladies who crossed the road, killing them both.’

These are daily occurrences. Statistics show that in a year, an average of 4200 people die in road accidents in our State. This is eleven times the number of people who gets murdered in the State! Deaths due to road accidents are the most purposeless, the most meaningless. Neither the person who cause it nor the one who is victim to it are responsible for the loss of a precious life. One of the first cases I investigated as ASP under training in Kottayam District was that of the death of a 9 year old girl who was sent from her home to buy a packet of milk. The sight of the broken milk packet mixed with the crimson of her blood, the mangled young body and the twisted, lifeless face still remain in my memory. The old driver of the rogue car told me that he was driving the vehicle since the previous night, so he was tired. The child was on the extreme right of the footpath, she obeyed all the traffic rules, the driver never intended the accident to happen- yet a promising life was untimely put to end!

Kerala stands quite high among the States with the maximum number of road accidents and deaths. This is not surprising, since there are over 86 lakh registered vehicles in this State, which is over double the total number of buildings in Kerala. What is the cause of such large number of accident deaths? Is this due to ignorance of rules and laws? Not at all, all the drivers and commuters in the State are highly literate, read newspapers avidly and know all the rules and regulations. All of us know that if a helmetless two wheeler rider gets into an accident, the chances of head injury and death becomes 80% high than had he worn helmet. We also know that the rate of casualty is directly proportionate to the speed of the vehicle and seat-belt could have saved the life of Minister Sri. Gopinath Munde. But many still go helmetless, refuse to wear seat-belt or reduce speed. On the road, people are generally unmindful of other’s needs and care only about themselves.

The egos of mallus are, we know, sky high. We want to reach our destination at the shortest possible time, with the least hassles and queues. We always think that the vehicles on the other side move faster than in our side. Why? Because we are impatient, we want to go first, even the ambulances or others in emergency can wait! Have you seen the other cars speeding just after an ambulance? They are not relatives of the patient inside the ambulance, just an opportunist driver who wants to jump the traffic queue.

We hardly notice it when our vehicles move and when roads are free. But if there is a block, we lose patience fast and tend to get irritated. We think the road is there just for us and others have no right to be there. We feel it is OK to overtake from the left side, to over speed and to drive an unfit vehicle in the most dangerous way. We hate it if someone else sound the horn, but we do it more often than needed. Three wheeler and two wheeler drivers have special status and privileges on the roads. Their utter hatred of bigger vehicles is quite visible on the roads. Male drivers can not tolerate women who drive, old detest young drivers. On the other hand, youngsters harass mature drivers by showing their competitive spirit on the roads. Such is the state of affairs here, among us! So many times have I wished for the people of the road to consider the others on the road too. Elderly women may stand on one side of the zebra crossing for hours for a kind-hearted driver to stop their car and allow them to cross the road. If at all the women enter the line to cross, deafening horns from speeding cars will scare them away!

When can we hope to have a new culture on the road? Where drivers respect the others on the road, have concern for pedestrians, allow another vehicle to over take or go in front, follow all the regulations and rules and reach where their destination safe, sound and happy? When are the drivers going to realize that rash and negligent driving is going to take them to a place from where they can never return? Studies show that driving 300 kilometers at 80 km/hr or less will actually save time other than petrol/diesel, engine oil, the vehicle and lives on the road. Also, if speed is increased to 100 km/hr, then the time saved will be just 10 minutes, but the damage top the vehicle and environment is much more.

There will not be a single spot of National/State highway in Kerala which had not been smeared in blood. In every house, there will be someone- either relative or friend whose life was wasted away on the roads. As Superintendent of Police, Alappuzha, I witnessed a mass casualty when a bus carrying over 30 persons was rammed by an express train at an unmanned level cross, killing all its passengers. I still feel the angst of seeing the body of that 2 year old boy among other bodies lined up for inquest, whom I carried in my arms who to the hospital hoping to save at least one life. I remember that I felt warmth on his tiny body, I felt him move against me! His death- all those deaths on the roads are so meaningless. So purposeless!

This earth is beautiful. Life on this earth is even more so. We should allow everyone to live this God given life to the fullest, enjoying each moment, each day. We should not allow anyone who has not completed 18 years to take out a vehicle or drive it. We should always wear helmet while riding two wheelers and insist others to wear it too. I entreat the ladies not to go with a man in a two wheeler if he does not wear helmet or fasten seatbelt. We should limit the speed of the vehicle to below its allowable limit, never use phones while driving, never drink before taking the wheels. We should dim the lights for other vehicles after sunset and respect pedestrians on the road, especially on zebra crossings. When tired or sleepy while driving, take your vehicle to the side of the road, switch off the engine and sleep. Or go to a nearby shop and drink/eat something. Let us not be overconfident that nothing will happen to us because we are experts in driving because what happens to you may not be dependent on your driving skills alone.