A few years ago, the Supreme Court felt that the two years imprisonment meted out for causing death due to rash driving was ‘grossly inadequate’. Before agreeing I would like to define what the police believe is rash and negligent driving, and what actually happens on the road when an accident takes place.
Since I have been driving most of life, I’ve seen my share of accidents and have also been involved in one, where I had to face police and court, through no fault of mine.
According to the law, roads are meant for driving and certain designated spots like pedestrian crossings, subways and over-bridges are meant for pedestrians to cross.
But where do pedestrians actually cross?
For a driver, it is not the other car or truck he has to avoid, but the hundreds of men and women who keep crossing in front of him all the time, all over our country.
More than the motorist, the pedestrian thinks he owns the road.
Come with me to any country outside our Indian sub-continent, you will hardly see a single person walking or crossing the road. Who regulates this? The police.
Sadly, if the police and government have no will to regulate people from using roads meant for traffic, shouldn’t it be the government that should be taken to task?
Shouldn’t the learned judges be asking the government why they are not safe guarding citizens? Shouldn’t the government be answerable for not clearing pavements for people to walk on, and not implementing they cross only at certain points?
Rash and negligent driving! Yes, I condemn such drivers, but how fast can you drive ‘rashly’ with a road full of people?
When a child slips into a well, or is drowned in a river, who is blamed? The parents ofcourse, for not keeping their child from the well or dangerous river. In the same way, the government and police are like our parents, their job is to protect and safeguard us from danger, and have to continually regulate and discipline us to keep away from the dangerous road and traffic.
But does the police do that? Does the government do that?
How convenient to blame the motorist all the time, when my first question would be, what was that man or woman doing on the road?
When someone is run over on a railway line, is the railways blamed? Never. They actually fine the dead man’s family for trespassing. If the engine driver is not blamed, why blame the road driver?
So dear judges of the Supreme Court, who are above everybody, penalize the government, deal harshly with the police for not doing their work, and only when proved beyond doubt the motorist was actually driving rashly and negligently, then and only then punish him..!
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Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
Wrong side driving is the biggest menace now a little traffic jam or red signal we see motorist going on the wrong side without bothering about the consequences knocking of people and creating traffic jam. Until huge fines are levied this will not stop. At least fine of 10000 rupees should be put for such violation .
Totally agree with you Bob. Unfortunately, it is the responsibility of the people elected by the people, to pursue such matters, as people have elected them to do necessary works like these as they themselves are busy as they
have to earn for their livelihood and that of the politician and the Bureaucrats.
The ROOT of the problem lies with our ROAD TEST conducted by the RTO for DRIVING LICENSE!!
Their lackadaisical attitude of passing all n sundry sows the seeds for this false bravado which gets instilled at Pt1.
Imagine if passing the DRIVING TEST is as stringent as in the developed countries; that it calls for a celebration litetally upon passing that one exam, it’d set a precedence!!
2ndly the job of the RTO & our LAW & ORDER -POLICE is to create Awareness on the various rules & regulations, than be chasing lawbreakers!!
If ones not aware of the Procedures, theres bound to be lapses, as simple as that!! I was AGHAST when ivread an article 1&1/2 years back when a motorist offering lift to strangers ( as they were stranded due to railways not functioning) was Fined & Booked as seemingly it was a CRIME acc to RTO..!!??
Similarly innumerable policiea & rules are laid down but it never ever trickles down to the COMMON MAN & the cops are happy as their BOOKS are healthy with the FINES collected which is NOT fine with us!!
My father was shocked to see me crossing the road when I saw the road free of traffic at that place, and not at the zebra crossing, one day,when I was young. He couldn’t believe it was me as he saw me from a distance. He thought I was his wisest child and could not believe his eyes.Once I found a donkey waiting at the zebra crossing here in Bangalore. Cows and dogs don’t follow traffic rules. I saw a dog dart across and cows sitting on the road.
True.
Strict laws for hawkers selling merchandise at signal stops, beggars carrying babies, errant pedestrians, and rash drivers should be
implemented.
I encountered a hawker blowing bubbles yesterday which floated into the air around at a signal stop!! She was trying to sell a bubble
machine. It was infuriating! Both the lady and the rider will be at risk for a potential road accident. No traffic cops at the vicinity.
Kripa, you are absolutely right about cattle and animals freely roaming our streets and roads. It is extremely dangerous and life-threatening to both the driver and the poor animals. A stringent law and fine against their owners is required.
Cattle? Once I was forced to ride alongside an elephant n nearly got drenched in u know what. Nowadays about 16 cows r led aong the roads to special spots. They get precedence. Why don’t foreign do likewise?