Rash Drivers + Careless Pedestrians = Road Kills

Road kills have become regular news on regional section of any given newspaper. On average every four minute one person losses his life in road accidents in India. A study by WHO in 2009 revealed that, India has the highest number of people killed in road accidents compared to other countries. WHO also believes that, by 2030 road death will be in the top 5 causes of deaths globally. 

India already has the largest number of two wheelers on the road. In addition, the increasing numbers of cars in last few years has made our roads congested. It is estimated that 180-220 cars are registered everyday at R.T.O. offices of metro cities. Further, getting a license to drive here seems as easy as going to movies, as one only needs to pay few hundred rupees of bribe and hardly a minute long driving test to obtain it. There is no system to test the road-worthiness of license applicant! Gladly, few states of India have enforced a rule to educate new drivers with traffic rules. However, knowing such rules is mere a satisfaction as they are virtually violated at every intersections.    

Rash driving is a big concern not only for pedestrians but also for police as in most accidents, drivers abandon the victim rather than arranging for immediate medical treatment. India has different types of rash drivers making a broad definition for it.  Unfortunately, we see all the types on day to day basis. This definition includes from under aged, drunk, speed loving youth to mobile using matures.  On the name of facility and result of continuous persuasion, the kids of working class Indians get the keys of vehicle much before qualifying the legal age of driving. While this group has little time for themselves in earning the bread and butter, there is this other class which believes their kids having costly vehicle a status symbol. Of course such a trend is bound to result in to chaos on the roads as the traffic during schools finishing hours literally forces us to consider it as another peak hour. Quite often we see students yet in their school uniform either racing or driving carelessly.  

India has seen numbers of high profile ‘Hit & Run’ cases. Ironically, these influential people always manage to skip the rope of legal action through loopholes of the same system. ‘Drink & Drive’ is another big problem in our country. However, people also find ways of getting away if caught, and we all know how they do that, don’t we? These systematic loopholes assures culprits a safe passage and thus ineffective in stopping them to commit such offence again. 

General perception on road kills or hit & run cases consider only the driver as a culprit. Perhaps, it is true as the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways indicated that 80% of road accidents are caused by driver errors. However, on the hand it is also the responsibility of pedestrians to be aware and act responsibility while crossing roads or walking. In fact, in some accidents, it is very clear that the cause was certainly not the negligence on driver’s part. People do cross roads while talking on the phone or listening to music wearing earphones. This is not only dangerous to them but also for drivers as such irresponsible behavior from them forces drivers to apply sudden breaks, which could result into slipping on the road. Pedestrians should keep one thing into mind that roads are of vehicles and that’s why it is advisable to walk on sides to avoid accidents.    

     

Reflecting the real situation of our roads a recent TV commercial rightly says that ‘Our Roads are filled with idiots’. However, I would just like to highlight the other side of coin which is, irresponsible driving. It’s even more sad that the hopeless authorities simply shrug off their responsibility calling themselves ‘helpless’.   

Rajnikanth to the Rescue…

Our star studded cricket team had played no better than a club class team and had lost 5 consecutive tests on foreign soil. Thus, the think tank of BCCI had to meet for analysing the cause. They were concerned as the streak of poor performance was not ending for our world champions like a spell of a true magician. And they were more worried as it could result in to possible loss of revenue. After hours of discussions, arguments & counter arguments, they managed to reach consensus on two points which were although most believed but certainly not the actual reasons behind the one after another fiasco.  

(1) Packed schedule of players and meaningless tournaments leaving cricketers tired

(2) Shrikant & Co. can never go wrong with the selection   

  

With no exact reason in sight, they still had to find and deal with the root cause of current debacles. So it was decided to provide the bogged down team an extra Psychologist who can boost their morale and help them getting back into rhythm. As budget has never been an issue of constrain for BCCI, all big guns of the profession in the radar were being approached, but unfortunately none of their service was available on immediate basis. In the mean time, one of the bright brains suggested to try and persuade none other than our beloved Rajnikanth to help the down and dusted Indian side in his very own way. Overjoyed by the suggestion, they readily accepted it thinking his supernatural powers and charismatic personality will definitely blow the positive air in Indian dressing room and that should prepare them winning overnight!

Luckily, Rajnkanth agreed for the cause and reached an overseas venue to motivate the demigods of religion which is virtually worshiped by every Indian…

What he saw upon reaching the team’s hotel left him shell shocked as the unit he thought he would have to handle was a divided house- just without bitter relationships and hard feelings! While the super seniors were indulged in practicing and planning, new members were busy adoring them rather than learning important lessons. There were also numbers of players who were busy either spending quality time with family or enjoying the sightseeing tours.

So in his short stint of 3 days, his first important task became to bring everyone together to revive the lost team spirit. However, he realized that it would be easy to handle them in groups before bringing everyone on the same page.

He made 3 distinct groups and decided to spend his first day with group 1 containing super seniors. In his conversation with the group he realized each had different issues bothering them to perform at their best. Their issues ranged from upcoming milestones to ageing body. In his day long interaction with them Rajnikanth tried to explain them to just concentrate on the upcoming game along with fitness and rest will fall in place automatically.

His next day was with the group of individuals who had well established place in the team. This was the group which still wanted to bank upon the fact that, they are current world champions and was no. 1test team in recent past. In addition, they were already in a discussion phase of upcoming IPL schedule and the income from commercials. Of course, impressing female fans with their flamboyance was always performed spontaneously. This was the group reluctant to come out from comfort zone just like Govt. employees. Rajnikanth felt it was difficult to handle these people as they have tasted the success and is yet high on it. With the little time and authority he had, he asked the group to learn from previous mistakes and take the maximum benefit from the valuable experience of seniors.

His last day was with the new recipients of test caps. This was the group who had yet to make its mark in international arena. They were more like a mute spectator than a player. They had the liberty to play their own game but hardly spoke for meaningful contribution in order to respect the experienced generation. And for sure, the attention they were getting from public and media seemed to be taking toll on their concentration. They were the easiest to tackle as all he had to tell them was “All the Best, do your best and learn from this experience”.       

Before his departure he called for a team meeting and spoke to everyone in general and what the nation was expecting from its champions. Everyone seemed to be convinced and hoped for better game next morning.

Everyone bid adieu to Rajnikanth and thanked him for everything. Just to see the effect of his three days long hard work, he decided to extend his stay to watch the team play. Unfortunately, what he saw on the field next day was identical to the last game, meaning the team was yet in the same old mindset. He left the ground and met the team at the end of day to ask what the problem was. Somehow, this became his final visit to the team and he left for India next day itself.   

  

Upon returning India, he looked disappointed but made a statement without mincing words. His exact words were “I had tried my best but even God cannot do much for those who fail to recognize and set their priorities right.”