Indian Road Sense – Potholes of minds

Need of a Civil Society Initiative

I have been travelling on various roads in metro, smaller cities, towns and villages of India for the last 50
years. Unfortunately, one witnesses a palpable degradation in our collective sense of road safety and
concern for the fellow travellers. Condition in other tier II and III cities in India is even worse. On all India
level, as per World Road Statistics, presented in the Rajya Sabha, 94,985 people were killed in road
accidents in the country in 2005, next only to China where 98,738 people were killed in the same year. The
number of deaths in road accidents in Delhi alone was 2,169 in 2005. Some of the press reports reveal that
India had nearly 3, 00,000 accidents with over 1,10,000 deaths in 2009.

All these accidents and fatalities are avoidable if we, as responsible citizens take notice to this and start a
massive voluntary education cum awareness campaign. But our apathy to human life is evident when we
compare this to the reactions to terrorist and insurgents’ related attacks or daily ‘stone-throwing’ in
parliament, which gets enormous media coverage than to the civic sense or lack thereof in the national
media. In 2008, India lost approximately 2,600 personnel to terrorist related incidents. Media and civil
society debates this form of fatalities day in and day out, which it should and attempt to stop; but can we
ignore 50 times the high death toll on the national roads?

As per World health Organization (WHO) data, every 30 seconds someone dies on the world’s roads.
Annually over 1.3 million people die and over 20 to 30 million are injured or permanently disabled from
road traffic injuries. The Global Burden of Disease Report, published by the WHO, predicts that road
traffic accidents will move from ninth place to third place on the list for world-wide death and disability.

Chandigarh, where I live and travel almost daily, prides itself to be the cleanest, greenest and a developed
city. As per Chandigarh Traffic Police web site, a total of 728 calls were made to the PCRs regarding road
accidents in 2009. 14 fatal and 20 injury cases were reported in these accidents. Besides this, 240 minor
cases were reported regarding vehicle accidents. While the averages are far below the other metros like
Delhi, Mumbai or Chennai; we can not draw comfort as every life lost in vehicle accident is unnatural and
preventable. What are the major reasons of these accidents and fatalities?

Most of our roads are barely able to sustain the traffic pressure, especially during peak morning and
evening hours. Multiple vehicles with ever increasing Indian middle class have become a necessity in the
absence of a viable public transport system. Notwithstanding the infrastructure constraints, we have
accidents primarily due to poor road sense. How often have we sat through a traffic light and seen the usual
‘game theory’ application in blatant disregard to even the presence of a traffic policeman? Non-stopping
before the zebra crossing, not waiting till clock ticks zero, creeping forward at 6 to 8 seconds from green
light, not stopping in a lane or simply ignoring a blazing red light and whizzing past; are all part of our
skewed traffic sense and a defect behaviour.

Last year MBA students of the institute I have been associated with, carried out an interesting survey in
Chandigarh. The students were located at eight traffic lights and recorded their observation of vehicle
drivers, under two conditions – in the presence of a traffic policeman and in his absence. The statistics were
startling and demolished our misplaced concept of Chandigarh being more disciplined in road sense than
other metros. A total of over 2,600 vehicle recordings were made in the busy intersections of Dakshin
Marg and three internal roads of Sector 37-38, 34-35 and 28-29 by 46 students. In the presence of a traffic
cop, it was observed that 92% of the vehicles stopped, but less than 10% adhered to their lane or zebra
crossing. Balance 8% of the vehicles – mainly the auto rickshaws and two wheelers slipped past the red
traffic light before it turned green. The condition in the absence of a traffic cop was alarming. Nearly 45%
of the vehicles did not stop and continued their journey in the most hazardous condition. Same is actually
true for all cities perhaps even in the presence of a traffic cop – if that can be any solace to us.

How many times one comes across a BMW or Merc driven by a well heeled, jumping the traffic light?
Bigger the vehicle, more is the need of speed - seems to the mantra in our country. One wonders, why is
such impertinence allowed or tolerated? Looking at many incidences of infringement, one feels that most of
traffic policemen appear to be too intimidated by the luxury on wheels. Similarly, it allows two wheelers to

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go as they oblige them too willingly. I heard a former well admired yet controversial administrator-
bureaucrat lamenting the “connection” culture of Chandigarh. Any time a traffic cop stops a luxury car, the
driver pulls out his cell phone and asks the cop “to talk to someone high in the administration”! No doubt
the traffic policemen are wary of such calls.

‘Speed thrill’ is yet another bane in most of the cities or highways. Young boys without helmets and three
atop a motorcycle meandering their way through the traffic is a usual sight. The WHO report on traffic
injury prevention documents that compulsory helmet use by motorized two wheeler riders can reduce
deaths by 30% -50%. There is no scientific evidence available that use of helmets makes motorcyclists
more vulnerable because of reduction in sight or hearing. Unfortunately, in our country, helmets are used to
avoid being challaned by the traffic cops and not to save our own heads. Speed is not the exclusive domain
of young men. I have seen a young executive driving her Maruti Alto at over 80 km speed on a busy road
almost on a daily basis. Many ladies after dropping their kids in popular convent schools, speed up to over
80 to get back home as fast as possible, lest they miss their favourite serial or breakfast.

Another major reason of road rage and traffic accidents is, total disregard to the value of using indicator
lights. In most cities, hardly anyone uses indicators on the vehicles. It can avoid major mishaps and provide
a better sense of direction to other drivers on the road. Similarly, use of lane is another area that our road
users need to learn about. Non adherence to lanes creates a daily confusion in most of the cities, where such
lanes have been marked.

However, in the final analysis, a lot depends on self discipline and law enforcer – the traffic cop. We have
all the traffic laws to maintain order on the roads, but their enforcement is lackadaisical due to rampant
corruption and lethargic fatalism. Indian roads provide us a hallucinatory potion of screeching, honking,
yelling and carelessness to one’s own life. Safer roads can become a reality only if there is unanimity
amongst all road-users on the need to build disciplined road sense and for that civil society has to stand
together like they did for Arushi, Jessica, Ruchika, CWG or Cricket.

Post Script: In Cornell University in USA, there is a bridge which can be crossed only by one car at a time.
They have an unwritten rule; four to five cars on one side cross over and stop for the same number to be
allowed to cross from the other side. No light or traffic cop – just that degree of patience and consideration
for others. Can we replicate this on our railway crossings in India?

For the sake of factual accuracy, as per WHO, the most dangerous place in the world to travel on roads is in
the impoverished East African state of Eritrea, where figures showed an estimated 48 deaths per 100,000
people in 2007. Road travel in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific is nearly as dangerous too, with a
statistical 45 deaths per 100,000. Egypt at 41.6 and Libya at 40.5 also had a poor road safety record. The
safest road conditions were found amid the islands and atolls which make up the Micronesian nation of the
Marshall Islands. Here 59,000 residents have a mere 2,487 vehicles between them. Only one fatal road
accident was recorded in 2007. France and Germany suffered 7.5 and 6 fatalities per 100,000 respectively
compared to Britain at 5.4 and the US at 13.9 with more than 251 million vehicles registered. A similar
level could be found in Sri Lanka, Turkey and Azerbaijan. (WHO data). Can Indian roads be counted
amongst the best and safest? We can, if the civil society stands united on this and remove the ever existing
pot holes developed in our minds.

-KK (Aug 2010) (earlier published in Chandigarh management Association magazine).