Challenge anyone driving fast in a residential area and chances are you will get this response - naan nimmana touch maadna (did I touch you?) as if that is the only measure of safe driving.
Here are the tragic consequences of this sort of attitude. One life snuffed out because of some idiot who thought that driving fast is his birthright and as long as he does not touch anyone (more precisely he has not hit anyone so far) he is driving perfectly safe. These people were not running across a road or crossing a highway. They were walking on a pavement in a residential area.
These sort of drivers just don't get it.
a. Just because you own a car does not make you a superior human being and allow you to behave arrogantly. A car is a privilege in India and people in cars need to drive courteously (I have seen on long distance drives how people just speed through villages just pressing the horn - a total lack of respect for the locals).
b. Just because you are a great driver with complete "control" over your car does not mean everyone else on the road is perfect. We need to anticipate and lower speeds mean more time to respond.
c. A car weighs 750-1500 kg and an adult human weighs 75-100 kg. There is only one winner in Car vs. Human even at low speeds.
d. Braking distances are proportionate to the square of the speed. If it takes 20ft to stop at 30kmph it takes 80 ft to stop at 60kmph. No known violation of Newton's law have been observed (not even in lawless Bangalore).
Srivathsa
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Cars - Unruly Behavior
I entirely agree - most car owners behave like as if they have far more priority on the roads than other slow moving bicycles, pushcarts or even pedestrains crossing roads or walking by the side who they imagine have 'obstructed' or 'slowed them down' on their free, fast & privileged passage !
I have even come across cases when they sneer & show irritation needlessly when they have to slow down for a group of pedestrians (who take some risks to cross roads) instead of slowing down or stopping & allowing them cross safely, as is the practise anywhere else outside this country.
The most annoying thing is that this kind of unruly behaviour is not just with vehicles with hired drivers (mostly, with yellow license plates) but also in many cases with owner driven vehicles.
Car drivers think they are the kings
I totally agree with you Naveen. It has become a nightmare to cross the road or walk on the pavements. First of all pavement is not present, or very small in size. Secondly pavement is occupied by electrical pillars, transformers, trees and parked vehicles. We have to get down to sides of the roads, but, the car owners are too rash. Nowadays, SUV/MUV fever has increased and if they hit, it becomes even more fatal. Yesterday there was an accident in Shivajinagar where 8 pedestrans were seriously injured and 1 pedestrain died when an uncontrolled driver rammed all of them.
Even driving 2 wheelers have become more dangerous because of the reckless car drivers making the middle class people who cannot afford or maintain a car very difficult. Many times, these car drivers block the way of the 2 wheelers in situations where cars cannot pass and 2 wheelers can pass. They are too jealous and they don't want others to pass if they cannot pass.
Policing needs to be more effective than what is there today which is almost null. Most of the police men are 'dumb' to these rash drivers since they are afraid if the car belongs to MLA/MLC or if the car driver is relative to a VIP.
As I said, empower the Police with more power, tools and vehicles. Why a MLA/MLC need Corolla / Sonata? Grab all the Government highend cars including the Corollas of High Court Judges and hand it over to Police and give the MLA/ MLC budget cars such as Alto / Santro. Public including MLAs and MLCs should be affraid of our cops and the system, then only things will come in proper place.
It Takes two to.....
I think we need to take a slightly broader look at this issue.Whereas the drivers tend to think that they are the kings of the Road or no road ,as is the case with many a roads here at Bangalore(things are getting better though), so do the pedestrians and the two wheeler riders.I see pedestrians insisting on walking on the road even when there is a pavement, it has become a habit with many...;and this coupled with the pathetic condition of our roads ,which are hardly user friendly for pedestrians or two wheelers , becomes a major problem for vehicle users.I think we need to educate the masses on how to use the road first....both the pedestrians and the vehicle users. In the Western countries,hey are very concerned and conscious of both their duties and rights.., so until the intiative comes from citizens themselves no matter how many rules are brought in, things are not going to get any better..
Residential areas don't have clearly demarcated pavements
Kiran,
I agree partly. It is sometimes annoying when people don't follow basic rules - walk on the right (opposite of left) side of the road so that you face nearside traffic and walk on the pavement where it is in good shape. But when motorcyclists climb pavements (see this near Urvashi theatre, Central Jail) what does one do?
The smaller interior roads of most residential areas ( Malleshwaram, Rajajinagar, Hanumanthanagar, Jayanagar) don't have pavements. They were designed when car usage was low. I would expect that at least in such areas, we as car drivers/two wheeler riders respect the safety of the residents and drive slowly - 25 kmph or so. On a 500m stretch you can't gain much time anyway. But you could kill someone by speeding.
Many of these roads have been turned into throughfares because the main roads are crowded and now the older people and children in these areas cannot venture out with a sense of safety because of inconsiderate motorists who are horn happy and believe it is their right to speed through.
In Japan if you kill or maim a person in an accident, you are pretty much his/her slave for life - even if it is the other person's fault. You have to make sure that the person is cared for, their children can go to school and college, etc. People take out insurance now for this. As a car driver you are expected to drive very carefully. In the US, if you are going along the interstates, if there is roadwork going on, you will find a board that says (at least in Michigan -"10 years for killing a worker, no negotiation".
Killing a person in a residential area should come with a stiff penalty of 10 years in jail. If people read about 10 such incidents, they will drive more carefully.
I hope the people at praja make a conscious effort to drive safely - "It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness". Thanks
Srivathsa
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.