Time to stop valourising daredevil hill drivers
The focus must be on improving road infrastructure, signage and patrolling as well as penalising rash drivers
At least 30 people, including 27 schoolchildren, were killed on Monday when a private bus fell into a gorge in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. “Prima facie, negligent driving and overspeeding are the main reasons for the accident,” an official said. Be it in the plains or in the hills, road safety is not something we care about, even though the number of vehicles and motorways are increasing rapidly. Unsurprisingly, India tops the list when it comes to road mishaps. According to a recent report of the International Road Foundation, the country records 10% of global road accidents with more than 1.46 lakh fatalities annually, which is the highest in the world. As a signatory to the Brasilia Declaration, a global high-level conference on road safety, India is committed to reducing the number of road accidents and fatalities by 50% by 2020.
When I read about the accident on Tuesday, I recalled a social media post — a medley of photographs — that often pops up on my timelines. It is about drivers in Himachal Pradesh, mainly those who drive the state roadways buses. The photographs (search for ‘bus drivers in Himachal’ on Google) fete the “expertise” of these drivers in negotiating the hill state’s treacherous dirt roads and hairpin bends, come rain/snow or shine. These photos are not photo-shopped; I have seen these drivers in action during my numerous visits to the mountains; they are indeed awe-inspiring. As one of the headlines on a website says: ‘21 Pictures That Prove Bus Drivers Of Himachal Pradesh Are The Best In India’.
They could be the “best” but lionising their “capability” is foolish, just like the famed ‘Mumbai Spirit’. These drivers don’t take these risks because they are the Rambos of the road. They do it because they have no choice. This is because some other department fails to discharge its responsibility of maintaining the roads and putting the guide rails (a barricade between the road and a gorge).
Blaming the driver for Monday’s accident would be the easiest thing to do. But that will not lead us anywhere. Instead, the focus must be on improving road infrastructure and signages, patrolling, penalising rash drivers and investing in proper driver training to avoid such mishaps in the future. One of the traits of successful people is that they are passionate about their work and hence are also known as karmayogis. We come across many success stories where the sheer passion for their work made them cross all the hurdles in life and become successful. Let us take the example of Ekalavya who wanted to learn archery from Dronacharya, the teacher of Kauravas and Pandavas. But the guru refused to teach him. However, Ekalavya’s love for archery was so