Parwa Nahin’ (it doesn’t matter), seems to be our national motto. If someone drove up a one way street in Japan, Europe or America or swung into the main road as we so casually do, there would be an accident because the oncoming vehicle just would not believe that anyone could be so stupid. If you blew your horn behind a car or truck they might angrily ask you if something was the matter. Thousands are killed on
our roads every year and many are also killed by respiratory disorders caused by traffic pollution. The roads are full of potholes and the traffic cops negligent. Nobody seems to care.
There is a pathetic belief that laws can fix anything. Laws are easy to make but who cares about implementation? Most people think that the law is an ass and anyone with a little clout can brazenly flout the rules. Nobody thinks twice when a spoiled fifteen-year-old brat drives or park it wherever they want. Drivers shove through any gap on any side of any street.
As the bulk of our truck, bus, taxi, autorikshaw and company car drivers are village boys who often buy their licenses without proper testing it is not surprising that they are in so many accidents. If the traffic police can’t or won’t stop unlicensed drivers why not privatise the checking of vehicle papers and drivers licenses. With so many cameras on mobile phones people can easily record traffic offenses. If private checkers were allowed a share of the fines they would quickly control the menace and simultaneously fill the police coffers.
Bad maintenance is also a problem and few people care to keep their cars and other vehicles in proper condition. Many vehicle owners do not even care and many mechanics are no better. They often do a quick and sloppy job that can also kill or maim. If there is a complaint he will obligingly say ‘Parwa nahin’ and do another sloppy quick fix. Many highway accidents are due to overloading, in flagrant violation of well-established laws. When combined with under-maintenance, the result can be disastrous. When 18 tones is the average load for a 12 tonne chassis, the vehicle has to be modified with wooden beams added and shock absorbers removed.
Drivers suffering from shortage of sleep and excess of alcohol or drugs multiply the problem. But who cares? There are expensive weigh bridges at many state borders but the authorities mainly worry about getting bribes which cost the transporters and their customers huge sums. The oil companies do not seem to care if there are some transit leakages on the way to the pumps and the latter do not care if motorists get a bit of kerosene in their diesel or petrol so adulteration is widespread but who cares if it poisons the atmosphere? The road traffic authorities, traffic police, road research institutes and legions of officials are also to blame. Government officials know that they cannot be easily sacked for negligence because they know that if they do nothing, they will do nothing wrong.
We are paying a high price for this pervasive tolerance to things that are wrong. If we want to compete with the highly efficient Asian tigers we will need to start worshiping accuracy, timeliness and precision and break out of the careless attitudes of our feudal past.As in advanced countries we all need to start getting very angry when we hear anyone say “Parwa Nahin! Chalta Hai! or Theek Hai!”
Murad Ali Baig
Senior automobile analyst