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Good
motoring
Sher Shah Suri built the famous Grand Trunk road in the 16th century, a distance of over 2,500 km. A tree- lined road, it was dotted with Kos Minars all along the way at regular intervals. They had a serai and a well to provide water. Sadly, today’s road builders lack this vision. The Rs 12,839-crore Yamuna Expressway opened recently with much fanfare. The 165-km long Noida-Agra Expressway is being hailed as the best road in India. It is a multi-lane super smooth road but consider this: There are only three toilet facilities on the entire stretch and not one, repeat not one refuelling facility. The TV ads by the builder impress upon the driver not to switch lanes. They also mention a “Quick Emergency Response Team”. Last week, a first timer out for the thrill of the drive on India’s “best road” ran out of fuel. He called the emergency helpline three times, no help came. Finally, a patrol car came by. The only help they offered was, “Park on the side!” Desperate, he called his friend in Mathura who brought a jerrycan of diesel. This leads one to believe that in case of an accident (and this is to be expected a high-speed expressway), no ambulance or medical services would be available. A specially equipped ambulance to handle highway accident trauma victims has to be a must at the accident site within minutes. And accidents will happen. It did not take long for the first accident to take place. On Day Three, a car crashed after the driver swerved to avoid a stray animal on the road and flipped onto the other side of the divider. Inference: The barricading is not what it should be, neither on the sides, nor at the centre median. Yet RITES (Rail India Technical and Economic Services) had give the expressway the green light for commercial operations. They said the ride quality, surface texture, structure and illumination were as per standards. Not a word about safety, which should have been the primary concern. Perhaps our road builders could learn a lesson from Himalayan Motorsports, organisers of the famous Raid de Himalaya. The Raid runs through the most demanding terrain, the Himalayas, from Shimla to Srinagar via Manali, Leh and Kargil, over 2,000 km in seven days. Every day there are seven life- support ambulances plus two mobile ambulances on call. Also, a number of static ambulances in addition to Fast Intervention Vehicles – F.I.V.s, with a doctor on board. There is a helicopter on standby for a medical evacuation. All are radio connected. Help is never more than 10-12 minutes away. There is another danger on the Yamuna Expressway that no one could have foreseen. Some time ago I had the opportunity to drive part of the e-way. I told my friend that as soon as it was finished I would make the complete trip simply to enjoy the road. “Make sure you are home before dark,” he said. “Why?” I queried. “After dark, women stand by the side of the road hurl eggs onto the windscreen. Of course, you'll turn on the wipers, which will spread the egg all over the windscreen making it opaque and killing your vision. You are forced to stop. That’s when a bunch of lathi-wielding hooligans will descend on you!” Happy Motoring!
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