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He was immortalised as the Valiant Tailor in a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. He had embroidered, "seven in one blow on his belt buckle. This meek and humble tailor impressed the citizenry who brought it to the king's attention. The king inducted the tailor into the army thinking that he was a brave warrior. Actually, the tailor had killed seven flies who had dared to sit on his jam sandwich. What he did not do was kill people. In India, we have many rash drivers who can kill dozens in one foolish move. After the accident, unless the driver is killed in it, he is back on the road to carry on his dastardly deeds. If the driver is arrested, he gets bail almost immediately. If his license is confiscated, he can buy another one easily. The more resourceful driver will normally have a driving license for Punjab, Himachal and Haryana.
These accidents are routine because road-safety is not a priority with the government. Consider these chilling facts. In May of this year a bus rolled into the river near Jhori, drowing 32 persons. The overloaded bus was speeding. In August in Sangla, Kinnaur district, 23 died and 20 were injured. Reason was bad road conditions, overloading. There were 43 passengers in a 32-seater bus. In September; 25 died, 25 were injured as a bus fell into Gobind Sagar. The 21-seater bus had 50 passengers, many on the roof. The private bus was speeding in an attempt to overtake a state transport bus. In all cases civic authority officials rushed to the scene, as did the police officials. A sum of Rs 10,000 is offered to the kin of dead, Rs 5,000 to the injured. The Chief Minister expressed condolences but the carnage continues. The bureaucrats go back to their office till the next disaster. "H.P. keen on crash barriers — read the headlines. How many more will be killed before the 'keenness' turns into action?. Informatively, the crash barriers will be built on roads that are only 4,000 feet above sea level. Below this you are not allowed to roll into the 'khud'. In the most recent accident 70 people of a marriage party died when their bus fell into the river. The driver tried to cross a bridge which was partially submerged in flood waters. It was the same senseless move that bus drivers make when they try and outrun a train at an unmanned railway crossing. Why does this mass killing continue? The answer is quite simple. No one cares! To keep killing 150,000 people annually with no remedial measures in sight is criminal. In any democratic country governments would fall, officials would be held responsible for dereliction of duty. In all cases cited above, one of the causes is speeding. Speed governors are the answers. Has anyone thought of that? The judiciary has but no one has acted. Another reason is overloading. Has the police ever issued challans to a bus driver for over-loading? Of course not! It's a lucrative business! Why kill it. Kill people instead. How about a certificate of road worthiness? Every bus has one but it was bought at the local R.T.O. Office. Happy Motoring!
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