GUEST COLUMN
Human resource is the greatest resource on the planet but the mostly avoidable road traffic accidents are depleting this invaluable resource. According to a 2022 report, there had been 4.61 lakh road traffic accidents in India in which 1.68 lakh people were killed. About 70 per cent of the accidents and 70 per cent of the fatalities are due to over speeding and 70 per cent of these accidents involved those in the age group of 15-45 years.
We would like to cite the example of Pune Porsche car crash which occured recently at 2: 30 AM on intervening night of May 18–19. An over speeding Porsche Taycan luxury sedan car, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy, the son of a real estate builder, reportedly having no valid driving training and license mowed down a motorbike from behind. The accident was so severe that both the riders on the motorbike were killed. The victims were 24-year-old computer science engineering graduates belonging to Jabalpur, MP.
According to the Panchnama, the car speed lock showed a speed of 160 kmph at the time of the crash. According to the police chief, the teen was returning from an upscale pub after attending a party. When the waiter of the first pub refused to serve him more alcohol on his demand, he went to a second pub and remained there for another hour. The car which was being driven by him did not have any number plate and the accused was reportedly inebriated. The teen spent Rs 48,000 in 90 minutes at the first pub from 9:30 PM to 12:10 AM.
According to the police, the teen was drunk at the time of crash but the juvenile justice board had given him bail even before getting the result of his blood alcohol concentration report. The accused got his bail within 15 hours of the arrest. His lawyer and the juvenile justice board (JJB) authorities were much concerned about his rights as a teenager but did not bother to consider that the accused should not have been permitted to drive the car without a valid driving license. They did not give any consideration that the crash was a heinous crime particularly when the accused teen was having a history of alcohol addiction and driving his car under the influence of alcohol.
Police have registered an FIR against the minor under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 304 A (causing death by negligence), 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt by an act which endangers human life), 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety) and relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Police had already pleaded to the JJB to consider him as an adult and opposed his bail but JJB released the teenager on condition that he should write a three-hundred-word essay on effect of “road accidents and their solution” and to assist an RTO officer to study and to practice traffic rules for 15 days. In addition to that, he was directed for de-addiction counseling and a psychiatrist’s consultation. But after public outcry his bail was cancelled and he was sent to an observation home for 14 days.
The price of the Porsche Taycan ranges from 1.6 crore to 2.5 crore. The teen’s father is a leading Pune based builder and real estate businessman whose own worth is reportedly more than Rs 600 crore. The teen’s father allegedly made an elaborate escape plan after knowing that a complaint has been lodged against him regarding the accident. According to the police, he used a new SIM card and three cars to confuse the police investigating team. He got into his car, drove out of town and ordered the driver to take the road to Mumbai and at the same time he ordered another driver to take one of his cars to Goa. He stepped out of the car which was on the way to Mumbai and took his friend’s car and went to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar to dodge the police. However, police caught him with the help of the GPS location of his third car. Now he is in police custody. The police stated that it was the father who ordered his driver to give the keys of his new Porsche Taycan to his son whenever he demanded it.
Over speeding, drunken driving, use of mobile phone while driving and driver fatigue are the leading causes of road traffic accidents and fatalities. Our clinical study revealed that 90 per cent of road traffic accidents are caused due to negligence of the driver which itself is a behavioural problem that should be tackled to prevent road traffic menace because the nation is losing a lot in terms of human and economic resources. Following traffic rules will not only save the human resource but other resources as well.
An important aspect affecting the speed of the vehicle are driver related factors like age, gender, alcohol intake, number of other co-passengers and concomitant use of mobile phone. A 1 kmph increase in speed causes a three per cent increase in chances of an accident. With a 4-5 per cent increase in the speed there is a proportional increase in the fatality. Faster moving vehicles are more prone to accidents and the risk and severity of the accident is directly proportional to the speed of the vehicle. It has been observed that the younger the driver, the faster the speed of the vehicle and the higher the speed, greater the risk and fatalities.
Additionally, accidents occurring at night are usually fatal in general but more so if the driver is drunk. The reaction time for the brain to respond and the reaction time to apply the brake get delayed after consuming alcohol. The minimum time the brain takes to react is usually a second and the reaction time to apply the brake is another second. Therefore, all drivers should follow the two-second rule of thumb that means irrespective of the speed, the driver should be two seconds travel time behind the vehicle in front of him. In the Pune Porsche crash time the speed of the car at the time of the crash was reported to be 160 kmph. If we analyse the distance covered in a second then it comes out to be 45 metres. The braking distance is proportional to the square of speed. Therefore, the possibility of avoiding a collision becomes smaller as the speed increases. According to the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, the permissible limit of alcohol in India is 0.03 per cent or 30 milligram of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. It may be less risky to drink one peg of whiskey, two glasses of wine or two cans of beer an hour before going on the wheel. A scientific study revealed that even with a small amount of alcohol consumption drivers are twice as likely to be involved in road traffic accidents than sober drivers. Many studies show that alcohol affects the driver’s reaction time, impairs their judgment and increases their risk-taking behaviour like over speeding and abrupt lane changing.
The incidence of drunken driving reported in the media is just the tip of the iceberg. It is known and reported only when major accidents happen. It is suggested that facilities of BAC machines or breath analyser should be mandatorily available at the hotels and pubs and all drivers should be subjected to the test to check the alcohol concentration before they drive to prevent such tragic accidents.
(The authors are orthopaedic surgeons based in Dehradun. The views expressed are personal)
