MONDAY, 31 July 2023 | in Guest Column
GUEST COLUMN
Dr Gaurav Sanjay
The purpose of schools is to give us strong basic fundamentals which can be worked upon to build better skills in the future by well trained and certified teachers. This is important for every profession but many times it is more important for the driving profession because the lives of many passengers remain in the hands of drivers.
As of 2023, India is the third largest automotive industry in terms of sales but a contrasting statistic is that only eight per cent of Indian households own an automobile. It contributes to 6.4% of India’s GDP. The NCRB data of 2021 shows that highways in India constitute just two per cent of the length of roads but are responsible for 30 per cent of accidents, 36 per cent of deaths and three per cent loss of GDP. With almost five lakh accidents annually and 1.5 lakh deaths it is a high time for the policy makers and the public at large to rethink about what is going wrong in our country as far as these road traffic accidents are concerned. A clinical study done by us revealed that 90 per cent of the accidents are caused due to negligence of the drivers. A well made course for driving could be a major change which would help India to decrease these accidents and deaths which are hurting the youth of the country majorly. Road traffic safety and rules must be inculcated as part of school curriculum and we must have government driving schools in which we should be mandatorily made to spend a few weeks before we give a driving test and it must be strictly and fairly conducted.
About 30 per cent driving licences in India are fake, Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari informed in the Lok Sabha in July 2019. The government is still not very strict about how these driving licences are issued as it will need a major revamp of the entire process. Driving schools per se are not advertised well enough in our newspapers and mass media. Maruti Suzuki has the largest chain of driving schools in India with about 520 driving schools in 250 cities in India. The average fees there is about Rs 7,000-8,000. The government should invest in driving schools and make them state of the art so that other State governments can take them as a model and reduce these accidents by the means of a well structured programme at an affordable rate.
China has a theory test which has 100 questions and two practical exams to get a driving license. In Croatia, you have to attend 70-100 hours of mandatory driving school before you attempt the driving test and in Australia it is 120 hours. In France you must clock in 3,000 kilometres behind the wheels with an instructor before you apply for a driving test. In Montenegro, you can make only three mistakes in the test and it’s a straight fail then. Apart from that an ophthalmologist and psychiatrist assess you for your fitness to drive as well. Learners in Japan are expected to attend a mandatory driving camp for 26 hours. They also need to take a theory exam, five-day driving practice and finally a practical exam which makes it one of the toughest driving tests in the world. But in India according to data, it is one of the easiest exams to pass. You just have to learn to drive in a straight line and turn left/right and stop after 50 yards to pass. Drivers aren’t tested in the true sense to ascertain if it is safe to give them the licence for driving.
India hasone per cent of the number of the vehicles in the world with 11 per cent of the total accidents. The role of the government should not only be to boot the economy by selling these cars at high tax which is around 28 pre cent GST and 22 per cent CES totaling to an effective tax rate of 50 per cent, but also to have a pool of safe drivers on the roads so that they can avoid these traffic mishaps and accidents. In many countries driving license tests cost hundreds of thousands but in India it costs under Rs 1,000 and the drivers often feel that even if they fail in the test, which they often don’t, they will again pay this nominal fee and reappear. They are not serious regarding the test as they won’t be losing a lot of money. Although the pricing should not be too high seeing the average wages in the country but the cost should not be taken for granted.
Making a habit from school time will inculcate good driving values among the children who will become responsible drivers in the future. A small exam in every grade can help the nation’s children learn it gradually and effectively over the time we spend on primary education. Driving is required almost by each one of us later in our life when we drive ourselves to our coaching centres, colleges, offices or drive our loved ones in time of vacation or injury. The number of driving schools should be increased proportionately to the sale of vehicles. Schools should have mandatory school bus facilities. It will save the time and money which can be utilised by the parents and guardians for other important works.
E-challans are currently being issued by most State governments but it was found in a report in 2022 by nearly eight lakh motorists were challaned out of whom over five lakh had not paid their penalty in the stipulated time. This shows poor enforcement by the authorities. Offenders must be effectively dealt with by a fast process and their licenses must be suspended if they fail to pay within a stipulated time.
Most motorists created an uproar on news channels and social media after the Central government imposed higher fines for breaking these rules, alleging that the government had found a way to earn money. I fail to understand the need to pay the fines if you follow these traffic rules religiously. The youths often throw away Rs 500 for minor offenses like not wearing a helmet. Because it doesn’t burn a hole in their pocket so they are not serious and instead of changing their behaviour to follow the rules they often wait till the next time they are caught and then are again willing to give the money or try to bribe the traffic police.
If punishment is not painful, how can it be punishment? If punishment is not monetarily painful it cannot alter the mindset of such drivers. If they have to pay a hefty sum which is actually difficult for them to pay then most of them will definitely be careful to avoid repeating the offence.
It is a shame to see that the public doesn’t realise the importance of safe driving. We often disregard the importance of our and other lives by violating the traffic rules. The government should educate and enforce the traffic rules for all. India is striving for UCC but when it is unable to deal even with issues like traffic violation effectively, we have a long way to go.
(The author is an orthopaedic surgeon based in Dehradun. Views expressed are personal)
