An Auto Drivers Perspective on why we break the law!

On Sunday the roads in Mumbai are generally empty in the mornings and it is easy to get around without getting choked in the traffic. Last Sunday I decided to take an auto since securing a safe parking place in Bombay even on a Sunday is a challenge.

I got chatting with the auto driver as he drove me through the empty roads and he stopped at the right light. The traffic behind him kept honking until he decided to move on through the red light.

I asked him why we have such  scant respect for Red lights and the law. His wisdom in the matter was interesting, he told me it was not corruption that made people break the law, it was the fact that first they may not get caught at all. If they got caught at a signal by the police officer one could negotiate to be let off without a receipt, but if one insisted you could still pay the mandatory fine and get a receipt.

His observation was the fine was so petty that no one worried about breaking the law, there were no harsh punishment like cancellation of the license or prison terms for most road offences and he  identified  that was the reason why people break the law!  He also told me that even if one is taken to court the law takes its own course and time.

I reflected on his wisdom and I think he is right; no one dares to drink and drive anymore in Mumbai because the police made sure that you spend an evening as their guest before the judge fixes the fine next day. It was quickly understood that no amount of money would get you off immediately and hence everyone stopped drinking and driving. Of course the police still do catch  foolhardy drivers but that is an exception then the rule.

Earlier the same Sunday morning I was in another auto and guess what the police were busy booking people for jumping the signal at 7 a.m. in the morning, it was clear that the police did not believe in late night catches  anymore for drunken drivers and now believed in the old saying “The early bird catches the Worms”.

Maybe we should get auto and truck drivers to be in the committees that formulate the traffic laws so that we have a safer ride in our roads. Remember we have one of the highest number per million  of road fatalities  in  the world.

I did some primary research and found this wonderful website of International Road Federation – India chapter (http://www.indiairf.com)  addressing the issues on road safety and I reproduce below from the document on this site by the name “REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ROAD SAFETY and TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT” dated February 2007 which highlights the outcome of our Breaking the Law.

According to WHO statistics (year 2002) about 11.8 lakh people die every year in road accidents, the world over, of which 84,674 deaths are reported to take place in India. In 2004 the number of deaths had increased to 92,618. The mortality rate in India is 8.7 per hundred thousand populations as compared to 5.6 in UK, 5.4 in Sweden, 5.0 in The Netherlands and 6.7 in Japan. In terms of mortality per 10,000 vehicles, the rate in India is as high as 14 as compared to less than two in developed countries. The cost of road crashes has been assessed at one to two per cent of GDP in developed countries. A study by the Planning Commission in 2002 estimated the social cost of road accidents in India at Rs.55, 000 crore annually (2000 prices), which constitutes about 3% of the GDP.

The statistics are dated and one can safely assume that they would have moved North in the last 9 years (2002~2011).

I believe the only way to arrest this is if we start making the difference in our driving habits and also educate the “law breakers” and finally  pay heed to  conversations with auto drivers!