Rishabh Pant’s lucky escape is a wake-up call for youngsters who get high from speeding. One thing to remember in India is that no matter how good you are as a driver, other people may not be as good and their mistakes may lead to accidents.
According to reports, Pant said he was trying to avoid the pothole, so the car swerved and the accident happened. This is another aspect of driving in India. The quality of the roads is not always the best, which means accidents can happen at any time. On a recent trip to and from a T20 match in Pune, we found that even on the famous Mumbai-Pune highway, there were many miles of bumpy roads. So if a person is speeding, it is very likely that the driver will lose control due to the uneven road surface, and an accident may happen at any time.
Sadly, road fatalities are rarely taken seriously unless they occur with loved ones closer to home. The road contractor has virtually no liability and he continues to get his “benefit match” over and over again.
Another worrying factor is that driver’s licenses are issued without adequate checks. Our driving school is a joke. Most schools are interested in training so-called drivers. It’s not just about going straight or backing up correctly and parking correctly. It’s about being able to read road signs and drive accordingly.
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Most long-distance drivers have not been to school and therefore cannot read or write. They’re also under pressure to deliver on time, so often don’t mind taking shortcuts and ignoring road signs and traffic signals. With more and more cars with powerful engines hitting Indian roads, it’s tantamount to handing a deadly weapon to those who don’t know how to drive properly. Even simple norms like using indicators to turn or switch lanes are not practiced when all it takes is a flick of a finger.
ignore the rules
Try to stand in front of a traffic light on the road on any given day and you will find that most of the traffic violations are professional drivers, whether they are driving company vehicles or public vehicles.
Having seen the death toll and near-fatal accidents on Indian roads as a commissioner of the Road Safety World Series, this rant has been uttered. I’m not even talking about people who barely survive and are physically challenged for the rest of their lives.
New York City, considered the crime capital of the world in the 1970s and 1980s, became a safer city when its then-mayor adopted a zero-tolerance policy for even the slightest traffic violations, they say. Hope this policy is implemented in India. Having more responsible drivers on the road would certainly go a long way.
Hope young Rishabh can recover soon and return to the game soon. If the Indian government makes him a brand ambassador for road safety and reaches out through him to ensure that more and more drivers – especially professional drivers – understand the traffic signs and rules to reduce the number of road accidents, then the Indian government would be wise. Accidents on our roads.
Another accident happened, but this time at the home of Salim Durani. The 88-year-old prodigy — that’s the only way to describe a player who can change a game with a bat and a ball — fell and broke his leg at home. Today, he will be bought by the IPL franchise for tens of millions of dollars. However, he plays cricket when he has no money, so he relies on monthly grants from BCCI as well as some smaller grants from trusts such as the CHAMPS Foundation and other well-wishers.
BCCI kindly gave him the medical expenses for the treatment, which is great. His expenses will be minuscule compared to Pant’s, but make no mistake, in his playing days he was as much, if not more, crowd-pleasing than Rishabh Pant is today.
Here’s wishing both of them a speedy recovery.
