Driving in India is expensive

My friend Sudhir turned 59 today. After we finished our brisk walk, we gorged ourselves on various unhealthy foods. For his age he looked good and in great shape. Indeed his recent medical tests gave him a thumbs up except for his high blood pressure. It appeared that he was joking when he said that his hypertension was not caused by hereditary reasons but attributed to only one thing, that is driving his car.

Yes driving in India can be an adventure sport all by itself. I realised that not only was it the leading cause of stress in drivers, but also for co-passengers and pedestrians. Driving conditions amongst other factors, results in India achieving the distinction of becoming the nation with the fastest growth in stress related diseases.
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My colourful friend Yagnesh provides the following advisory note to his visiting foreign friends on driving in India.

1. Do we drive on the left or right of the road? The answer is both. Basically you start on the left of the road, unless it is occupied. In that case, go to the right, unless that is also occupied. Then proceed by occupying the next available gap, as in chess. Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed.
2. It appears that adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the intended direction.
3. Don't you get discouraged or underestimate yourself except for a belief in reincarnation, the other drivers are not in any better position.
4. Don't stop at pedestrian crossings just because some fool wants to across the road. You may do so only if you enjoy being honked at , cursed at or bumped in the back. Pedestrians have been strictly instructed to cross only when traffic is moving relatively slowly or their own skills at manoeuvring between slow moving vehicles is greater than the vehicles or the vehicles had come to a dead stop because some minister is in town. Still some idiot may try to wade across, but then, let us not talk ill of the dead.
5. Blowing your horn is not a sign of protest as in some countries. We blow the horn to express joy, resentment, frustration, romance and bare lust (two brisk blasts), or, as is the case in India, just to mobilize a slow moving animal in the middle of the road.
6. Keep informative books in the glove compartment. You may read them during traffic jams, while awaiting the chief minister's motorcade, or waiting for the rain waters to recede when over ground traffic meets underground drainage.
7. Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience (for those with the mental makeup of Genghis Khan). In a way, it is like playing Russian roulette, because you do not know who amongst the drivers is loaded on the local brew. What looks like the premature dawn on the horizon turns out to be a truck, attempting a land speed record. On encountering it, just pull partly into the field adjoining the road until the phenomenon passes.
8. Often the roads here do not have shoulders, but the occasional boulder is a good possibility.
9. Do not dim your head lights expecting reciprocation. The only dim thing in the vehicle is the driver, often charged with alcohol if he is a truck driver. The noveau rich will also give you the glare so that you do not fail to notice their snazzy new car.
10. Motorists are the James Bonds of India, and are licensed to kill.
11. Often you may encounter a single powerful beam of light about five feet above the ground. This is not a motorbike, but a truck approaching you with a single light on, usually the left one. It could be the right one, but never get too close to investigate. You may prove your point posthumously.
12. Of course, all this occurs at night, on trunk roads. During the daytime, trucks are more visible, except that the drivers never signal. You will often observe that the attendant that sits next to the driver, will stick his hand out of the window and wave frantically. Do not construe this as a left turn signal. The waving is just an expression of physical relief on a hot day, or a gesture to a fellow trucker.
13. Occasionally you might see what looks like a UFO with blinking coloured lights and sounds of cymbals and singing emanating from within. This is an illuminated bus, full of happy pilgrims singing holy songs. These pilgrims go at breakneck speed, seeking contact with the Almighty, often meeting with success.
14. One-way Street - These boards are put up by traffic people to add jest in their otherwise drab lives. Don't stick to the literal meaning and proceed in one direction. In metaphysical terms, it means that you cannot proceed in two directions at once.
15. On a positive note, rash and fast driving in residential areas has been prevented by providing a speed breaker, a minimum of two for each street. This mound, incidentally, covers the water and drainage pipes for that residential area and is left un-tarred for easy identification by the authorities, should they want to review the pipes for year-end accounting.
16. If, after all this, you still want to drive in India, have your lessons between 8 pm and 11am - when the police have gone home. The citizens then are free to enjoy the 'FREEDOM OF SPEED' enshrined in their constitution.

This interesting and seemingly funny yet cynical advisory serves to sugar coat a bitter reality.


Loss of a life or getting maimed cannot be measured in monetary terms. Leaving aside the trauma on human lives and not even considering the loss of property and vehicles the cold facts appear to show that ;

An estimated fifth of India’s US$ 80 Billion ( Rs 336 000 Cr ) health care annual expenditure is directed towards treating victims of road related accidents to cost India a whopping US$ 16 Billion (Rs 67,000 Cr ) each year. In addition the lost investment in human capital is another US$ 24 Billion (108,000 Cr). The cost to the Indian nation is a staggering US$ 40 Billion (Rs 175,000 Cr). To add perspective, this is half the size of the automotive industry’s US$ 90 Billion (Rs 396,000 Cr) sales.
It will be interesting to receive feedback from readers on this subject. In the meantime here are some suggestions on what can we do as individuals?

• Act responsibly, drive safely and courteously, set an example for our children and fellow citizens.
• Do not tolerate bad drivers, or poorly maintained vehicles. Express your displeasure and push your right as a citizen to the optimum.
• Help people that need assistance, provide them first aid if necessary. (If victim is conscious seek consent from them before administering first aid.)
• Arm yourself and others by getting yourself trained in first aid. An NGO with branches all over India called Rashtriya Life Saving Society (India), www.lifesavingindia.org Tel: +91 97664 92288 imparts life saving skills for a nominal charge and also issues an internationally recognised certificate.
  
  If you do the above there is good chance that you should be able to return home to your family and friends each day, happier and with more respect for yourself and of course healthier.
  May God bless and protect you and your loved ones.

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A survey has revealed that every fifth patent at a medical centre/ facility or clinic is associated with a road accident.
350,000 death victims of road accidents are aged between 15 to 45 years. Assuming an annual expenditure of Rs 100,000 per person per year the associated cost of a person aged 30 years is Rs 3,000,000 i.e. Rs 105,000 Cr or US$ 24 Billion pe year.
The average cost for treatment of each seriously injured victim ( total of 3 Million victims) is Rs 20,000 or Rs 5,980 Cr (US$ 1.36 Billion)
The cost of each permanently disabled person ( total 450,000 permanently disabled per year) is approx Rs 100,000 per year with a residual life expectancy of 15 years is Rs 67, 800 Cr (US$ 15.43 Billion)