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Originally Posted by iraghava  What we need here is not more speed guns but better driver training. [...] Driver Training is the answer to this problem in my opinion, not more speed guns.
From what I've seen accidents on the expressway are caused due to the fact that people find a wide, well-paved stretch of road with sparse traffic & suddenly have no clue what to do there! They go bonkers with their speed & discipline & ultimately their luck runs out. Expressways are meant to be for QUICK travel but that doesn't mean we try & max our cars everytime we are on it.
IMHO there should be some emphasis on driver training which is non-existent in India rather than a knee-jerk reaction of placing more speed guns/cameras. |
I agree. Driver training should not only cover all aspects of driving, but also some essential knowledge about how a car should be maintained so that it can be driven safely at high speeds. E.g. if tyres are worn out or not at the correct pressures, overspeeding can be dangerous, especially in rainy weather.
Today I went for permanent driver's license test in Pune. I had applied through a driving school because my previous Karnataka license expired this January. The test was a complete farce. Apparently the driving school dishes out money to the various inspectors at the RTO in order to ensure that its candidates have an easy time. So no wonder I had to shell out Rs. 1000 to the driving school. I had to shell out Rs. 65 for four poor-quality polaroid photos taken at the test site because the driving school did not inform me in advance to get a photograph (I had submitted two photos while getting the temporary license and thought that was enough). A few others were also duped this way. No doubt the driving schools are helping out the "photographer".
Just prior to the test, the driving school instructor holds a briefing to the candidates on what is to be done and the guy says "Do not drive in half-clutch; if you release clutch suddenly the car will jump and stop and you will fail; shift gears at the right speeds and get into fourth gear; if you drive only in second, the inspector will take you for a very long test which will only end when you shift to fourth .....". It struck me that these are hardly the instructions that a trained bunch of candidates should be receiving.
I was following the driving school vehicle (filled with candidates and the inspector) in my Santro and saw some very slow, hesitant and awkward driving by the candidates Yet the inspector passed them all. The inspector did not even bother to get into my car in order to conduct a test -- he passed me just by seeing me follow him (it was getting late for lunch, I suppose). Of course I was relieved, but nevertheless, it is easy to see why the standard of driving exhibited on our roads is so abysmal. So these are our future drivers on Expressways. Not a very happy thought.
I am told that those who do not go through driving school will be given a very hard time and will be failed for the slightest and most trivial of errors. Unless we root out this kind of corruption, it is futile to expect our roads to be safe.