Just my perspective on the causes of accidents.
I was wondering on a simple and common sensical question of what causes road accidents in India (or at any place in the world). So here's my attempt to list the variables in a Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive (MECE) manner.
I think road accidents (with a focus on car accidents) in India are a function of:
- (Self) Driver's skill and any thing related to the driver
- Vehicle's / car's capabilities
- Road infrastructure
- Other vehicles / drivers
- Other uncontrollables
1. (Self) Driver's skill and any thing related to the driver
This is easy to understand. A person needs to have good driving skills to drive safely. Lack of skill results in bad driving which would cause chaos on the road or even accidents. To ensure that the driver is adequately skilled, the RTO's have laid down rules and assessments for issuing a driving license. Certain level of maturity is required to drive in a sensible manner, and hence the rule of 18 years of age to acquire a DL. And through a driving test the officers ensure that the candidate can drive reasonably OK.
In a recent update from Karnataka RTO's - now the driving test can be conducted by authorized private training centres. Let's wait and watch if it turns out for good or bad!
Link to the report:
https://www.india.com/business/big-u...rules-6950206/
The other aspects related to driver can be:
- has the driver had adequate rest before driving?
- is the driver sober enough? or under the influence of drugs/alcohol?
- is the driver willing to drive in a safe manner for self and others on the road?
2. Vehicle's / car's capabilities
A driver may have good skills, but only for a certain type of vehicle. Example:
- someone can drive well only an automatic transmission car. So the type of car matters here for the same driver.
- someone can drive well only small to mid sized cars. The likes of Carnival or Fortuner may be too big for safe driving for the same driver. So the size of car matters here.
- ill maintained cars / old cars stuttering on the road cause inconvenience/accidents to others.
- super powerful cars. I know many of you would dissent and rebut this point. But extremely powerful vehicles beyond the driving capabilities of common public on city roads have high probability of resulting in accidents.
Cases in point -
- Md. Azharuddin's son sadly passed away in an accident from riding a 1000 cc Suzuki GSX R1000. ~180 hp power and ~110 Nm torque are packed in the 2-wheeler.
https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/s...784-2011-09-24
- Cyrus Mistry's accident
- Rishabh Pant's accident
Some may argue that it depends on the driver's skill and not purely on the car's capabilities. But a super powerful vehicle drastically reduces the response time and hence it's a vehicle related factor.
A related point - While I appreciate the technical accomplishment made by BYD team in achieving 0-100 kmph speed in just 3.8 seconds in BYD Seal AWD Performance model, I also wonder if it's safe for Indian roads! Sometimes I also wonder if the max speed of 200/220 etc. given in regular cars like Swift, Dzire is really needed? Can it be limited to lower and reasonable speeds like 150?
In regards to this, I appreciate the actor Imran Khan for realizing that his Ferrari California's power is way too much to handle for him and hence he sold it off, ensuring safety for himself and others through his driving.
https://indianexpress.com/article/en...ickly-9335244/ 3. Road Infrastructure
This is again a no brainer reason. So many accidents, mostly of 2-wheelers, are caused just because the rider tries to avoid the potholes / ditches and ends up under the wheels of other vehicles.
Just one example:
https://www.ndtv.com/bangalore-news/...-death-1761407
So tragic and sad.
But how do we as citizens fight against the municipalities for bad roads? In such accidents, like the one stated above, can a case be filed in court against the municipality? Class action lawsuit is reinvigorated in India for share market disputes.
Can the same be filed against city municipalities for not maintaining basic road infrastructure resulting in countless deaths? Law experts here can share their opinion.
Not just the potholes, infrastructure also includes provisioning of good entry and exits for highways, good bridge expansion joints on flyovers etc. At many places in Bangalore, road is wide at sections where vehicles go in a zoom, but then the road just narrows / constricts resulting in huge traffic jams and accidents at times.
4. Other vehicles / drivers
This is also a no-brainer. I may be driving safely on the road, but if other vehicles are reckless then it's a danger for me. Numerous examples including the death of 2 bike readers in Pune due to the Porche ramming them.
But the question is - if others' behaviour is not in my control, how do I safeguard myself against them? This is where ADAS Level 1 and Level 2 capabilities aid the driver in further safe guarding from other disturbances on the road.
5. Other uncontrollables
This includes totally uncontrollable factors like weather, falling of trees on their own, tyre burst, animal suddenly coming in the way, driver suffering sudden heart attacks etc. Need a bit of luck to avoid such external factors. This is where people's belief in God or good karma etc. may shield them from such things.
Just my humble attempt to describe the factors. Criticism, appreciation and feedback are welcome!
