[basubhatta]

Originally Posted by RGK

All the driving licenses issued so far have to be revalidated. This will bring down the number of license holders (bogus/half baked drivers) to a large extent.

I can't say anything about other states. But, here in West Bengal, one can get a driving license without appearing a test. Even if you appear the test and sit behind the wheel, the car is actually driven by your trainer sitting beside of you (he has the clutch and brake). I got my license just driving about 5 meters forward and backward straight. No theoretical test. For two wheeler license even I did not sit on the bike.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by basubhatta

I can't say anything about other states. But, here in West Bengal, one can get a driving license without appearing a test. Even if you appear the test and sit behind the wheel, the car is actually driven by your trainer sitting beside of you (he has the clutch and brake). I got my license just driving about 5 meters forward and backward straight. No theoretical test. For two wheeler license even I did not sit on the bike.

I have seen Gurgaon RTO administer driving tests perfectly as per the spirit of the law (figure of 8 etc) - no help, nothing - even the inspectors fully focus on and review it in detail.

They were caring yet strict. I did see a woman get very nervous and completely stop in a reversing section, and she was asked to calm down and re-appear later in the day at her comfort.

There was no indication of any possibility of bribes either. I was very pleasantly surprised to see such diligence.

India is changing

[rajivrt]

Originally Posted by printh

My opinion, though long term one, will be very effective in controlling RTA numbers and fatalities.

This is the best post in this forum. Those who have been to developed countries will be able to see the stark difference in the road manners and driving etiquette there. Compare to India, I can safely guess an overwhelming majority do not even know how to drive. Driving a vehicle is not only about steering, clutch and accelerator, it is also about being in your own lane, driving at the right speed, not jumping in front of another vehicle, not creating 5 lanes where only 3 exist- the list is quite long. Top it with no liability on people who drive on the wrong side, the commercial drivers who can just run away after causing a serious accident and find another job in another city easily, no fear of license being impounded, etc etc, we have a country where people are just not educated. The above post rightly pegs that in two decades if we can at least teach the next generation how to drive, road accidents will become fewer.

[pgsagar]

Some visiting foreigner once commented, "Indians do not die by accidents. They live by accidents". How apt! They survive by some sheer magic. Everyone missing everything by millimetres, their survival is an accident. The way they behave on our roads, as a law of probability, they should all be dead. Yet, we survive. Isn't it a miracle? Considering monkey antics pulled by all and sundry, whether a pedestrian or cyclists or scooterist or car / bus / truck /van / cab driver, on a daily basis and across every city in this nation, I would say fatalities are EXTREMELY LESS. Every day some lakhs should die on our road considering how lakhs of us generally behave on roads (not that I'm wishing for it). I know many in my neighbourhood whom if you see driving, your heart will stop. Yet, they return home safely at night unscathed, ready to pull more stunts next day. What do you say that? I think we indeed have 33 crore Gods watching over us.

Unless, basic manners, behaviour, etiquette changes, nothing will improve. You can lay a 100 lane road and all the infrastructure with it but we will still be the same.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

I have seen Gurgaon RTO administer driving tests perfectly as per the spirit of the law (figure of 8 etc) - no help, nothing - even the inspectors fully focus on and review it in detail.

They were caring yet strict. I did see a woman get very nervous and completely stop in a reversing section, and she was asked to calm down and re-appear later in the day at her comfort.

There was no indication of any possibility of bribes either. I was very pleasantly surprised to see such diligence.

India is changing

Good to note this positive change. Here in Hyderabad, driving tests are conducted rigorously. My son failed the first time because he misunderstood one of the tests wherein one has to take a complete U turn in a narrow corridor without reversing more than 3 times. I appreciated the cop and made my son re-appear after a month.

During my time in the 80s, the inspector at Vizag made a special exemption to me as he was from my hometown and recognized my dad, a known automobile dealer in those days. I did not even have to start the car.

[Getafix]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Some visiting foreigner once commented, "Indians do not die by accidents. They live by accidents". How apt! They survive by some sheer magic. Everyone missing everything by millimetres, their survival is an accident. The way they behave on our roads, as a law of probability, they should all be dead. Yet, we survive. Isn't it a miracle? Considering monkey antics pulled by all and sundry, whether a pedestrian or cyclists or scooterist or car / bus / truck /van / cab driver, on a daily basis and across every city in this nation, I would say fatalities are EXTREMELY LESS. Every day some lakhs should die on our road considering how lakhs of us generally behave on roads (not that I'm wishing for it). I know many in my neighbourhood whom if you see driving, your heart will stop. Yet, they return home safely at night unscathed, ready to pull more stunts next day. What do you say that? I think we indeed have 33 crore Gods watching over us.

Unless, basic manners, behaviour, etiquette changes, nothing will improve. You can lay a 100 lane road and all the infrastructure with it but we will still be the same.

As someone who drives 200 odd kilometers everyday on NH1 (back and forth to my workplace), let me assure you well meaning folks here, there is huge gap between talk by the administration (past and present) about road safety, and the reality out there.

Things have been consistently getting worse with highways resembling “bazaars” with thousands of hawkers and dhabas vying for space along the roads, with large residential developments, not to mention those ugly retail behemoths, The Shopping Malls. The already “barely there” shoulders and berms are effectively lost, making the situation even more dangerous for both vehicles and the idiots who stand by the roadside or try to cross it.

Things were already bad, but have now become way worse despite all the highlighted talk about the government taking steps to do something about all this. My dream for a safer commute was even more short lived than the ones where I am trying to seduce Bollywood starlets.

If there was even the slightest sincerity, they would have first started with making road repair and building zones more safe. That is the easiest to secure, since almost all work is done by either government agencies themselves or by government contractors (including the BOT scammers). I see zero endeavor there on this account. So, where is the effort!

If someone gave me rupee for every time I saw an accident on a road repair/improvement/building site, I would not have to do this stupid commute anymore.

Not to make a joke about the morbidity of the situation, but I see dead people all the time. Except, unlike the Shyamlan movie, the ones I see are victims of accidents (either pedestrians or drivers/passengers), bodies lying on the road, while vehicles carefully drive around them.

This being a community of car lovers, who I assume like to go out and take their beloved vehicles for a spin whether for work or leisure, allow me to warn you, our safety is of no one’s concern, but our own.
Hoping for a systemic change for even slightly better conditions is guaranteed to bring nothing but disappointment, or God forbid, something way worse.

[apachelongbow]

What rules and regulations are we talking about? A month back a lady in my society managed to accelerate out of an exit ramp, drive straight into a building's fire hydrant, crash into it, set the water off and keep her car hanging with a wheel into the kerb. She works in a renowned software company in a senior position, is middle aged and as far as I gather not deaf, blind or mentally disabled.
If such people are getting licences to kill, I am not even bothered about the village tempo driver.

[asingh1977]

Indians on roads need one basic rule. "Drive in a straight line. When the road turns, turn your wheel in that direction, relative to the road". Okay, two rules. Your cars nose should be in the same direction of the cars in front of you/behind you.

The above will probably solve most of our problems.

At times I wonder on Indian roads:

1. Why the car swarm moves when the light is red, instead of green.
2. Why do we ape-sin. Someone does something moronic, why not me.
3. Is it cool to follow someone down a hell-hole to death. (Example: jumping red-lights).
4. It is all right to be selfish and not worry about the life of others. But what is the term for not caring about ones own personal life. Paleolithic, barbarian, savage, or stupid..?
5. Is the mobile call/sms the most important entity at the specific moment.
6. Will honking makes cars fly.
7. Will tailgating someone incessantly, reduce the commute considerably.

Things are going to get worse for India.

[mazda4life]

A very interesting model on how humans should evolve if they need to withstand the impact of a car crash.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ity-to-crashes