By Vishal Arora
The Delhi High Court has issued notice to the Delhi government, asking it why the notorious privately run Blueline buses, which have caused at least 60 deaths this year, should not be replaced by safer buses. But can a new fleet be "safer" if indiscipline continues to grow on the roads?
Unchecked lawlessness on Delhi's roads is reflected in the fact that more than three people die in road accidents every day – for which blame cannot be shifted solely on to the Bluelines. The Delhi Traffic Police, whose mandate is to maintain law and order on the roads, are equally to blame.
There are at least two reasons for the culpability of the traffic police. One, they adopt a solely punitive approach rather than taking preventive measures. Two, a majority of their constabulary is corrupt.
Not surprisingly, the website of the Delhi Traffic Police no longer provides any statistics on the number of deaths due to accidents – which was featured till last year. However, it continues to carry the number of challans (ticket) issued and the compounding amount raised from 1985, with charts and diagrams.
The website takes glory in the fact that the number of challans issued has increased from 409,431 in 1985 to close to 3.4 million in 2006. Consequently, the total amount raised has also gone up from Rs.22.9 million in 1985 to Rs.377.2 million in 2006.
This leads to the obvious conclusion that the police department is focused more on raising revenue for the government than curbing traffic indiscipline. It is because of this attitude that police constables can be seen lurking behind trees waiting for commuters to break the law, so that they can do their 'duty', which according to their definition is issuing challan.
One fails to understand why they can't use their presence as a warning against non-compliance with traffic laws in the first place.
No more can people be fooled into believing that merely issuing challan is the answer to the problem of the increasing number of accidents. The number of challans issued has in no way affected the number of accidental deaths. For example in 2002, 1,696 people died in road accidents in Delhi, and the umber increased to 1,801 in 2003 despite the fact that Rs.415.4 million was raised through challans in 2003, compared to Rs.335.5 million in 2002.
In fact, sections of constables not only raise revenue for the government but also manage to fill their own pockets.
It is common knowledge that before issuing a challan, constables indicate that they want their hands to be greased. Most typically, they may say something like: "Paanch sau ka challan banta hai, bataiye aap kya chahte hain?" (The fine is for Rs.500. Tell me what do you want to do?) And to protect themselves against being caught, the constables ask the erring motorists to pay the bribe money to a nearby cobbler, who acts as their "bank" under pressure.
This "strategy" is used only with random commuters. For commercial vehicles that regularly ply on a particular route, they accept "hafta" (weekly bribe). Those who travel in Blueline buses will say how this happens – and openly. The buses are stopped by the police for no reason, the conductor gets down, shakes hand with the constable, quietly slips a currency note or two into his hands and runs back to the bus smiling. Every bus passenger knows a 'transaction' has got over.
It is because erring drivers go scot-free after paying paltry bribes and hafta that they have little or no fear of law, which leads to gross indiscipline on the roads. It is for no other reason that Blueline buses continue to indulge in mindless competition, bullying around to corner a larger share of passengers despite a Supreme Court order that all buses must have speed governors and keep to the left side of the road.
Similarly, other vehicles too, especially public vehicles like cabs hired by call centres that run against pick-up and dropping deadlines, fearlessly violate Sections 183, 184 and 189 of the Motor Vehicle Act 1988 (MVA) and Section 279 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which require all vehicles to abstain from "driving at excessive speed", "driving dangerously", "racing and trials of speed" and "rash driving".
Therefore, the Delhi government must ensure that there is a healthy fear of law on the roads before venturing into a new fleet, lest we be soon back to square one.
(Vishal Arora is a journalist and Delhi resident. He can be contacted at [email protected])