It is a shame to know that in our country, we allow rash drivers to get on the roads, drive with impunity, even take lives, and still escape. It’s all because rash and negligent driving is a ‘bailable’ offence in our country despite causing deaths.
My grandfather, while crossing the road in Wagholi, Pune was brutally hit by an Ashok Lilac Goods and Carriage motor vehicle. He got a brain haemorrhage, being hit on the head, and passed away.
The vehicle was fenced with a huge grill, which is highly dangerous. Even if a person manages to escape the accident, the fencing would get the person stuck to the vehicle. To my knowledge, it is illegal. Yet, the Regional Transport Office (RTO) released the vehicle. The biggest shock is that the vehicle had no number plate in the picture we were shown.
The constable who took my grandfather to the hospital while recording his statement recorded the name of the driver – and to our surprise, the inspector recorded a different name with the same surname. How was that possible?
My grandfather was as fit and healthy as a youngster. He lived a disciplined life with no ailments.
There is no traffic control. People drive on footpaths. Yet. no one is there to watch.
The driver got bail in three hours because rash and negligent driving is a bailable offence with a maximum punishment of imprisonment up to just two years.
Such acts are not negligent ones – they are equivalent to murder. The driver had no narcotic test done post the accident. The consequences of the incident were pretty high in my family. Yet it’s a shame that the driver is leading a normal life on bail, despite killing a person so brutally.
The basic rule of driving is speed control, and the use of brakes, even if an animal is passing by.
It’s high time we act upon it and stand firm against the lenient and passive law so that millions of lives are saved from being extinguished due to the negligence of someone else.
