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I'm sure, given the road and traffic conditions, all of us commuters surely

say a small prayer every time we are boarding any mode of transport -

either self driven or otherwise (bullock cart included).

Automobile companies these days are jostling with each other to keep the

gullible customer in a (permanent) state of (suspended tomfoolery){confusion} by hurling terms like BHP, Torque, CRDI, CTBT, Turbo et alii.

Ask any further probing question about these terms and the overzealous,

smartly attired sales person with well gelled hair, a stubble grown just to the

right proportions and a loaded accent deftly steers the conversation away to

the freebees the company is offering under a scheme. But Alas! the schemeis valid only for twenty four hours. He does not forget to mention that

additional one year warranty is being offered specially to you out of his owncommission. This special consideration is because your Sadoo and his Foofad

ji share the same milkman. You mentally calculate that there are only nineand a half hours left before the sun sets on the promised pot of gold lying at

the far end of the illusive rainbow. Just to update you (because of the

current scenario of nuclear families), Sadoo is wife's sister's husband and

Foofad Ji is husband of father's sister(100% Indian relationship terms - yetto be co-opted by OED into its literary treasure trove). Your ignorance, if so,

is well understood as we have already evolved beyond the Darwinian theory

to the 'DISK' - Double Income Single Kid and further, to 'DINK' - Double

Income No Kid era.

Generally one is only looking at the exterior appearance and interiors of the

vehicle and at the most the engine power and the KMPL it promises, besides

the price on road. The uber cool younger members in the family areconcerned only with the features the music system offers to 'chill out'. Color

of course is decided based on who in the neighborhood and kitty party group

does not own a vehicle of that color. Sum up all these and the decision

making process of buying a vehicle is almost complete.

Safety features are given the least priority while buying a vehicle. Even the

vehicle manufacturers are pricing safety feature loaded vehicles at a higherprice instead of offering them as standard life saving devices. Thankfully

they are not charging for seat belts!

Add to this the plight of our roads which have become arenas akin to theones where the Romans used to have chariot races. Even they followedcertain rules. Add to this the driving skills of any and all those behind thesteering wheel and a sure concoction for disaster is almost ready.

Not to mention that if the cheeky owner of that lowly, cursed hatchback everdare to overtake a sedan or SUV, the pilot on the other side would feel so

violated as to unleash full power of all the horses the advertisement had so

proudly screamed about. While swerving past to bring the car bang ahead, ascornful stare full of disdain is bound to follow. And GOD help if it is a lady

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driving that hatch back. There is no greater sin than to trample upon the

macho male pride, (spilled) available in abundance on roads, specially when

the best place to wear one's ego is on the sleeve. Gender equality is quiteanother matter, a topic best left for discussion either by panel of eminent

social scientists and representatives of people while they go live on

electronic media or to be discussed by intelligentsia in drawing rooms andclubs while lubricating their thinking machine with the evening drink, shakenand not stirred. A few shami kebabs are further welcome for a moremeaningful outcome of the brainstorming sessions.

Most of the time, driving is learnt by cajoling the parents and remindingthem that this was the reward promised by them for securing the target

(committed) academic grades. There are scenes aplenty in the morningwhile walking your child to the school bus stop and seeing a doting husband

or a still sleepy father or an irritated and chiding elder sibling, acting as aself appointed certified driving trainer to the ever keen disciple who is

nervously swallowing all the non sense in the hope of making a 'solo' flight

as soon as possible.

And then we come across accident scenes ranging from pathetic to strangeto bizarre.

In this age of shortcuts, no driver realizes that he can even cut short the life

of their own and others.

Being a victim of a near fatal road accident myself few years ago, myattention is naturally drawn more towards such occurrences.

I captured one such moment yesterday on my mobile phone camera while

driving towards office. I could not make out if, taking a cue from the popularroadie TV show being currently hosted on a channel, the driver was

attempting 'Automotive Hopscotch' form of adventure sport or was honing

its skills by practicing live before participating in the next season of 'Khatron

Ke Khiladi' or was in too much of a hurry to go few yards further to take a Uturn.

I leave it your imagination.

In the end, there is that short but ubiquitous appeal to please help victims of

road accidents in their hour of crisis.

Timely action may not only save precious lives but may also prevent families

from withering away.