Accidents do happen almost daily in one part of the country or the other just because we don’t care or start worrying about it only after the inevitable has overtaken us. It may be some boat tragedy in Bihar or a collision between a speeding train and a bus at an unmanned railway crossing, or hundreds of fatal incidents happening in the city or on the country sides.

Take road accidents. A rough estimate long ago put the number of deaths in India at around a lakh every year. It must be more now with so many vehicles with different descriptions entering our highways, city streets and village roads. No-one really knows the number of injured or those incapacitated for life. To what would you attribute these man-made tragedies? Speed kills, especially when the man behind the wheel goes beyond the legally permissible limits in certain zones of the city. You court disaster when you lose your sense of judgment and start driving after fully drunk at a dinner in a party or a hotel. Often, you come across the hoarding saying: ”Don’t mix driving with drinking”. It is a heady cocktail that can cause instant death for you, your loved ones or other innocent road users. And then there are those who care little about the traffic signals when the traffic policeman is not around. There are still others who ride zig-zag on bikes, cutting lanes without the least concern of other road-users, just for the thrill of it. But alas! The thrill does not really last long.

On highways between Delhi and Jaipur or Delhi and Chandigarh, one would daily notice a goods carrier overturned with the voluminous contents of the vehicle scattered on the road. Here, the driver, who works for prolonged hours for their living, wouldn’t even know when he fell asleep. Fatigue and overwork take their toll aided by a brake failure or a mechanical defect, all caused by the failure of the vehicle owner to get their vehicles checked up or serviced periodically.

In several road accidents, the Government turns out to be the number one culprit. Speed breaker or bumps are not properly marked with the result that the riders of two wheelers coming at high speeds can easily be thrown off their seats and can cause fatal accidents. Roads are in bad shape in many cities in many states. Different departments - the Electricity Department, the Telephone Department, Sewage Wing and the Water Department, working with the least co-ordination amongst themselves, dig up the sideways of the roads or across the roads by turn and leave them in awful condition, creating the right “atmosphere” for accidents. And nobody takes any responsibility, if any mishap happens. Apportioning responsibility or taking no responsibility at all is the style of governance in our democratic country. In turn, those potholes remain as they are because the Government says they have no money. The politicians have no political will to mend things on time and if someone dies because of the ill-maintained roads, then, well, “Who Cares”.

We have to give up the Chalta Hai attitude, if we are keen on preventing accidents.

Only if all of us at XBHP can follow rules to the T can we bring about a change in anyone else's riding/driving habits.

For example,since the day i got the xbhp sticker on my bike,everytime my immature brain tells me to jump a signal,i hold back,thinking that if people who represent a community i.e. the members,dont follow rules n regulations,how will we be able to bring about a change in the motorcycling scene in India.

Im glad India dsnt have super sexy roads like some other countries because till the common man's mindset changes,faster cars n bikes will only lead to disaster.

@Aryan
truly said!
Biggest cause of accidents is lack of road sense, people dont know how to ride/drive their vehicles, most people just ride/drive the way they feel its ok.
sometime back when i went for my learning DL test 95% didnt knew the meanings of road sings, they wer asking from each other and they want to take there vehicle on the road!
and also one of the problems i face is that while standing on a traffic signal people honk,even if they know that the signal is red and force others to move ahead.

since the day i got the xbhp sticker on my bike,everytime my immature brain tells me to jump a signal,i hold back,thinking that if people who represent a community i.e. the members,dont follow rules n regulations,how will we be able to bring about a change in the motorcycling scene in India.

We can't totally blame the government...they do check once a while and they do find culprits.

Yes you're right; The Govt cannot...
1. Enforce stringent rules with RTO on issuing license
2. Enforce strong laws with driving schools & mandating people to pass driver's education & then pass the test

4. Enforce cops to punish people who violate even for simply things such as stopping after stop line!!!