Thursday, January 28, 2010

Why Road Accidents Happen

I think now I know why road accidents happen. No, its not bad roads,poor infrastructure, the unexpected dog or a cow appearing in front of you or an idiot overtaking you from the left.
You know what's the absolute root cause behind an accident? It's the belief that "It cannot happen to me". That's what my driver believed in. We were driving in zero visibility fog around 8 in the morning from Agra to Delhi yesterday. The driver was doing atleast 50-60 Kmph, way too fast for a zero visibility fog. He simply thought that he could never be one of the car debris you see along the highways. And that's almost what happened. There was a truck standing still right in the middle of the road, just out of thin air. We rammed into it. May be 6 inches from death. Completely jolted and numb. And when we realized that we are still alive, a bus rammed into us from behind. We came out unhurt, the kind of miracles we read in the papers.

Lessons Learnt:

i)There is no heroism in driving fast. No achievement in reaching your destination 15 minutes earlier. I believed in that, I hope that driver, couple of my friends and everybody else does so.
ii)Cars should not even start if the seat belts are not put on.
iii) The broken glass and the dented metal you see in the accidents could very well been your teeth and bones. I think its good to be paranoid while driving. Like constructive criticism there is something called positive or constructive paranoia. When anything could appear out of nowhere, a pothole,an open manhole,a tractor jumping over the divider, why not be prepared for it?

I think I have started beleiving in God!

6 comments:

  1. Oh My God!

    You are right on the money about the cause.

    Good to know you're unharmed. Take care!

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  2. That's scary!
    Simply great that you scraped through the accident.

    And no its not good to be paranoid while driving. I end up bumping into someone the moment I fret.
    Its all about - like you mentioned - no heroism in driving fast !

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  3. Oh My God..I don't know wht to say..Thank God u came out unscatched..Take care, bud :)

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  4. Don't even think of entering the car without your helmet. :)

    Thank god you are fine. Don't forget that we have to do Leh again this year. So better keep your bones intact.

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  5. I love the way you write.. Have been reading your blog for some time now :)

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