Are we game for this?

HYDERABAD: “Speed thrills and it also kills,” they say. But, is it really speed that kills or is it people’s ill-preparedness to deal with high speeds. How equipped are our youth, both in terms of temperament and driving skills, to handle high-power cars or motorcycles that keep pouring into the market in all sizes and shapes? (Our roads are anyway not ready for speeds of more than 60 kmph).As per aerodynamic laws and research into fuel consumption of motor vehicles, a speed of above 40 kmph is only irrational. The reason is that after 40, more fuel is consumed to overcome wind resistance than to cover distance, which is the primary purpose of any travel. In a city like Hyderabad, where the average distance travelled by anyone in a single ride is 10 km, the time taken to reach the destination by travelling at 60 kmph and at 40 kmph is only five minutes, while the risk is really high. No sane person will stake his own life and the lives of others on the road to reach his destination five minutes sooner. But we see many people, especially youth, zooming past in a reckless manner at very high speeds. Looks like it is more of a cultural and temperamental issue than rational behaviour. We, as a people appear to lack discipline and are not good at thinking logically. If this is the state of affairs on the busy city roads, it does not take much imagination to visualise the horrors of having a speed corridor like the Outer Ring Road which opens up the possibility for speeds of 150 kmph or above. Are we really ready to make meaningful use of such high-speed roads and high-power vehicles without harm to our own lives? At this point of time, it will only be adventurous to say ‘yes’ to this question.We are essentially a rural people trying to learn the ropes of urban living. We are not yet used to speeds of over 80 kmph. In villages, on narrow mud roads, people walk in the middle of  the road, keeping a distance from the bushes on either side because a snake could be lurking there. If we include a number of villages around the city and declare it as Greater Hyderabad, the executive decision does not just make those villagers walk on the side of the road or stop using a road like the ORR to drive their cattle to the grazing grounds.This is not India’s problem alone. Many developing countries face a similar situation. Gulf Arab nations can be a case study. With the discovery of oil, the lazy desert life has suddenly woken up to the buzz of top class sports utility vehicles imported from around the world and the sands made way to 10-lane and 12-lane highways. Despite strict traffic rules and harsh punishments in case of road accidents, many fatalities take place on those highways. It is difficult to estimate the speed of vehicles on such roads and many immigrant workers, especially from countries like Nepal, lose their lives while trying to cross the road  at places other than the zebra crossing. And, Arab lives are not exempted either.This writer was present in Manama when the son of Bahrain’s King Hamad died when his car collided with a bus a few years ago. Sheik Faisal, the last of the King’s six sons,  was just 14. There are also many incidents of young Arabs simply losing control of high-powered cars and hitting a date palm tree or a road divider. Road safety depends as much on the driver as on the condition of the road or government regulation.