Perception Action: Responsible Driving
Many years ago, sometime around year 2000, a group of family people were returning from a private function from pondicherry to chennai in the ECR road in a green colour Tata Sumo, an SUV type of car. They started late in the evening at the time of dusk, with the newly married writer sitting next to the driver. As they proceeded near marakanam, they had the misfortune of an impending accident that was about to happen. No one had the slightest idea other than wishing for a safe journey.
The vehicle had nine people with the driver. The driver was a little dark lad of a young age and looked unimposing and weak bodied. Nevertheless he was the one who brought the inmates who were now returning only with the addition of this writer.
Even now, in my 50s, I am a man of some physicality, and active nature, a fitness enthusiast. And this was some twenty five years ago, in a sombre mood of travel in the evening of a red hued western sky with the sun setting at dusk.
The vehicle was somewhat giving a fleeting, flying sensation and loose driving. When I looked at the speedometer it showed 105 kms. I looked at the small, lean driver and made a hand gesture, slowly, without making him react, whispering him to reduce speed. I thought for a moment how he became a driver and whether he needed continuous watching and warning.
The loose driving turned in a moment into reckless driving leading us all into a nightmare long remembered before this internet age advanced. I write this not only as a report of the past incident but for awareness.
The inmates comprised of a grand-father couple with the 80 year old man sitting beside me on the left, and his bold wife in the rear last seat sideways with two of my then middle aged aunts as well. In the middle seat was my father, his cousin sister and brother, totalling nine in all.
The people weren't all that sensitive about what was about to happen as they were busy in their pet talks. I started to
get a gut feeling of unrest, and kept warning the driver to cut speed from crossing 90 kms and maintain at less than 80 kms. Alas, he was in no mood to listen.
After a while of travelling, I noticed the driver slipping into the middle yellow line and returning back to the left. He did that again and this time, he was heading with the midpoint of the vehicle in line with the left headlight of a bus speeding in front of us, towards us, and both at great speeds.
At that mutual velocity there was only a flicker of time to act. When I looked at the driver he was indeed sleeping and slipping to his right, with his eyes open but in a dreamy state. In a micro-moment of time, I yelled aloud, and turned the steering to my left to avoid a direct collision with the bus.
Even though that action saved us all, with all controlls vested with the driver, and with that speed, he woke up in a sudden fix of nervous tension, but couldn't bring the vehicle to control and hit the white mile stone to the left of the road and the whole car flew into a ditch of a farming land a good fifteen feet beside the road, initially hitting the ground vertically with the headlights, and then rolling upside down facing pondicherry. I thank God it did not catch fire.
As I knew what was coming, I came out of the left window and helped old grandfather the same way, who was surprisingly unhurt. The driver was caught with the old women who crashed from the rear to the front dashing on him as the vehicle stood vertically just before it turned upside down. The two aunts came out of the back door opened by them with help from the inmates of the bus that we were about to collide.
I remember the name of the man Mr Sivakumar, who stood in front and the bus and stopped the driver. I had his phone number for long marking his name as life-saver, eventhough I never contacted him after, for it was a traumatic event which shocked us to silence.
The soldier spirits of the bus, pulled the jammed doors open and helped the middle block inmates out into the open field. Now, thanking providence, all trembling, with heartbeats felt, we stood perplexed for a while, in the hustle-bustle, gasping for breath warning each other and enquiring the injured.
Shoulder dislocation for old grandma, which went for plate surgery later, clavicle fracture for the uncle in the middle and bruised eye for father. Wry neck later for me. Nothing more serious or any internal injuries luckily.
We were taken in the same bus back to pondicherry and ended up where we all started to the shock of our relatives. The bus people found out, that the driver had boozed alcohol and that's the reason for the mishap. Pondicherry wasn't it. He had had his chill out afterall, and at a wrong time with unaware people !
Old grandmother said, but for you my boy, none of us could be alive today. And that was twenty five years ago. Only two of the inmates are alive today of the total nine, myself and my aunt. I saved life, yes. I saved nine people. What to say. Life teaches us all.
I could never go by bus in ECR for three years after that incident. And took the route by train from chennai. People mocked at me. I choose self driving, come what may, rather than give myself in fate's hand. I thought so. I was relieved when the Chennai - Tindivanam route became two way. Much later, after my late father acquired a maruti 800 car, I drove it myself several times alone, and even late at night to break the fear factor. I did come out of it.
I share this blog for public awareness.
Regards.
PS: the Photographs are borrowed from the internet. They are not real event photos. There was no water in the field, in the original event.
In continuation....
When the bus people gathered around and pulled the driver lad out, fearing the crowd, he tried to defend himself saying, the accident happened because I pulled the steering. As I was telling him to shut his mouth up, and not say some lame excuse, he got a blow from someone in the bus crowd who said he was under the influence of alcohol. In that situation, we let the driver escape and leave the spot.
Subsequently, it turned out like this.
My father had an auto driver by the name Kumar a middle aged family man, residing opposite to our house, who was his regular driver, who also owned a Tata Sumo. My father had asked him to accompany him with his Tata Sumo, for the trip. As he was preoccupied, he had arranged another vehicle of a nearby fellow and thought of getting a commission.
That man with his newly bought vehicle, did not have a regular driver and since being sought for business, he had arranged a totally unknown stranger but licenced (?) boy in his locality, for the trip.
After saying sorry for our family, and praying for us, he asked us not to mention, in case of an enquiry, that the driver had taken alcohol fearing that would stop him from taking the benefits of an insurance for the damaged vehicle 🙄😡😠🤔😀
From that day, I rely on self driving, come what may.
