A few days back, on my way to work on my two-wheeler, I happened to get stuck behind a lorry for quite some time. Being in a hurry I tried overtaking him several times, but in vain. On one turn I again tried my luck, but the driver, in time, hand-signaled me to wait, since there was another oncoming four-wheeler. Finally I managed to pass by and beeped my horn as a friendly gesture of highway etiquette, which he duly reciprocated.
Though I was slightly upset that I got a little delayed, the rest of my ride was spent in deep contemplation about the heavy vehicles on our Goan roads today.
In an unfortunate case of an accident involving any heavy vehicle, we as bystanders tend to indulge in stereotyping. For some reason, no matter what the cause of the accident might be we automatically assume it to be the fault of the heavy vehicle. In most cases however, the fault lies with the two-wheeler or the other smaller vehicle. There is this inherent fear in the mind of the truck or tanker driver that he will be blamed, no matter what. This fear results in him fleeing the scene in the attempt of saving himself from the brutal thrashing he would get by over-zealous bystanders if he stuck around.
I think we need to take a step back and think about this. We have to do away with this preconception that in an event of an accident it is always the fault of the heavy vehicle. In case of a fatality I sympathise with the victim but I am reasonable enough and heartless enough to lay the blame on the dead or injured victim if that is the reality. Being dead or injured doesn’t absolve the victim from his/her fault. I prefer calling a spade a spade. Two wrongs don’t make a right, so unnecessarily thrashing the truck or tanker driver for no fault of his doesn’t make sense.
Another point to note is, and this goes for all those who have been living under a rock till recently, the RTO requires a mandatory fitting of something called a Speed Governor for all goods carriers. This ensures that these vehicles cannot exceed a specified speed. Secondly, we also have to keep in mind the dynamics of driving and handling a heavy vehicle. A fully loaded heavy vehicle is a force to reckon with. As pedestrians or as drivers/riders of smaller vehicles we should respect the fact that handling a heavy vehicle at any speed is a very tough job. With a heavy load any vehicle is impossible to bring to a standstill immediately on braking. Driving a heavy vehicle is a tough job, both physically and mentally.
I am in no way justifying the many heavy drivers who recklessly put the lives of others at risk. There are these some fellows who deserved to be thrashed. There are several cases where truck or tanker drivers are drunk or drowsy due to a long haul sleepless drive. But we cannot generalise and put all drivers in that category.
All I am saying is that as bystanders and fellow drivers we should first of all be careful when it comes to driving alongside heavy vehicles and we should recognize the fact that it is not always the fault of who we may assume it is. So before jumping to conclusions I think it is better to take things at face value and accept the reality of the situation.
