A blind eye, deaf ear to value of life on Bangalore streets

Published: Monday, Nov 26, 2012, 17:24 IST By HM Chaithanya Swamy | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA

Rohan Rao (name changed), a hearing challenged person in his mid-thirties, is lucky to be alive today. He has met with two accidents (one, very seriously when he had hit his head and lost consciousness for hours) and got mugged once while riding back home in Malleswaram, on outer ring roads approach to Hebbal flyover. He was found lying unconscious by some motorists in the early morning hours after being mugged, and that was when he vowed never to ride again. Interestingly, before the first accident had occurred, Rohan was once stopped by the traffic police at Yeshwanthpur Circle during a routine check. But the inspector, when he found out that he was hearing challenged, let him go despite learning that he did not have a driving licence. The Motor Vehicles Act disallows driving licence to hearing and visual challenged persons for their own safety as well as that of the others. Yet, the traffic police let Rohan go. But he lives, happily married, and with a kid who is without any such handicaps. But Vinith Vijaykumar Joseph, 25, was not so lucky. He lost his balance and crashed into the road divider while speeding along the inner ring road of Koramangala. He died while being taken in an unconscious state to Nimhans late Saturday night. Rohans case and the tragic case of Vinith smacks of apathy all round, which allows hearing impaired persons to indulge in motoring on the roads of a city which are extremely dangerous anyway. It reflects poorly on how little we value life, especially in a city like Bangalore where motoring is practised in one of the most dangerous manners. Normal motorists care two hoots for the traffic rules (and for the traffic police as well), which makes the city roads dangerous. So one may imagine how much more dangerous the roads are for motorists who suffer physical handicaps, especially visual/hearing impairment. When DNA tried to find out what Bangalore traffic police do when they come across specially abled people indulging in motoring on city roads, the police came up out with a common answer: That such incidents occur very rarely and hence we do not take it seriously. Additional commissioner of police (Traffic), MA Saleem, said, According to the Motor Vehicles Act, specially abled persons like hearing or visually impaired people are not supposed to ride or drive the vehicle. But the persons who are physically challenged (those without limb/limbs) have to ride or drive the vehicles which are specially designed for them. He said, we come across such cases very rarely where the specially abled die in accident. Yes, it is not correct for them to ride. The family members of such specially abled person should make sure that the person concerned does not ride or drive the vehicle or purchase any motor vehicle. DNA found that while this is the case, the traffic police still fine the specially abled persons violating the rules just as they do to the regular motorists plying the roads without licences there is not stringent penalty to deter them from taking to motoring despite their debilitating handicap. If we find such people riding/driving without a licence, we fine them ` 300, and if the vehicle is not in the name of the person who is driving or riding without a licence then another `300 fine is levied, Saleem said. Interestingly, when DNA came across Rohan Raos case, we found that several of his friends continue to ride/drive in vehicles despite their handicap. Almost all of them have said that when they were stopped during routine checks, they were allowed to go without being fined. They allow us to go after feeling sorry for us, gestured one of Rohans friends, Syed Ahmed (name changed), who briefly even owned a car. In all cases, their family members had encouraged them to ride/drive without being aware that such acts could lead to disastrous results; which is what additional commissioner of police (Traffic), Saleem insists on correcting. He stressed that it is the responsibility of the family members to ensure that specially abled persons are not allowed to indulge in motoring unless a special vehicle is allowed to be designed for them in accordance with the law.

Although deputy commissioner of police (West) MM Mahadevaiah, too, vouches that The specially abled persons are not supposed to ride or drive; when we find them we levy a fine, here is an explanation why they let them go. A senior police official at Adugodi police said, Since the person is specially abled we do not harass them because it hurts them. At the end of the day, we are all human beings and we do not feel like telling the specially abled (especially the hearing challenged) not to ride or drive. When DNA reasoned, asking where the question of humanity arises if they lose their life because of their handicap, the official replied: As such cases are rare, we need not worry. However, when DNA contacted a few traffic police inspectors over this issue, some of them did maintain that they fined them just as they would have any normal motorist without a licence. They admitted coming across several such cases driving auto-rickshaws at night, and one of them said: But we do not question them as they are not normal like us.