RISING HIGHWAY DEATHS

RECKLESS DRIVING, BAD ROAD DESIGN, LAX DETERRENCE, INADEQUATE SAFETY FEATURES IN VEHICLES AND POOR TRAUMA CARE MAKE INDIA'S HIGHWAYS AMONG THE MOST LETHAL IN THE WORLD

- SONALI ACHARJEE

Aditi Thomas, a 39-year-old homemaker from Ahmedabad, still remembers with a shudder the horrific experience she and her husband had while travelling from Delhi to Jaipur on NH48 in their Innova. With the main highway jammed, they took a detour and were about to rejoin the highway when a speeding car hurtled into them and hit the driver's side. The airbags on the sides inflated, but her husband, who had been driving, still suffered bruises and whiplash symptoms, losing consciousness for a while. "It was the most frightening experience of my life," recalls Aditi. "I had a broken leg and was bleeding. I just did not know which number to dial for help." Unwilling to risk roadside healthcare and with no specialised traumacentre nearby, Aditi insisted they be taken to a hospital in Jaipur, since they were just 60 km away. It took her 15 minutes, that too with the help of bystanders, to find the number of the ambulance provider, another 45 minutes for the ambulance and the cops to arrive, 20 minutes of paperwork the cops insisted on and then an hourlong harrowing ride before they reached the Sawai Madho Singh Hospital in Jaipur.