Traffic etiquette

Ash started driving to uni on September 28 when classes began. The first two days I was tensed and would say a silent prayer as he stepped out. He would send us a confirmation or call either of us when he reached uni by 7 pm. It is a 45 minute drive to Academic City, and the licence has come in the nick of time; his undergrad years at another uni in the same area had been an ordeal as he had to depend on a classmate or public transport. He had got the d.l. in April during the first ceasefire of the regional war -- I pull his leg that the Arab examiner must have been relieved or ecstatic about the ceasefire that he had let him pass the road test on second attempt.

Getting a licence here is a bit like passing the UPSC exam in India. It is exacting but instils the right driver behaviour and skills. Still, one has to be doubly careful with the proliferation of bikes and e-scooters. If only India could emulate the Middle East traffic etiquette and discipline.

The fatal accident involving a Mini Cooper in Kochi has brought to light the need for stricter traffic rules and people's willingness to follow traffic etiquette. Though Kerala is probably better than some lawless Northern states going by the videos of some vloggers from those lands, it is sadly wanting.

Although I was initially shocked and outraged by the death of three two-wheeler riders at the hands of the drunken teenage driver, the incessant social media vitriol and virtual lynching of the accused - who happens to be the younger son of a boutique owner - has changed my perspective on the said incident. The victims were young too and had dreams about their future lives and careers. They were students who worked part-time and were out to 'chill' past midnight, riding threesome without helmets on a scooter after having tea. The parents as well as some on social media are trying to portray it as deliberate killing; however, I assume the car passengers were under the influence and couldn't register anything in their path while riding past the speed limit.

I feel sorry for the young boys who will probably lose vital years as they are incarcerated in a correctional home. Let us not bay for their blood. The dead are gone, so let us give the living a chance -- help them in their rehabilitation if they feel remorse which I am sure they will soon do. Like Sonia Gandhi who forgave her husband's killers/facilitators, the parents of the dead could shed hatred and instead give love a chance.