Dare to drive

When politician Amit Shah attempted to evade arrest by vanishing briefly,a judge in Punjab commented that his trying to flee was perfectly normal and not necessarily an admission of guilt.

When politician Amit Shah attempted to evade arrest by vanishing briefly,a judge in Punjab commented that his trying to flee was perfectly normal and not necessarily an admission of guilt. This surprisingly broadminded judge acknowledged that citizens have a natural fear of the police (and jail) so obviously their first instinct would be to get as far away as possible.

The judge is right. Ask 24-year-old Shahid Khan,an MBBS student who ran over eight labourers on a Delhi flyover and attempted to escape back to his medical college in Russia recently,only to be apprehended Hindi-movie style on the airport runway when the plane was about to take off. Khan had shared several bottles of beer with his cousins and was driving like a lunatic when he mowed down those unfortunate souls. There can be no excuse for driving like that and fleeing,but it takes serious character not to,when you know you’re in big,big trouble. I have a hard time stopping when a cop flags me down for talking on my cellphone.

What happened to Khan is every drivers worst nightmare,drunk or sober. As a regular driver myself,I think its nothing short of a miracle that so far Ive escaped unscathed,barring one incident when I ran over a squirrel and narrowly escaped a dog. (I braked in time but the car behind smashed into mine and caused some pretty intense damage.)

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Having said that Ive been in situations where other people have been driving when they probably shouldnt have been. Many people in my generation,except the alarmingly cautious ones have,I think. I remember a cold foggy night with no visibility when a college friend and me landed up at a club,Someplace Else with two guys who proceeded to get hammered. I shudder when I think I actually sat in the same car with them. (They were history after that night.) We were lucky to get away with it. The current crop of 20-year-olds in Delhi and Mumbai are a lot wiser and post Sanjeev Nanda,acutely aware that getting away with murder,even in India,is getting tougher and tougher.

But there was little awareness 10-15 years ago. I personally know of at least five people whove caused irreparable damage while driving,and spent the next decade paying off policemen and families,but escaping jail time. Theres something about alcohol and youth and extreme reckless behavior which is why its rare to hear of a 40 or 50 year old involved. (Excepting Salman Khan and I bet he doesnt admit to being 40.)

( hutkayfilms@gmail.com )

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