Date:04/02/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/02/04/stories/2004020414080300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

M.G. Road, none too safe for driving?

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, FEB. 3. Mahatma Gandhi Road is the Bangalore's busiest commercial area as are the roads around it such as Brigade Road, Residency Road, and St. Mark's Road. Drunken driving and "drag racing" by rash youths endanger others on the road.

The accident in which upcoming actor Sudeep was injured when a car hit his parked vehicle in the early hours of Monday was the latest in several incidents that have occurred in one of the best lit and wider roads in the city.

Ironically, the road was declared a "zero tolerance zone" over one year ago by the city traffic police. The police do not allow any vehicle to wait for a parking slot, and `U' turns are allowed only at specific points. Jumping a red light attracts a hefty fine, and jaywalkers are fined frequently. To compensate, the traffic signals are equipped with "Walk" and "Don't Walk" modes at zebra crossings, a rarity in other parts of the city.

While patrol vehicles and police personnel are all around during the day, very few are to be seen after 9 p.m. After 10 p.m., when the traffic signals usually change to the blinking "caution mode", the road becomes less safe. This is despite patrol vehicles occasionally passing by. Last year, a young couple was killed when the man borrowed his friend's motorcycle and went racing on the road with his girlfriend on a "dare".

Although there are signs banning the use of headlights on the road, many motorists continue to use high beams, and with banned wind-horns blaring, try to drive other vehicles off the road, late at night. Not just examples of youthful exuberance. Besides the old established ice-cream parlour outside which the actor was injured, M.G. Road and its surrounding roads are home to some of the city's favourite watering holes including what could be the oldest surviving pub on nearby Church Street. Though the police are equipped with breathalysers to detect drunken driving, they are unable to deploy them adequately on all roads due to certain technical hitches.

According to police officers, drunken driving is only one cause of accidents. "Young men earning huge pay-packets or coming from rich families drive powerful cars but are not mature enough to handle them safely.

They also want to show off before persons of the opposite sex by driving too fast," they say. Some accidents have been caused by car drivers not being able to hear other vehicles over the sound of their own loud music systems. As a welcome step, some policemen are now to be stationed on the road between midnight and 5 a.m. to catch those bleary-eyed pub-crawlers who just might endanger themselves and others on the roads.