Diwali, festival of lights!

Diwali is the time of the year marked by lights and visibility. Going away for the weekend on a rafting trip, I travelled on the roads of India for a surplus of 15 hours. The lack of proper street lighting is such a predominant problem, and even highways, where speeds of over a 100 kilometres an hour are more rule than exception, are not properly lit. The need for street lighting becomes even more apparent, taking into account that plenty of vehicles lack proper lights. A review of European research shows that one third of pedestrian casualties had problems with seeing the striking vehicle. Fleet Forum is currently looking into setting up a partnership with Philips India on a street lighting project in New Delhi.

But street lighting was not the only issue on my mind after Diwali. Opening the Times of India newspaper after the Diwali weekend, a minor article on a car crash caught my eye. Again, people  were killed on the roads in Delhi. A few days before I was warned by a handful of people not to get into taxis or rickshaws during the festival, because of the risk of drunk driving. The problem of drunk driving in India is of frightening proportions and alcoholic intake whilst driving seems to be condoned. Recent research on the topic revealed that in Bangalore (one of the fastest growing metropolitan cities in India with a population exceeding 5.5 million) 28% of the crashes involving males over 15 years were attributable to alcohol. Alarming numbers I would say!

However, the problem of drunk driving is not only an issue for low and middle income countries. In most high income countries about 20% of fatally injured drivers have excess alcohol in their blood. Not only Fleet Forum, but other organisations such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) stress the importance of no alcohol in traffic or the use of a designated driver, especially during holiday season. No longer being a layman on the figures of road traffic crashes, I would like use this possibility to warn people. With holiday season coming up, always make sure there is a designated driver in your company. Give yourself the best gift during holiday season and make sure that you, your family, and friend arrive home safely after an evening of festivities. Enjoy!