Spot the killer at the wheel

Can those at home and those in the car avert something like the Carter Road tragedy? Speak Up looks for answers

‘I endured all the pain for no fault of mine’

A victim recollects the trauma she endured for no fault of hers

-Sejal Gandhi

I was studying at the University of North Carolina. It was 11pm and I was driving through campus to my friend's dorm to drop off some notes. We caught a red light at a crossroad on our way back and when the light turned green I moved ahead. Suddenly a sporty red car came from the other side and crashed into me. That’s all I remember.

Apparently, my car took a 360 degree turn and banged into a pole. I was found slumped unconscious against the air bag. Fortunately, help arrived soon and I was rushed to hospital. But the worst was yet to come.

I had a concussion and severe internal bleeding. I gained consciousness two days later inside a CT scan machine only to discover I couldn't move. The pain was unbearable. I was administered morphine every two minutes to kill the pain.

For a month I was on a liquid diet and couldn’t even do simple things like take a shower. I missed a semester and returned to India.

During all those days of bed rest, all I could think was, “It wasn't my fault. I followed the rules.” I was mad at the guy who did this to me. He even tried to escape after the accident but was caught by people around. My new car was ruined, I missed a semester and endured unbearable pain because some drunk irresponsible brat decided to be flamboyant with his fancy car. 

It has been seven years since and I still don't have the courage to take the wheel again.

Difficult to control them, say parents

Upbringing is at fault here

Children are not born brazen; it is our responsibility to teach them good values, to respect and value human life. I don't know if my son drinks, but I see to it that he doesn't befriend kids from the influential section of society. The rest depends on him; what more can we do?

Nowadays children have become so independent that they do not accept much interference in their lives. What happened at Bandra was not an unfortunate accident. It was the result of negligent upbringing. We are so busy with our lives that we forget basic values ourselves, How better can our children be? — Niti Nambiar. Chembur

I lost my son, want others to learn

It's very difficult to control children's behaviour once they reach their teens as they hardly pay heed to any advice. My daughter normally comes late from office and her friend drops her. I sometimes have a long talk with both of them and advice them to be careful while driving. I lost my son few years back in a road accident, so I keep advising everyone about this. I keep reminding my daughter about the same. God knows what has happened to the young generation; they are chasing happiness but end up collection sorrows. — Deepak Kotian. Malad

I'm scared when he drives home from parties

The responsibility of controlling the child’s behaviour lies with the parents in as also with children who must pay heed. Whenever my son informs me that he will be driving home late after a party, I get scared.

I always tell him not to drink so much that he loses control of himself. I get him to promise that he will not drive if he is high. By doing this, I am doing my duty and I also expect my son to listen to whatever I say as his duty. What more can I do? The accident at Bandra was a murder and God forbid, if my son would have been involved in all this, I would have thrown him out of the house. — Selina Anthony. Borivali

Teetotallers dubbed killjoys, say peers

One drinks, the other drives

When I was a kid I had seen an advertisement in Toronto. This young couple were leaving a party and while the guy was sloshed, the girl had had only one beer. The girl insisted that she drive as her boyfriend was too drunk.

She turned to see what her boyfriend was doing and in the instant a child ran across the road and she ran over him. The tagline that left a lasting impression was even a beer can kill. Since then it was a sort of practice that only one of us drinks and the other one drives. 

We do it on a rotation basis. Of course there are disadvantages; you can't enjoy a drink with your spouse. So while one is feeling the high, the other is sipping cola. But after you hear about accidents because of drunken driving, you realise it worth the sacrifice. — Sonal Chabria. Juhu

They call me a spoilsport

I am a teetotaller, so it's always me who drives my friends home. I don't let  them anywhere near the steering wheel and have got into many scuffles with my friends over this. They feel that I'm a spoilsport, not allowing them to drive.

Peer pressure or not, I never allow any of my friends to drive when drunk. At least not when I'm around. I'm not a dictator but I don't want to land up in a hospital or worse still, in jail. — Suraj Khanna. Vile Parle

Things just get out of hand at times

It is because of such young chaps that we get a bad reputation. All youngsters are not irresponsible. Whenever I’m out drinking, I make sure not to cross my limit, as I have to drive home. I have seen my friends drive rashly after a drink or two with other applauding and egging them on. This is wrong, but you can’t help it.

I feel every person is responsible for his own behaviour and the group that he hangs out with cannot control him. Everybody fears death and nobody wants to kill a person. It's only that sometimes things get out of control.— Derryl D'souza. Juhu