There are too many gruesome accidents and hair-raising near misses on Indian roads for them to be regarded as safe. National highways alone account for over 35 per cent of the two lakh road fatalities annually; speeding vehicles are mangled and transformed into a ball of fire in very quick time when something goes wrong — whether it is their driving or the condition of the vehicles.

The recent accidents near Jaisalmer (October 14) and Kurnool (October 24) have put the spotlight on the road-worthiness of private buses, as well as of those behind the wheel. The Jaisalmer bus seems to have caught fire owing to a short circuit. In the Kurnool tragedy, it appears that the bike rider was dead drunk on the Hyderabad-Bangalore highway and died after losing balance, before the V Kaveri Travels bus

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