Criminals behind wheels

I feel appalled and anguished to learn that many school bus drivers keep , as I had been told , a big stick to scare away small vehicles coming their way !

Ever since I first visited Delhi , I have been wary of a community of professional drivers ; particularly the ones who man public transport . Be it bus driver or auto driver (that also includes cleaners , conductors and helpers as they invariably interchange roles ), one can find them indulging in fleecing of customers at railway stations , at airport or in markets any day. At nights at bus stands and at metro station even the innocent looking ones turn wolves and with little help from attending cops put you through humiliating surrender .

Hundreds of people have been looted and many even killed by cab drivers plying from airport in Delhi . One can find these drivers happily harassing and even thrashing passengers everyday somewhere in the city for petty demands. In past twelves years I have never come across a single rickshaw driver who would ply by meter and won't argue for fare and destination. Drivers at wheels of bigger vehicles like buses look down upon other road users and have least regard for traffic discipline. Interestingly perhaps cops consider them part of their own 'society ' and hardly venture forward to take any action unlike car owners who go through strict scrutiny for jumping of signals, over speed and drunken driving. It's common to experience a bus honking you out of the way if you happen to be ahead of it on a red signal- traffic lights are not meant for them and you would be obstructing his way !

It may perhaps be their vagabond lifestyle which makes them that ill mannered and fill them with criminal intents. False sense of safety within confines of their vehicles and ease to get away because of the mobility , aid their acts. No doubt, some of the most heinous crimes reported in Delhi get attributed to these drivers . Before they are allowed on the roads, administration must do something very serious to train every professional driver of Delhi in social behavioral practices and sensitize them towards respecting the laws.