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If you thought that the M25 was organised chaos, then the roads in India are full-blown anarchy.
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Words: Julian Miues I images: Claude tsarutel Nothing can ever prepare you for the first time you travel on the roads in India, such is the magnitude of vehicles and the intensity at which they're driven — constantly. All elements of Western driving sensibility and road etiquette need to be abandoned immediately and replaced with something akin to the Wacky Racers' handbook if you want to survive, with the main rule being that it's every person for themselves.
My journey took me through Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and on to the Indian state of Goa, travelling from the north to the south, before returning to the capital. India is experiencing something of an economic boom at the moment —it's the fastest-growing economy after China — and that's reflected in the amount of commercial vehicles on the road. It's reckoned that there are four million truck drivers here. But the rapid expansion of road transport numbers is not reflected in the state of the infrastructure, which is progressing at a far slower rate, and currently lacks the capability to deal with the rise in vehicle numbers. For example, there are few city bypass roads, so every truck, no matter where it's heading, has to travel through the centre and join the already burgeoning throng. And what a throng it is.
Road markings, traffic lights and direction signs are nothing more than suggestions, and that's before you factor in the presence of cows wandering across the motorway (they're considered sacred by the majority Hindu faith) as six vehicles vie for position in three lanes.
When the lights turn green, the assembled masses move as one with heat, fumes and noise building into an all-consuming environment that bombards the senses, particularly for the uninitiated.
Safety first
As you might imagine, it's safety first when driving at such close quarters. Most commercial vehicles invite you, via a polite notice written on the tailgate, to sound your horn when approaching from the rear; wing mirrors have either been removed in transit by another vehicle that either didn't obey the one-inch maximum encroachment rule or the truck never had them in the first place.
And so the sound of horns saturate the air as trucks, motorbikes, taxis and tuk-tuks (motorised three-wheelers with the structural rigidity of Plasticine) jostle for position in an ongoing battle to move up one precious place, whether on the outside, inside or, in one particular case, the pavement.
With little sense of organisation evident on the roads, it's no wonder road safety is a significant issue of a magnitude, and I quote from an official Indian report on the subject: "dwarfing the HIV/AIDS problem".
While, astonishingly, I didn't see a collision during my spell there, it was just a matter of time before one would occur. Predicted to get worse as the country undergoes a process of modernisation, an estimated 75,000 people are killed on Indian roads each year. Trucks are reportedly involved in about half of all highway incidents, and a disproportionate number of the remainder involve relatively few accident-prone drivers. It's estimated the economic loss from highway deaths amounts to 50bn rupees (£7bn) a year.
Insurance costs
In 65% of cases, negligent driving is identified as the cause of the accident. Strangely, though, it is the vehicle that is insured and, therefore, liable, not the owner or driver. So it's the individual vehicle's accident record that has an effect on insurance premiums, so a bad driver or operator needs only to replace their vehicle to avoid any adverse premium increases.
Conversely, in truck insurance there is no upper liability limit, while premium rates are controlled. This has resulted in loss ratios for insurers, decreasing the incentive to pursue such business, and, therefore, pricing operators out of paying for insurance in the first place.
And it gets worse. For all the investment that's pouring into India to modernise the country, the road transport industry is still thoroughly underdeveloped. There's little regulation or monitoring, so operators tend to work to their own set of rules.
Overloading is common — picture that image of an ant carrying a leaf— and the conditions of labour, standards of training and penalties for negligent conduct are all underdeveloped. An astounding 20% of truck drivers are believed to be illiterate, so instructors cannot rely on written manuals as teaching aids.
There is also a need for safer and better-monitored rest areas, which might help to reduce the number of drivers suffering from sexually transmitted diseases — longdistance drivers are second only to commercial sex workers as the work category most affected by STDs.
There's no respite, either, when it comes to time spent on the road. Nearly 50% of drivers are away from base for five to eight days, and more than 20% are gone for longer.
The type of truck used varies mainly between twoand three-axle rigids with a small sleeper cab, and an opentop freight box of approximately 35 cubic metres. European manufacturers such as Volvo, MAN and Mercedes are making inroads, although the market is dominated by the domestic giant Tata (which owns about half of India, due to various industrial concerns) and Ashok Leyland. Most trucks are old, low-tech designs that are powered by 135-165hp naturally aspirated engines. Combined with overloading, that keeps their highway speed down, even on uncongested roads. Loaded truck speeds of only 40km/h are typical, and old trucks are plagued by frequent breakdowns. However, it's reported that Indian truckers are satisfied with their vehicles, and generally run them for as long as 20 years.
In terms of traffic on the main national highway network, the two-axle, nine-tonne arrangement constitutes approximately 75% of trucks, and is relatively cheap at £8,100. This contrasts sharply with foreign products, which can go for around £42,600.
Finally, there are the rates. It's estimated that for a ninetonne truck carrying a normal load (usually maximum capacity in India) the charge is 9-11 rupees (13p) per kilometre and 13 rupees (17p) if overloaded by 20% or more over registered capacity. Vosa would have a field day.
To put that in perspective, for a truck travelling from Delhi to Mumbai on a 1,408km journey, an operator would charge 12,300 rupees (£160). Not a bad deal. really. •