Kurnool Bus Tragedy. ‘We Don’t Drive, We Dare’: India’s Cult of Recklessness On Roads

India's roadways are war zones masquerading as public infrastructure. Each day, approximately 470 people die in road crashes across the country -- nearly 20 lives every hour. The numbers are staggering: in 2024, 1.80 lakh people died in accidents, and the first half of 2025 already saw nearly 30,000 fatalities on national highways alone. Behind these numbers lies a deeper crisis -- one of culture, discipline, and collective indifference. The recent Kurnool bus tragedy in Andhra Pradesh and a drunk-driving crash by an Indian-origin driver in California are twin mirrors reflecting a disturbing truth: Indians, whether at home or abroad, treat road discipline as optional.

The Kurnool Nightmare

The Kurnool bus tragedy stands as a grim lesson in reckless negligence. Forensic reports confirm that B. Siva Shankar, the biker who triggered the inferno that killed 19 passengers, was drunk. His motorcycle skidded, hit a divider, and got trapped under a speeding sleeper bus. The friction ignited the fuel tank, engulfing the bus in flames --trapping families returning from Diwali holidays. What followed was horror beyond imagination: charred bodies, shattered glass, and a nation that barely paused before moving on. This wasn't fate; it was failure -- of one man's judgement, and a system that enables such recklessness daily.

Indians Abroad: The Same Mindset

The problem doesn't stop at the border. After Kurnool, news emerged from California of Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old Indian-origin truck driver, who killed three people in a fiery highway crash. Toxicology tests confirmed intoxication; dashcam footage showed he didn't even hit the brakes. Shockingly, similar DUI cases involving Indian nationals have surfaced before -- some high on alcohol, others high on power. The behaviour travels seamlessly across oceans; the mindset remains unchanged. Many Indian drivers abroad reportedly face suspension or deportation for the same rule-breaking that's normalised back home.

A Culture of Chaos and Impunity

Driving in India isn't just about getting from point A to point B, it's a daily battle of ego and impatience. Wrong-side driving, incessant honking, and parking wars have become symbols of freedom, not lawlessness. The refusal to wear helmets or fasten seatbelts is seen as bravado. The idea of following lane discipline or respecting pedestrians is ridiculed as 'too Western.' Instead of treating fines as deterrents, many boast about bribing their way out, as if corruption were a badge of honour. Every act of indiscipline chips away at civic order, making roads extensions of lawlessness rather than law.

The lack of deterrence compounds the problem. Enforcement remains half-hearted. Cops set up random checkpoints but seldom prosecute habitual offenders. Data shows that two-wheeler riders account for nearly half of all road deaths, yet helmet compliance hovers at pitiful levels.

The Cost of Carelessness

India's roads claim more lives annually than many wars. Over 1.8 lakh Indians die in crashes each year, that's more than all natural disasters combined. Two-wheelers make up the deadliest segment, with young men paying the highest price. According to IIT Delhi's Transport Research and Injury Prevention Centre, a young Indian male is three times more likely to die in a road crash than a woman in childbirth. Yet, even as these numbers pile up, outrage fades in days, replaced by fatalism -- "yeh toh roz hota hai" (this happens every day).

The Real Struggle India Avoids

Indians often call this the 'struggle of daily life', navigating chaos, bending rules and escaping unscathed. But the real struggle isn't breaking rules; it's following them. It takes far greater strength to stop at a red light than to jump it. It takes more courage to question a drunk driver than to tolerate one. Until we recognise discipline as moral strength, not weakness -- the Kurnools of tomorrow are inevitable.

The truth is brutal: We as Indians love to risk our lives and call it resilience. But resilience isn't about survival through recklessness; it's about reform through restraint. The day India learns that simple act -- wearing a helmet, fastening a belt, respecting a signal -- it will win its greatest freedom: the right to live on its own roads.