Only 37 percent of men trust their spouses behind the wheel of the car, compared to 64 percent of women who say they trust their husbands driving. This is just one of the interesting findings of the Nissan Connected Families survey by Nissan Indian and Kantar IMRB.
Interestingly, 34 percent of men surveyed said they trusted their parents behind the wheel, compared to just 21 percent of women. More people trust their chauffeurs (80 percent) rather than their children (70 percent) behind the wheel of the car as well.
While the skewed ratio of men who trust women behind the wheel and women who trust their spouses behind the wheel is indicative of a patriarchal mindset, what is more alarming is the number of rule violations admitted to in the survey.
Three out of every five Indian admits to having used a mobile phone while driving (that’s 60 percent of Indian drivers). However, only 25 percent (or one in four) admit to have been caught by the police for this offence. The fine for talking on the mobile phone and driving is Rs 1,000 for the first offence.
Even though most of the new cars come with Bluetooth-enabled audio systems that facilitate handsfree mobile telephony within the car, few use it.
Overspeeding is another big issue with road safety, besides the lack of lane discipline and disregard for safety signage. Speed limits are seldom adhered to. Over 60 percent of respondents admitted to overspeeding in Kerala, about 51 percent in Delhi and 28 percent in Punjab.
Most drivers tend to ignore speed limit signs and slow down only if they spot a speed-gun wielding policeman.
India has the highest number of road accident fatalities in the world. In 2017, over 146,000 people died on Indian roads. And yet, road safety is still not a priority for road users in the country.
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