Wrong-side driving and overtaking: Hero Motocorp's call for discipline on our roads
Hero We Care! is calling out drivers who break traffic rules by not only overtaking and overspeeding but also driving on the wrong side of the road
Hero MotoCorp’s flagship platform — Hero We Care! — created for its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), is inviting youngsters to become part of its #BeARoadHero initiative. Going a step further, it is calling out drivers who break traffic rules by not only overtaking and overspeeding but also driving on the wrong side of the road.

“We need a strict law that holds all wrongdoers accountable not just for serious but also any minor accidents they cause,” asserts Vishrut Mohan whose car was badly damaged by an oncoming motorcyclist driving in the wrong lane.
Bystanders who had gathered around requested Mohan to let the biker off “all because he said that he was getting late for work and each second mattered. In all this, the damage caused to my car and the hefty amount I had to shell out for its repairs was conveniently ignored.”
What nobody seemed to also care about was the fact that most such accidents are preventable. Just leaving home a few minutes earlier would have helped this youngster stick to the permissible speed limit and drive in the correct lane. “He must understand that exercising caution, having patience, and a sense of responsibility while driving are the requisites for safe roads,” says Mohan, a Road Hero.
But unfortunately, it is a casual approach to matters of road safety that is seeing a spike in the number of accidents every year. The annual report brought out by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) on road accidents in 2022 reveals that overspeeding/ dangerous driving or overtaking are among the major causes of accidents, injuries, and fatalities. It stated that out of a total of 3,33,323 accidents due to overspeeding, 1,19,904 cases were fatal.
Driving on the wrong side was the second highest cause of the total number of road mishaps. Of the 22,586 accidents, 9,094 people lost their lives, the report added. Impatience among drivers and a callous attitude towards traffic laws, as stated earlier, are both major factors that compromise road safety, agrees Derek Mathew, a travel executive. Having been hit by a speeding car trying to overtake another as he was crossing the road, he says, “Its sudden appearance caught me unawares, and in trying to stop myself from falling and hurting my head, I broke my shoulder.”
Although he was immediately rushed to the hospital, Mathew says, “This wasn’t enough as I was also forced to go on leave without pay for several weeks.” Stuck in the house, he says, “left me extremely frustrated and angry with that reckless driver whose so-called race against time cost me both time and money”. What worries him now is the effect his condition is having on his 11-year-old daughter. “She is always petrified of crossing any road on her own, even if it’s a service lane when going to school. And we know why.”
Having come to India after a gap of nearly four years, Tripti Singh says the chaos on Delhi roads seems to have worsened. “Why is everyone in such a rush?” All drivers, she adds, must be educated about the fact that accidents caused by them can result in severe (even fatal) injuries, not just to others but even to their own selves.
Having seen her 20-year-old cousin who was out for his morning jog become a victim of an overspeeding car, Singh says, “My cousin’s spine was injured and he has since been unable to walk.” Although some financial support was given by “this rich brat’s folks there’s no denying the lifelong psychological trauma my cousin and his family are going through”.
But what happens when an accident results in death? “It’s only right that the person responsible for it must suffer from endless guilt and trauma,” says Seema Kapoor whose brother died after being hit by a motorcyclist outside his college. “Isn’t this akin to murder? This driver too must suffer for causing someone to lose his life.”
This is where collective effort from both the authorities as well as Road Heroes to prioritize road safety comes in. “The ‘chalta hai’ attitude of road users needs to change”, says Maxwell Pereira, former Delhi Police Traffic Chief. Let a start be made not just with traffic training institutes but also with introducing the subject of road safety at the school level – just as they do in many countries abroad.” Besides educating drivers about the legalities of irresponsible driving (including not just fines, penalties, and license suspension but also imprisonment in cases of severe accidents), they must also be made to understand that negligent driving can also lead to their own vehicles being badly damaged. Who would want increased insurance premiums and even potential lawsuits that many victims’ families could slap on them? Any answers, anyone?
(Partnered Content)
