On Golden Hours and Silver Linings

(aka Humanity vs Magnanimity)

One of the stark contrasts in being back in India is the worth (or lack there off) of human life and limb. This is stark when we observe the disdain that ambulances are shown on the road. As I am traveling from Chennai to Bangalore on NH 4, I see our bus coolly overtake an ambulance that has its siren blaring. And a few minutes later, as we hit a toll plaza, the ambulance joins the queue in a neighbouring toll booth, waiting for those ahead to pay and pass. It's a first come first served, survival of the fittest attitude on the streets. But an incident over the weekend gives me hope.

As I was driving to SEED, a non profit at Chennai's outskirts, on Diwali day, I was pleasantly surprised at the fairly empty roads and light traffic. It reminded me of Christmas day at LAX where the bustle turns to a trickle as people spend time with family at home. As I passed SRMC, a large teaching hospital, I see a small crowd milling by the road. I pulled over my car to check out what was happening. It was immediately apparent; a pedestrian has been hit by a motor bike and prone by the road side, while the alleged perpetrator is being accosted by the crowd. I don't see any bleeding but the pedestrian is screaming, partly in pain and partly egging the crowd to not let the motor cyclist escape. The mob surrounds the biker. A few bystanders idly take in the spectacle.

After checking with a few to see if someone has called for an ambulance, with non committal responses, I find the current medical emergency number (it's 108), and call. There is no response. Either my cell provider is acting up or the number is busy or something. Diwali may be a hectic day with burn accidents. I try 100, the number for the police. Again, no luck. Then I turn to the pedestrian and see that his leg in an unusual angle. The bone is broken in half though the skin has not torn. The onlookers are unsure what to do. Some offer water.

Such is plight is not uncommon. There are countless (unsubstantiated) anecdotes (and even some movie plots) where the people who help "accident victims" are harassed by the police as potential suspects themselves (or just asked to appear as witness in court). Sometimes, even hospitals will (allegedly) not treat accident victims due to this hassle. It is this notional inconvenience prevalent in pop culture that causes humanity to often take a back seat. No one wants to get involved. They would rather give the culprit a good thrashing and walk away rather than help the victim and get embroiled.

As some people try to move the pedestrian to the side, he screams in agony. I look for an auto rickshaw to flag to take the victim to the hospital nearby. My instinct is to help, but have someone else do the difficult part. The streets are bereft of vehicles during this festive day. The golden hour, if there is one to save the leg, may be closing. I decide to take him myself.

I unload my family, the crowd loads up the victim to the back seat, and we rush to SRMC. And it is what happens from here on that rekindles my hope, offering a silver lining to this morbid event.

The security at the SRMC gate hears my pre-emptive honks and points me to the Emergency entrance. We speed onwards. The guard at the Emergency gate can sense my urgency. The gate swings open. I don't have to stop. I pull over along side ambulances. A couple of hospital staff come over. One calls for a stretcher. A senior staff asks how he was injured. I tentatively say that he was in an accident and I was helping. (Would they admit him?) They thank me profusely!! Few in the public bother to help, the say, and a simple act of humanity seems like magnanimity.

They want me to park my car and come in. After a brief discussion between the doctors, they don't see any reason for me to have to stick around. They are glad someone helped and that is good enough for them. A nurse takes my contact details, as the person who brought the victim in. From the look of it, he may survive with just a limp (I hope). He is talking to his sister on a borrowed cell phone as I leave.

I have mixed feelings. I feel good that the victim will survive, but sad at the low expectations set by society. But the redeeming factor was the knowledge that helping a random stranger, an accident victim by the roadside, should not require a second thought. There is no bureaucratic hassle. Just the generous thanks of the hospital staff, the police (whom we met on the way out) and of course the victim who, for once, did not end up as yet another statistic.

Endnote:

• Some emergency numbers
• A plan to have a single emergency number
• Paper on road accident statistics in India. ~25% of accidents are fatal! Tamil Nadu leads the pack @ 15% of accidents and 11% of fatalities.
• The law on helping accident victims
• Motor Vehicles Act 1988 (amended 1994):  The driver of the vehicle must take all reasonable steps to secure medical attention for the injured person by conveying him to the nearest medical practitioner or hospital, and it is shall be the duty of every registered medical practitioner or the doctor on the duty in the hospital immediately to attend the injured person and render medical aid or treatment without waiting for any procedural formalities.