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Business News/ Opinion / Online Views/  Cross Hairs| The good samaritan within us
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Cross Hairs| The good samaritan within us

The objective of the workshop was to discern why they do that and what could be done to change this behaviour

People look at a damaged vehicle that fell into a pond after hitting a bike near Badoli village in Faridabad. Photo: PTI (PTI)Premium
People look at a damaged vehicle that fell into a pond after hitting a bike near Badoli village in Faridabad. Photo: PTI
(PTI)

Last month, SaveLife Foundation, an NGO working to improve road safety, conducted a workshop to debate why Indians shirk from a responsibility that every citizen ought to fulfil—coming forward and helping an accident victim at inconvenience to themselves. One could argue that civic sense is what differentiates us from most animals and constitutes the bedrock of communal living. And yet over 74% of bystanders walk away from road accidents, where their intervention could have saved human lives.

The objective of the workshop was to discern why they do that and what could be done to change this behaviour. The participants consisted of stakeholders like the police, hospital administrators, doctors, policymakers, activists, lawyers and interested citizens representing ordinary people like us.

Surveys show that seven out of 10 bystanders would choose to walk away—not necessarily without guilt, but walk away nonetheless from a situation where taking responsibility would save a life and a family’s wellbeing. There are several reasons for this behaviour, ranging from loss of personal time, effort, fear of embroilment and police harassment. Unfortunately, there is some truth, or at least a strong perception, in all these reasons.

Ideally the focus should be on saving lives, so if a bystander acted and helped transport the victim of a road accident to the hospital, he should be allowed to leave without needing to give personal details, but most hospitals detain them until their particulars are obtained. Stories abound of private clinics refusing to treat a patient, instead diverting them to government hospitals, thus literally holding the Samaritan accountable. But the tragic irony of road accidents is that it is the golden hour or the first hour from the accident during which most victims collapse. At that time, help, any help is crucial. And most of the 150,000 Indians who die in road accidents don’t get it.

There is of course a need to record details of the people who bring in the victim. They may be needed as leads in an investigation or as witnesses. In some cases, they may even be perpetrators. But this practice dissuades most bystanders from participating. It is not that the law doesn’t allow anonymity. The implementation chain however, interprets it differently because of ignorance, apathy or simple old-fashioned greed. Even if the law permitted that disclosure of personal details be made explicitly voluntary, how many believe that it will not be flouted and someone (usually the police) will not harass the Samaritan. The huge gap between law and its implementation is an existential reality for most Indians.

While some countries make it mandatory for a bystander to act as Good Samaritans, a more voluntary approach would probably work better in India. It is not that Indians are not inherently compassionate. The aftermath of any natural or man-made calamity witnesses millions pitching in to help total strangers even at the risk of their own lives. The government on its part has been advertising that bystanders do not need to fear harassment and should step up and while there is some anecdotal evidence to support that Good Samaritans are lauded, there is overwhelming perception that it is safer not to get involved.

Meaningful change must undoubtedly start with creating laws that provide incentives to bystanders into becoming Good Samaritans. In the absence of specific laws akin to say the whistleblowers Act, the Good Samaritan is exposed to exploitation, detention, liability of medical bills and the bother of having to appear as a court witness. Hopefully, under the new law Samaritans should be allowed the option of just dropping the victim to the hospital and walk away in anonymity. It must be their prerogative if they want to share details or participate in subsequent investigative process. They should not be held accountable for the registration procedures or expenses at the hospital. Matter of fact, becoming a Good Samaritan must count as a positive step even if the Samaritan has caused the accident and be borne in mind while adjudicating the matter.

But the law by itself will not achieve anything meaningful. Awareness about the law needs to be built over time and the media and establishment have to demonstrate their seriousness by coming down hard on all cases where it is flouted by exploiters. The recent example of the mindset change that began in the aftermath of the December rape case in Delhi demonstrates that if enough social pressure is sustained, systemic changes do begin to occur.

Every year road accidents kill and maim over half a million in India, a vast majority of whom are breadwinners, pushing thousands of families off the poverty cliff. According to the 201st report of the Law Commission, over 50% of these deaths could be avoided if only timely care was given. India has the dubious distinction of leading the world in road accidents and we lose 2.7% of our gross domestic product to this scourge. With such overarching humane and economic reasons, it is criminal to continue penalizing conscientious bystanders who choose to become involved. However, in keeping with the trend these days, the initiative will probably have to be taken by each one of us. Because that horrific statistic of half a million killed or maimed in road accidents this year could include ourselves or someone we love.

Raghu Raman is a commentator on internal security, member of the www.outstandingspeakersbureau.in and author of Everyman’s War (www.fb.com/everymanswarbook). The views expressed are personal.

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Published: 18 Sep 2013, 01:26 AM IST
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