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| India turns to yoga to steer boozy bus drivers on road to recovery | India turns to yoga to steer boozy bus drivers on road to recovery |
| (21 days later) | |
| In a clinic in Bengaluru, a stooped yogi in an orange shawl weaves through a group of 15 men kneeling on a carpet. His pupils place their right thumb on one nostril and exhale slowly. "I am erasing all negative thoughts," he says. "Slow and steady wins the game." | In a clinic in Bengaluru, a stooped yogi in an orange shawl weaves through a group of 15 men kneeling on a carpet. His pupils place their right thumb on one nostril and exhale slowly. "I am erasing all negative thoughts," he says. "Slow and steady wins the game." |
| His session drawing to a close, Prakash Yogi doles out some practical advice: drink plenty of water, take brisk walks and shun alcohol. "Your body is like a vehicle. It should always be in condition," he says. | His session drawing to a close, Prakash Yogi doles out some practical advice: drink plenty of water, take brisk walks and shun alcohol. "Your body is like a vehicle. It should always be in condition," he says. |
| The men stretched out in front of him know a lot about vehicles. They are bus drivers, conductors and mechanics on government pay cheques, courtesy of the Karnataka State Road Transportation Corporation (KSRTC) and its affiliates. All have a good working knowledge of their favourite alcohol brands – mostly whiskey, rum and brandy – that have cost the company dearly in absenteeism and low productivity while putting the lives of passengers and pedestrians at risk. | The men stretched out in front of him know a lot about vehicles. They are bus drivers, conductors and mechanics on government pay cheques, courtesy of the Karnataka State Road Transportation Corporation (KSRTC) and its affiliates. All have a good working knowledge of their favourite alcohol brands – mostly whiskey, rum and brandy – that have cost the company dearly in absenteeism and low productivity while putting the lives of passengers and pedestrians at risk. |
| The company, determined to get its drivers to clean up and to restore passenger confidence in the sobriety of public transport, has pioneered this 40-day rehabilitation programme, held in a Bengaluru hospital. | The company, determined to get its drivers to clean up and to restore passenger confidence in the sobriety of public transport, has pioneered this 40-day rehabilitation programme, held in a Bengaluru hospital. |
| The drivers are put through a strict detox regime augmented by daily yoga sessions, counselling, medical lectures, gardening and volleyball. Cash and mobile phones are confiscated. | The drivers are put through a strict detox regime augmented by daily yoga sessions, counselling, medical lectures, gardening and volleyball. Cash and mobile phones are confiscated. |
| The company pays just over £100 for each employee, a bargain by international rehab standards. Over the past 18 months, 155 men from Karnataka state have attended the sessions at the clinic. | The company pays just over £100 for each employee, a bargain by international rehab standards. Over the past 18 months, 155 men from Karnataka state have attended the sessions at the clinic. |
| "Most commercial drivers, especially bus drivers, drive under the influence of liquor and other drugs," says Harman Singh Sidhu, president of ArriveSafe, a road safety NGO in Chandigarh. He says it is often the bus operators that supply illicit substances to drivers so they complete their routes quickly and make more trips. "To maximise profits, they compromise the safety of drivers and passengers and other road users," he says. | "Most commercial drivers, especially bus drivers, drive under the influence of liquor and other drugs," says Harman Singh Sidhu, president of ArriveSafe, a road safety NGO in Chandigarh. He says it is often the bus operators that supply illicit substances to drivers so they complete their routes quickly and make more trips. "To maximise profits, they compromise the safety of drivers and passengers and other road users," he says. |
| According to Dinesh Mohan, professor emeritus at the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, "There are a disturbing number of buses involved in serious crashes that result in fatalities." Mohan, who works with the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme, thinks alcohol ignition interlocks should be installed in buses to guarantee the vehicle will not start if a drunk driver sits at the wheel. | According to Dinesh Mohan, professor emeritus at the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, "There are a disturbing number of buses involved in serious crashes that result in fatalities." Mohan, who works with the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme, thinks alcohol ignition interlocks should be installed in buses to guarantee the vehicle will not start if a drunk driver sits at the wheel. |
| Most of those at the Bengaluru rehab centre have been ordered to attend by their supervisors, under threat of losing their jobs. Some, like Shivaswamy, 41, from Hassan district, say they have come voluntarily. | Most of those at the Bengaluru rehab centre have been ordered to attend by their supervisors, under threat of losing their jobs. Some, like Shivaswamy, 41, from Hassan district, say they have come voluntarily. |
| He started drinking nine shots of whiskey after finishing a typical overtime shift, when he would drive from 5:30am to midnight for two consecutive days, covering 746 miles on bad roads. "My hands used to shake. It was difficult to steer the bus. I wouldn't be able to fall asleep," he says. Though he insists he never caused an accident, there were mornings when he knew he could not risk turning up for duty. | He started drinking nine shots of whiskey after finishing a typical overtime shift, when he would drive from 5:30am to midnight for two consecutive days, covering 746 miles on bad roads. "My hands used to shake. It was difficult to steer the bus. I wouldn't be able to fall asleep," he says. Though he insists he never caused an accident, there were mornings when he knew he could not risk turning up for duty. |
| Pradeep AR, 28, a driver in Bengaluru, recalls how he would pour whiskey into coconut shells for surreptitious sips. "As soon as I got my salary, I used to drink for a week," he says. | Pradeep AR, 28, a driver in Bengaluru, recalls how he would pour whiskey into coconut shells for surreptitious sips. "As soon as I got my salary, I used to drink for a week," he says. |
| Keeping bus passengers safe from drunk drivers is just one major challenge facing India. According to the World Health Organisation's global status report on road safety, published in March, nearly 134,000 people lost their lives in road accidents in 2010. | Keeping bus passengers safe from drunk drivers is just one major challenge facing India. According to the World Health Organisation's global status report on road safety, published in March, nearly 134,000 people lost their lives in road accidents in 2010. |
| The number of traffic deaths is increasing by 8% each year, with badly maintained roads, speeding and fatigue cited as contributing causes. | The number of traffic deaths is increasing by 8% each year, with badly maintained roads, speeding and fatigue cited as contributing causes. |
| However, health experts and traffic technocrats in India argue that alcohol plays a far bigger part in the country's poor road safety record than acknowledged or understood. Many Indian hospitals do not have breathalysers or other detection equipment. Police often hold back too. "A dead man is forgiven," explains Praveen Sood, co-director general of police in Karnataka. "It is culturally incorrect to check his blood and tell his family that he was drunk and that's why he died." | However, health experts and traffic technocrats in India argue that alcohol plays a far bigger part in the country's poor road safety record than acknowledged or understood. Many Indian hospitals do not have breathalysers or other detection equipment. Police often hold back too. "A dead man is forgiven," explains Praveen Sood, co-director general of police in Karnataka. "It is culturally incorrect to check his blood and tell his family that he was drunk and that's why he died." |
| Almost two-thirds of crash fatalities occur on the highways a deadly combination of drunk driving, speeding and poor visibility. Police say they lack the resources to carry out random alcohol testing on the highways, and with state budgets heavily reliant on revenues from spiralling alcohol sales, state excise commissioners are largely deaf to pleas from the central government to remove liquor shops from the sides of highways. | Almost two-thirds of crash fatalities occur on the highways a deadly combination of drunk driving, speeding and poor visibility. Police say they lack the resources to carry out random alcohol testing on the highways, and with state budgets heavily reliant on revenues from spiralling alcohol sales, state excise commissioners are largely deaf to pleas from the central government to remove liquor shops from the sides of highways. |
| But action is being taken. More than 50,000 drunk drivers have faced legal action in Mumbai since 2007, and the city of Visakhapatnam has quadrupled its drunk driving cases in just over three years. | But action is being taken. More than 50,000 drunk drivers have faced legal action in Mumbai since 2007, and the city of Visakhapatnam has quadrupled its drunk driving cases in just over three years. |
| In Bengaluru, police have been lobbying bars across the city to get their inebriated customers home safely. "We are trying to bring the bars around to the idea that 'your customers should remain alive, so you get more business'," says Sood. | In Bengaluru, police have been lobbying bars across the city to get their inebriated customers home safely. "We are trying to bring the bars around to the idea that 'your customers should remain alive, so you get more business'," says Sood. |
| Back in the rehab centre, the detoxed employees stare at a chalkboard as psychiatrist Mamatha Shetty circles the word "liver". She prompts them to call out the names of physical ailments linked to alcohol, and asks them to describe psychological symptoms, including alcoholic hallucinations. | Back in the rehab centre, the detoxed employees stare at a chalkboard as psychiatrist Mamatha Shetty circles the word "liver". She prompts them to call out the names of physical ailments linked to alcohol, and asks them to describe psychological symptoms, including alcoholic hallucinations. |
| It is unclear how effective such sessions are. According to Shetty, worldwide relapse rates are 40% to 60%, "and KSRTC is no exception". But company officials cite a success rate of almost 60% – drawing on follow-up data from local supervisors – and emphasise that those who keep drinking are sent elsewhere for another attempt at rehab here. | It is unclear how effective such sessions are. According to Shetty, worldwide relapse rates are 40% to 60%, "and KSRTC is no exception". But company officials cite a success rate of almost 60% – drawing on follow-up data from local supervisors – and emphasise that those who keep drinking are sent elsewhere for another attempt at rehab here. |
| Yet with no sign that bus companies across India will follow KSRTC's example and implement testing and rehab programmes for the hundreds of thousands of drivers at the wheels of buses across the country, the carnage on the roads looks set to continue. | Yet with no sign that bus companies across India will follow KSRTC's example and implement testing and rehab programmes for the hundreds of thousands of drivers at the wheels of buses across the country, the carnage on the roads looks set to continue. |
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