'CO poisoning': Chennai's "Coffin" Hyundai Santro 'being analysed'

Today's report in The Hindu states that the Hyundai Santro which killed three people on G.N.Chetty Road, T.Nagar is being analysed by experts to determine what had led to the fatal situation.

This report strangely makes almost no mention of the alleged failure of the locking mechanism, which is thought to have prevented the occupants of the car from either opening the windows or doors.

Meanwhile, many bloggers who have been gushing about the most modern Accent model patrol cars available with Chennai police courtesy Hyundai, will be disappointed to note that the City Police is yet to announce a protocol for their use.

For those who have little or no knowledge of how police in India work, it should be instructive to know that there is no effective quick response mechanism to distress.
Like 911 in the US, one must dial 100. Contrary to the perception that the control room has all the information about the caller based on the location from which he has dialled,(the caller might be suffering a heart attack or be in an accident or become victim of crime and need not be coherent), Indian emergency services will require a full report before they decide to act.

It is not surprising therefore that many victims or patients prefer to take the closest available transport option and rush to a hospital. In the case of crime, calling the police without adequate preparation (with monetary support, in most cases) may result in the victim being questioned and harassed.

So where do the Hyundai Accent patrol cars fit into all this? We must wait for the Police Commissioner to enlighten us.

Here are some more people who are breathless about the donation of 100 cars to Chennai police: Logesh Tamilselvan and Teakada who also quotes someone as saying that police will respond in three minutes to any emergency. Sorry teakada, my maths is not so good, but how can 100 cars cater to a population of approximately 5 million and reach all emergency spots in three minutes?

Even if you add all the vehicles now with the police (not over 1,000 for Chennai in any case), that still provides a ratio of one car for 5,000 people. I suppose one must call them and cry blue murder only when one actually happens! For all other requirements, call Apollo Hospitals?

I saw one of these new-fangled patrol cars the other day on Anna Salai, blaring the siren behind parked vehicles and then extracting some money for wrong parking. Nobody is defending wrong parking, but is this the three minute emergency that people are talking about?