Former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry Died In Car Crash

The Incident Has Sparked Discussion About Traffic Safety

Former Chairman of Tata Sons Cyrus Mistry along with his friend Jehangir Pandole was killed in a car accident in Palghar on Sunday. Their autopsies revealed that "severe head trauma and several exterior and internal lesions to essential organs" were to blame for the death. The seven-member forensic team investigating the crash concluded that the Mercedes-Benz SUV met with an accident due to “faulty design” of the bridge, while the deaths occurred as the rear seat occupants were not wearing seat belts. The incident has sparked discussion about traffic safety, and social media is flooded with tweets asking everyone—even those sat in the back—to use seat belts. 

Mistry’s Role in Tata

Only the second non-Tata top executive of the company, Mistry became chairman of Tata Sons in 2012. He was regarded as a young leader trying to change the biggest conglomerate in India. When he first took office, a generation of Tata executives were about to retire. Mistry frequently stated that his goal was to create a governance system that would encourage responsibility. However, some observers believe that the changes he attempted to make may not have been well received by the firm's old guard, which may have weakened support for Mistry. However, everyone can agree that the problem should have been handled more effectively. Mistry charged the business with poor management and victimising small shareholders. Mistry, 54, was fired from Tata in 2016 following a boardroom takeover that resulted in a protracted legal dispute. Despite the controversy, Mistry was used to the spotlight even before his time at Tata. His family established and managed Shapoorji Pallonji Group, a massive construction company. Even though the company has financial difficulties in recent years, it is still among the biggest construction companies in India. It announced in April that it had paid back lenders and ended a one-time financial restructuring plan that had been put in place the previous year. The family of Cyrus Mistry has experienced two tragedies in the past four months. Cyrus' father, Pallonji Mistry, passed away in June at the age of 93. Analysts are now waiting to see how Mistry's untimely demise would influence his family group, which had recently begun to emerge from the shadow cast by significant debt.

Traffic Accident in Indian Roadways

The incident has drawn attention once more to the huge number of fatalities on Indian roadways each year. A third of the approximately 1.5 lakh road fatalities in India each year, as reported by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), are attributed to the nation's national highways. The figures show that over the last five years, even while there were fewer traffic accidents (4,45,730 in 2017 vs. 4,03,116 in 2021), there were also more fatalities (1,50,093 vs. 1,55,622) over that time. The National Highways exhibit a similar pattern. While there were 1,30,942 accidents on the nation's highways in 2017, up to 50,859 people died in them. In 2021, there were 53,615 more fatalities on the country's highways despite 1,22,204 fewer accidents. According to the data, from 2017 and 2021, accidents and deaths constantly hovered around 4.4 lakh and 1.5 lakh, respectively, except for the pandemic year of 2020, which witnessed extended periods of lockdowns.

Causes of Accidents

It has been asserted that for most Indians, a vehicle's safety or the comfort of a particular ride come second to price (or mileage). Some taxi drivers sink into their seats only when there are traffic police around, even when they have their seat belts fastened. On two-wheelers, pillion riders frequently don't wear helmets or do so while donning hard hats or cricket helmets, which provide very little protection in a collision. The issue is that, even though legislation changes, technical advancements, and awareness campaigns can be helpful, it can be challenging to see a lasting solution if one thinks that Indians are irrationally concerned about safety. Furthermore, data from other sources demonstrates that industrialised nations too passed through this stage. For instance, even though European cars were renowned for their high levels of safety, American automakers resisted the idea of enhancing safety until the 1960s.

Conclusion                                                   

However, the fact that none of the two passengers in the back seat was wearing a seatbelt led to their deaths. Unfortunately, this is standard practice in our nation, and few people are aware of the close relationship between a seatbelt and an airbag. Airbags are a secondary mechanism that adds cushioning to the primary protection offered by seatbelts. Only when seat belts are being worn can airbags function as intended. Sadly, a lot of people think they are seatbelt substitutes when in fact they are not. Despite the tragic nature of Cyrus Mistry and Jehangir Pandole's deaths, I hope and pray that the necessity of using seat belts, even when sitting in the back, be made clear. Many of our highways are "Highways to Hell," and instead of blaming others, our government needs to take action to improve road quality and design, driving discipline, and so many other factors. The number of precious lives we lose in traffic accidents each year is very tragic. How little we actually do about it.