Now, the problem with our agitated friend was that auto drivers in Hyderabad share hire their vehicle to more than the allotted three travelers. Auto drivers in this region two more passengers, allowing them to sit at either side of the driver's seat. Some vehicles have the driver's seats conveniently modified with flanking seats to accommodate more passengers.
As our friend believes, it indeed risks the lives of the passengers, as such seating arrangement may make the vehicle unstable on the road (gutter filled as you have experienced). But, I wonder if our friend and his colleagues who have set up an NGO called Bavita (whose goals includes traffic education; but not limited to) realize why such illegal activities prop up in our society. They conveniently forget the fact that Hyderabad has so little government bus frequency compared to other cities, which forces employees to chose such modes of conveyance. Moreover, the actions of Bavita will have severe impact on the families of auto drivers. Why does Bavita want to steal their bread, when there are more serious issues to deal with such as the root cause itself - unavailability of sufficient number of buses? Such jingoism and gaffe does not solve any problems, but accentuates the issue further.
