New Delhi's Terrible Traffic

"It doesn't take a Harvard degree to figure out that driving here is hazardous to your health. Near-misses, reckless weaving and cars blithely going the wrong way are highlights of the daredevil derby known as New Delhi traffic.

But a recent study by economists from Harvard and other American universities suggests that, indeed, a majority of this city's drivers get their licenses without actually knowing how to operate a car. They ply the roads legally because of a simple fact: government corruption.

...the deadly consequences of unsafe drivers have provoked no outcry against the corruption that lets them loose on the streets. Indeed, the number of inexperienced, potentially incompetent motorists seems only set to rise as India's car-crazy middle class continues to grow and automobiles become more affordable."