It is now thirteen years since that day, and I feel I have aged 100 years. But what overpowers the tiring absurdity of being a disabled is an enabling realisation gained through experience that I can help so many people avoid going through what I have endured all these years. I loved mountains (I still do) and whenever I got a chance I used to go uphill. Just a few days before I was to immigrate to Canada in October 1996, I had gone to Renuka lake with friends. I had been there before and had seen a cub on the road. I hoped to see a wild cat again. Little did I know instead of going to Canada I was going to be forever confined to a wheel chair. As luck had it, my car fell into a gorge and I suffered a spinal injury. I have been paralysed neck below since then.

In these thirteen years, the mere routine has been an ordeal for me. What to talk of professional aims, to barely live has been a great challenge. Every single day is a battle against disability. Now I know the gravitational pull of the earth as I actually have to struggle to get up. I divide my day into very short parts and resolve to finish each task with great care and resolve.

Since this car accident, I have been confined to a wheel chair. After the accident, I remained confined to bed for two years. I was shattered yet I wanted to do something. I tried to get a government job in the disabled quota but even a normal person would get tired of meeting the requirements of that kind of job so I dropped the idea. Then I bought a computer, started fiddling with it and slowly picked up the art of website designing. I made my first website for my doctor.

Disabled as I am, I think I still have a lot to give to others. My experience and a burning desire to do something for the others rather than being labelled a dependant drove me towards road safety education. Since I used to do a lot of research in this field, I thought a little activism added to my information might help reduce the number of injuries and deaths in road accidents.

I had the will so there was no dearth of ways. I even wanted to go to Shimla in the wheelchair with banners to sensitise the road users about how life could permanently change with a little carelessness. My health never permitted this sort of adventure.

But I believe I can easily work on education part of road safety through the skills I have come to acquire. I also have some like-minded friends who are a great help. I see in ARRIVESAFE the seeds of a mass movement that will be not merely about traffic signs but about the importance of human life and how to preserve it. I hope more people will join me in my mission.

Harman Singh