Driving, they say,
is so much fun. While growing up I read about Nancy Drew driving through
beautiful roads in her blue mustang and I said to myself ‘wow! It must be fun!’ Naïve as I was, I too began harboring the
dream of being all grown up and driving through wide roads with the wind in my
hair. But today when I think of even attempting to drive, I picture myself
bashing moronic drivers, pedestrians and the especially annoying creatures on
bikes more than driving. And that’s not all;
I imagine doing all that with the wind literally blowing out of my ears and my nose!
Somehow it just doesn’t seem to be remotely related to my definition of ‘fun’;
more so when I add the traffic situation of our cities and towns on top of that!
Would you by any
chance believe me if I told you that following
traffic rules is actually one of the ways to ensure that you would live another
day? Your instant answer would obviously
be ‘yes absolutely’, wouldn’t it? Infact, you would be thinking why I am even
asking such a senseless and obvious question! But before you jump to any
conclusion about me, go out for a drive or better yet wait till you travel for
work the next morning and then answer! I am sure after the refresher course on
our roads; you would come back echoing the thought that I have been having for
quite a while now- Traffic; traffic all around and people driving like clowns! Yes,
we as a nation are so blatantly traffic (rule) impaired that it seems
we don’t really want to live another second, let alone another day! We would
rather let every damn traffic rule go for a toss even if that was at the cost
of our lives!
The way we drive
or even walk on the streets would make an outsider conclude that we are a bunch
of Neanderthals; unsuitable of living in the present day and age! Perhaps they
are right and we should go back to bullock carts and palanquins, for we seem to
have been hardwired only for that kind of transport!
We are impatient
to a degree that could even drive any rational person crazy. It is preposterous
and humiliating for us to wait for the signal to turn green before stomping on
the accelerator! Over speeding to jump red signals is our second nature! We
would rather risk horrible accidents than wait for a minute or two to cross
safely. We lack every virtue of a good driver and even a good pedestrian for
that matter! This innate urgency, I am not quite sure from where it comes, but
it is definitely intricately woven in our DNAs! And to add fuel to this
horrendous fire of erroneous traffic situation we have the high and mighty kings
on their bikes too; as if those in cars and those walking weren’t enough!
Every day I see
hundreds of people and an even greater number of vehicles on the roads. But
that is expected considering we are a country of billions! But inspite of that,
how hard would it be to follow some basic rules? It certainly is no rocket
science!
India’s traffic
mess is malignant and has been so for several years now. Its future too doesn’t
seem bright either. Lacking in infrastructure and traffic management, the only
viable option that could make life on roads a little easier would be adherence
to rules! But achieving that is no less than squaring the circle!
We drive at 100
kmph where the speed limit is 80kmph; we take U-Turns where they are not
allowed; we drive in mad rush through residential neighborhoods, we don’t
understand the concept of one-ways
and we definitely do not agree to the theory of lane drive being safe drive! And the traffic impairment is not
limited when we are inside a car but extends well beyond it too! We do not wait
for the traffic to stop for crossing roads for that would be atrocious; we
don’t really like walking on footpaths and we love to cross even with a
speeding car approaching, assuming that it would just magically stop!
The only time we
seem to abide by the rules is when we see a traffic cop or van in the vicinity
else it’s just the cacophonic symphony of brash drivers coupled with foolhardy pedestrians. What’s with this country, including my naïve
self; that we can’t do something as basic as follow rules? Well, as much as I’d
like to believe that one day we would follow the rules and be a more educated
nation in terms of discipline on the roads; I can safely say that that’s not
going to happen. I guess I just need to put away my dreams of driving around
like Ms. Drew, with the wind in my hair, in a box and tuck it away for good!