traffic menace in india

Gone are the days when I used to love to go for a long drive to feel relaxed and rejuvenated. Driving today is a more of a nuisance than being pleasurable. More and more vehicles are hitting the roads today but the agonizing part is that people are becoming more and more careless and irresponsible behind the wheels. Everybody seems to be in a hurry nowadays. It’s difficult for people to even wait for 30 seconds at the traffic signals. I have witnessed people (especially bikers) jumping red lights umpteen number of times. It’s not only dangerous for them; it’s hazardous even for the other commuters.

The other day I was waiting for the green light at the traffic signal, when I witnessed a brutal accident. A man, with his wife and a small child, was on the bike and came crashing into an oncoming white Santro. In spite of being responsible for the safety of his family at his back, he drove past the red light straight into the arms of death. The intensity of impact on the man and his family increased because he was driving the bike blazingly. Moreover, neither he nor his wife was wearing a helmet. The man died on the spot where as the wife and his child were rushed to the nearby hospital where the child was declared dead. The wife is still in ICU as she incurred deep injuries. More than the physical pains she must be undergoing currently, just imagine the emotional trauma she has to live with for the rest of her life. Patience of a few seconds could have saved her and her family from this unfortunate tragedy.

Another major reason for accidents on roads is the way people try to overtake the other vehicles. Indian drivers love nothing more than to overtake, one hand on the wheel while the other continually hits the horn. It’s as if the only law of the road is that drivers are obliged to overtake any vehicle they encounter and must do so while furiously honking their horn. There is scant regard for oncoming traffic. Impatience and arrogance has crept deep into the system. This impatience is causing havoc on roads and it’s high time we start realizing our responsibilities while driving in order to ensure an accident free travel for everyone on roads. It’s high time we start respecting life. It’s high time we stop aping west only in fashion and start learning traffic etiquettes from them as well. It’s also high time that the government becomes stricter and more diligent in conducting its duties. Why should people be allowed to drive away unquestioned by bribing the patrolling policemen? Why should people be allowed to use their powerful sources to sober down the traffic police? Why should the traffic follow the rule of “the survival of the fittest”?