Let’s make India better!

I do not need a survey to claim that almost 100% of the folks are frustrated with the traffic woes in India. I have been to many cities and all the cities have this problem albeit of different magnitude. Pune probably has one of the worst and maximum traffic violators. Virtually no one respects red lights, one ways, lane culture, speeding and high beams.

Few months back, one of my friends in Pune took the protected left turn (For the uninitiated, left turns in India are mostly free - left side driving) and a cop stopped him. My friend accepted to pay the fine and then he saw many people jumping red lights. He pointed that to the cop and the cop responded that its fine to jump red lights as it eases the traffic jam!!! The traffic discipline needs to be inculcated in the citizens as well as cops.

My top traffic grievances:

a) Jumping Red Lights: I just feel like killing those folks who jump red lights or honk me from behind when I am waiting on a red light.

b) High Beam: Couple of days back, I was driving from Indore to Pune and it was dark on Jalgaon-Pune road. All the vehicles (Bikes, Cars, Jeeps, Trucks, Buses) were driving on high beam. When it is pitch dark and you are driving on single lane highway on a hill with these vehicles coming to you with a high-beam, it just blinds you. If you are not vigilant and active as an owl, you will bump into the vehicles in front of you. No one understands and respects this law of driving on low beam. These vehicles are creating situations for accident to happen. For heaven’s sake, drive on low-beam unless necessary!

c) Driving on the wrong lane: Driving in the wrong lane is not only dangerous for you but for the oncoming traffic as well. It irritates the hell out of me when I am waiting in my lane for the traffic to get cleared and there is one indica crosses me from the wrong lane to beat the traffic. My time is as precious as the next person. Respect traffic, respect other people on the road and follow the lane discipline. It will not only clear the traffic jam quickly but also reduce accidents.

d) Two bikers driving side by side at 30kmph and gossiping on the road: I am very sure you have witnessed this camaraderie on the road. Two bikers going side by side on a road with 30kmph speed and covering the whole road. If you honk, they will give you a stare as if you are tress-passing their property! Be little aware and responsible while you are on the road.

e) Disrespecting one ways: One ways have been created for a purpose. It is to make our commute better. If we our-self abuse it, the whole purpose of one way is lost! I was cruising on NH4 from Bangalore to Chennai (part of golden quadrilateral) at 100+kmph in the rightmost fastest lane and suddenly I saw a guy(wearing a lungi but thats immaterial) on a bike with 100 odd plastic bottles on the back driving towards me! It scared the shit out of me and I had to shift to a left lane in fraction of a second. When I saw in my rear view mirror, that guy was actually shouting at me! Golden quadrilateral has cost the tax payers a fortune. Lets use it in the right way to maximize the return on its investment.

f) Parking at the turns: You do not have to be Einstein to understand that parking vehicles at turns create problems for the other vehicles. The turning radius increases and the vehicle taking the turn can not see if other vehicle is coming from the opposite direction. Be little understanding and park away from the turns in the designated parking spots.

Solution For Traffic Problems:
In my humble opinion, the traffic laws enforcement is very week. That’s why people have utter disrespect for the laws. They know if they violate a red-light, they will get away with paying 50-100 bucks as against to 200-500 bucks which is the actual fine. What if the actual fine is 2000 or 3000? Would not the cop ask for at least 500 rs in bribe to let the culprit free? If an auto driver has to pay 500 bucks for the traffic violation, he will think twice before jumping red-light. If the cop has a potential to make 500 bucks (thought with corruption), he will be more vigilant to catch these violators.

Another initiative to tighten the law enforcement can be that each traffic inspector needs to generate x amount of revenues in traffic fines every month. This will make them more vigilant and improve the law enforcement. May be these cops can get 25% of the excess fines collected as bonus every month. It will not only improve the traffic in cities, but also decrease corruption, increase taxes (as cops make more white money) and reduce traffic delays and frustrations!

We all need to understand that a driving license is a privilege and a responsibility and not a license to be disrespectful and threat to others.