A union minister lost his life in a tragic road accident in Delhi. Statistics say that most of the accidents occur in the wee hours of the morning or during evening rush hours. Why do these take place despite repeated warnings and road safety regulations that have been put in place by the concerned authorities?
It's a state of mind of the people behind the wheel. Let's take the first case of accidents that take place during the wee hours of the morning. Drivers, tired after long hours of overnight driving, make a beeline for suitable resting places and in the bargain, go into bursts of prohibitive speeds to hit their destinations and in the process come in the way of the other motorists trying to reach the airport or the railway station or the bus station to catch their onward connections. They're aided by the following situations:-
(a) Comparatively empty roads that goad them to clip at speeds that they'd have otherwise hesitated
to achieve.
(b) Near absence of traffic policemen on the beat at those early hours.
(c) The blinking lights on traffic intersections give them the feeling of uninterrupted passage.
And what about the situation during the evening rush hours? The motorists are generally trying to make it to their homes or to meet a deadline for a social event or even, as silly a thing like reaching a cinema where tickets are hard to get by virtue of the popularity of the film that's running.
The sad part about the roads in our country is that even important roads do not have the centre median that would ensure separation of incoming/ongoing traffic. Enthusiastic motorists, ever on the lookout to squeeze space for overtaking other vehicles, get right many a time cutting the road's central line! And lastly, there are many motorists who neither have the civic sense nor the patience to worry about the plight of the fellow motorists and drive with a gay abandon, completely oblivious of the discomfiture that they're causing.
Cases of road rage are a result of misplaced sense of right and wrong and I do not have to speak about fatal and extreme reactions that have been oft reported!
Tailpiece.
It would be nice if all the motorists bore in their minds the fundamental aspects of being a good driver which are:-
(a) Respect fellow motorists and avoid doing things that cause discomfort to them. The thumb rule is
that everyone must avoid actions that would upset them.
(b) Drive at comfortable speeds depending on the traffic density and more importantly, when the driver
is fully sure that his/her vehicle would stop at that instant when the brakes are applied.
(c) Never try to meet a hopeless deadline. The requirement is to start well ahead of time keeping in
mind unforeseen circumstances that might pop up!
It's a state of mind of the people behind the wheel. Let's take the first case of accidents that take place during the wee hours of the morning. Drivers, tired after long hours of overnight driving, make a beeline for suitable resting places and in the bargain, go into bursts of prohibitive speeds to hit their destinations and in the process come in the way of the other motorists trying to reach the airport or the railway station or the bus station to catch their onward connections. They're aided by the following situations:-
(a) Comparatively empty roads that goad them to clip at speeds that they'd have otherwise hesitated
to achieve.
(b) Near absence of traffic policemen on the beat at those early hours.
(c) The blinking lights on traffic intersections give them the feeling of uninterrupted passage.
And what about the situation during the evening rush hours? The motorists are generally trying to make it to their homes or to meet a deadline for a social event or even, as silly a thing like reaching a cinema where tickets are hard to get by virtue of the popularity of the film that's running.
The sad part about the roads in our country is that even important roads do not have the centre median that would ensure separation of incoming/ongoing traffic. Enthusiastic motorists, ever on the lookout to squeeze space for overtaking other vehicles, get right many a time cutting the road's central line! And lastly, there are many motorists who neither have the civic sense nor the patience to worry about the plight of the fellow motorists and drive with a gay abandon, completely oblivious of the discomfiture that they're causing.
Cases of road rage are a result of misplaced sense of right and wrong and I do not have to speak about fatal and extreme reactions that have been oft reported!
Tailpiece.
It would be nice if all the motorists bore in their minds the fundamental aspects of being a good driver which are:-
(a) Respect fellow motorists and avoid doing things that cause discomfort to them. The thumb rule is
that everyone must avoid actions that would upset them.
(b) Drive at comfortable speeds depending on the traffic density and more importantly, when the driver
is fully sure that his/her vehicle would stop at that instant when the brakes are applied.
(c) Never try to meet a hopeless deadline. The requirement is to start well ahead of time keeping in
mind unforeseen circumstances that might pop up!
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