Friday, October 20, 2006

Letter to Editor (TOI): 28.06.05: Road sense?? .....What on earth is that?

Dear Sir, it was interesting to note the new Police Commissioner's observation that Bangaloreans lack road sense. He is bang on target and summarised the whole chaotic situation on the city's roads in one phrase. However, it is high time he also realised that good road sense does not come only from awareness but from 2 other sources: The first is a very tough driving licence regime. Nowadays I wonder if any DL holder is even aware of the basic rules of driving such as giving way to the traffic on the right, not overtaking from the left, not crossing yellow lines, the priority when approaching a main road from a cross road, the priority at traffic circles and so on. This has to be fixed on a war footing. It is also imperative that auto drivers, maxicab drivers and BPO cab drivers need to be trained to follow traffic rules. Like Mumbai's taxi drivers who follow traffic rules impeccably, Bangalore's auto, maxicab and BPO drivers also need to set an example to the general public with good traffic sense. Auto unions and other transport unions need to be roped in and told to get their act together in reining in their drivers. The second point which will influence Bangaloreans' road sense will be a ruthlessly efficient implementation of the traffic rules. Currently, Bangalore's traffic cops are a joke! They are doing a great job but are hopelessy outnumbered in terms of headcount and technology. At many traffic intersections one has to actually hunt for a traffic cop and figure out what he is signaling. This can be really dangerous at times. Bangalore is home to perhaps the most hi tech companies in the world but our public infrastructure is woefully inadequate and hopelessly outdated. Other countries have been using red light cameras, speed cameras and yellow line monitors for more than 25 years now while Bangalore is still stuck in a time warp. The only innovation in the last 20 years has been the countdown timers at traffic signals! Just increasing awareness will not help-it needs to be backed up by an effective driving licence regime which makes it really tough to obtain DLs and a ruthless, no nonsense implementation of traffic laws on our roads. Mr. Ajay Kumar Singh will do well to present and push through an integrated traffic management plan to the government incorporating inputs from the main stakeholders such as the BMTC, BMP, Bangalore Police, the IT cos., Auto and cab unions and the NGOs representing the public. There is only so much you can do with converting all roads into one ways and building flyovers. Desparate situations need desparate measures, let's see if Mr. Singh will rise to the occasion!

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