Is anybody else of the opinion that traffic in Mumbai has gotten increasingly undisciplined? Every day that you get home without any damage to your car or self is a miracle in itself. How many narrow escapes have you had on a daily basis where, due to the errant driving of certain undisciplined members of the traffic, there was a threat to your car or life? - Be it day or night, lane discipline seems to be non-existent. - If its daytime, you have to worry about squirmy bikes, rickshaws, cabs and buses cutting you off without any indication (when there isnt any need) and almost scraping your car every other second. These people obviously dont have much to lose if their vehicles are damaged and know that you will give in, because your vehicle is worth so much more. - If its night and by that I mean, just 9 pm, theres already a complete disregard for traffic signals. In decreasing order of disobedience, I could list the offenders as motorbikes, rickshaws, cabs, cars belonging to political parties (pretty obvious from their political stickers and dashboard flags) and buses. Even if you try to keep to your lane and drive at a reasonable speed, youll find the above mentioned drivers swerving around at double the speed limit, overtaking and cutting you off in the most dangerous ways. - I dont think I even need to get started on the state of the roads past 11 pm. There are either those who have very little regard for their own life and that of others or certain political enthusiasts who think their leader owns the bloody city and each one of us alongwith it. - Every night from my very room, I can hear bikes and cars racing at dangerous speeds on the main road near my house (Shanker Ghanekar Marg). Every other week, I hear them crash into each other or maybe some unsuspecting innocents. We all know the spots - Cadell Road, Shivaji Park, Kings Circle, Marine Drive, Worli Sea-face, BKC, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link; to name a few. Ive tried being the change myself, hoping to trigger something in those around. Ive followed every traffic rule, changed lanes with due indication, stopped at every signal even if the road was empty and even though every neighboring car was jumping the traffic light. I wont say it was all useless. Just as it takes the sight of one car breaking the signal to tempt everyone into following suit, the sight of my lone car respecting the traffic light seemed to have definitely nagged at the conscience of fellow drivers, who backed their cars up next to mine after almost jumping the light, on numerous occasions. But there are still those immature, irresponsible, reckless drivers who seem to think its fair for others to pay the price for their own dare-devilry. Why should we, the dwindling law-abiding lot, have to fear for our safety just because most of the population has no basic civic sense or regard for the property and life of others? Why should we have to think twice about taking our car out late - be it for a dessert run, or for a drive by the sea, or to get medicines from the chemist, or to get to the hospital (for those of us who work odd hours in the medical profession) or to even go to a party for that matter? Why should our family have to be stressed, restless and at the edge of their seat every time we step out on the roads at late hours? We have all grown up playing racing sims and watching street-racing movies, but when some of us can exercise the responsibility and restraint to drive by the rules, why should our lives be in danger because of those who do not have the maturity to distinguish real life from reel life? Why have this citys roads turned from simply being a means of transportation to a battleground for egotistical idiots, political gundas and frustrated class-wars? We have all seen how licenses are issued by the RTO and how poorly and callously they conduct the driving tests. Its all a sham, to be blunt. We all know that most cabs and rickshaws in the city ply without a permit or with a fake permit, for both the driver and the vehicle. I ask, where are the cops at such times? Where are the cops when political activists break every traffic rule with their dark tinted SUVs? Well, they are probably hitting up some poor chap with stock company windows and arguing with him about the shade of its tint. No surprise there. We have all been stopped by traffic cops for no reason whatsoever on several occasions, where they conjure up some obscure law to make you cough up a bribe. Itka ushira ka baher firta gaadi madhe? Allowed nahi aahe, chowkey madhe chala saheb kadhe. being the most ludicrous one they tried on me. It took me a while to explain to them that Im a Medical Intern and I was heading to the hospital that they finally let me off. Why are things this way? Is this how one of the most important cities in India that hopes to be, if it isnt already, a global business epicenter; supposed to function? Things need to change. This here wasnt a random rant. It was an appeal. We need to change this and make the roads safer, like they used to be when we were kids. Those with the legal and administrative know-how, do comment about which authorities need to be contacted about these issues and how we can best reclaim the roads for the citizens of Mumbai. The change starts with us, no doubt, and we will of course be the change but these issues also need to be brought to the notice of the relevant authorities, so that they can regulate things more effectively and address these grievances from their end.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 19:10:58 +0000
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