The traffic policeman waves his hand frantically in the air to stop the vehicles at the busy intersection at Tripureshwor but at least a dozen of them whiz by without a care. Pedestrians have to make way for the motorbikes that zoom past on the sidewalk when the roads are clogged. It’s not unusual for bikes to try and make their way between cars to reach the front of the queue. All in all, traffic in the capital is a messy situation.
“I’ve been hit by motorbikes and been bruised numerous times while walking on the pavement,” says Sabita Basnet, 41, a banker who walks to work, adding that one can get hit by vehicles even while walking on the footpath. “No one follows the traffic rules and everyone seems to be doing as he pleases,” she says.[break]
One of life’s conundrums in the capital is: “Why obey traffic rules?” as obeying rules, especially traffic rules, never seems to cross the denizens’ minds. From driving in the wrong lane to not stopping at intersections, drivers seem to be least bothered about traffic laws. Hence, traffic law enforcement remains one of the biggest challenges in Kathmandu in the present day.
The Week File Photo
People often don’t follow the traffic rules and being involved in an accident doesn’t create even a thought bubble. With a nothing-will-happen-to-me attitude, we jump lanes without so much as a glance at the rear view mirror, floor the accelerator so we can cross the intersection before the light turns red and never pay attention to the details like seatbelts and speed limits.
Suresh Pandey, 32, pays attention to details while driving. He learnt his lesson the hard way. His current behavior was reinforced by the death of his 27-years-old friend Pratik three years back. Pratik was killed at 10 pm while heading home after a few drinks with Suresh and a few other friends. He was a passenger in the speeding car and wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.
“He used to crack jokes and could lighten up the mood even after a heated argument,” says Suresh with tears glistening in his eyes. The memories are all that’s left for Suresh to hang on to these days.
“The experience of losing someone close to you will haunt you forever and you’ll never forget the day it happened,” he adds.
In January, 373 road accidents occurred in the country which left 7 people dead and over 100 injured.
Accidents are slowly rising be¬cause of the continued carelessness on the road and ignoring traffic rules, confirmed DIG Keshab Adhikari, spokesperson of Central Police. According to him, most road accidents are caused by the non-respect of basic traffic regulations by drivers such as bad maneuvering of motor¬cyclists, careless driving, speeding and ignoring road signs.
Road fatalities have risen sharply in Kathmandu despite the DUI monitoring. More than 40,000 traffic violations were reported in Kathmandu during 2012 with at least two road-related deaths everyday. These accidents have been blamed on slack law enforcement, untrained drivers and poorly maintained roads.
Kathmandu Metropolitan Traffic Police, with a work force of over 1,000 cops, have been doing their job to ensure smooth flow of traffic in the city, but to no avail. City riders show no signs of discipline, none at all.
Every now and then, the government seems to come up with new rules to curb traffic violations. A few years back, the Metropolitan Police decided to fine anyone driving on the pavements, and for a few weeks, it seemed like they had somewhat effectively managed to curb the problem. But within months, the rule fizzled out.
DIG Adhikari, blames this on the lack of awareness and perhaps a bit of commonsense on the part of the citizens. He also mentions that another reason for rules fizzling out is because there is a serious dearth of resources in the state which leads to inadequate monitoring.
“People need to understand that rules are there for their own good and obeying them isn’t just mandatory but it safeguards them as well,” he says.
Oftentimes, simple rules and regulations protect us from ourselves, such as by not driving through an intersection when the light is red. Without rules and regulations, the society will plunge into chaos. There will be nothing protecting us from one another’s self-serving instincts and sometimes self-destructive habits.
“Drivers in Kathmandu violate traffic rules when there are no cops around. They jump traffic lights and go the wrong way on one-way streets,” says DIG Adhikari.
“What’s happening within Kathmandu is madness. One of the most basic reasons for most of the traffic jams in the Valley is the people’s unwillingness to follow traffic laws,” says DIG Adhikari, adding that it is also true that the traffic cops aren’t very efficient and experienced as well.
Poor implementation of traffic rules and regulations by traffic enforcers who, besides lacking knowledge about traffic management, also find it hard to make people obey them, has resulted in a city that seems to go haywire during rush hours.
It is an established fact that safe and efficient use of traffic environment is a learned behavior. The guidelines or the rules are there for reasons: to regulate people’s conduct towards each other, among other things. Every day people die on the roads due to reckless driving, speeding, etc and we blame the government for failing to provide good roads. But as responsible citizens, we can make the roads safer for all by simply following some basic traffic rules.
“Bettering the traffic situation is a two way street. The traffic cops need to be more efficient and we’re working on that. Also, the people need to take the rules seriously and abide by them even when a cop isn’t around,” concludes DIG Adhikari.
Strict adherence to road safety regulations is of paramount significance for safe stay in the capital, stresses the spokesperson.
We have to agree that cameras to monitor speeding and fines for rule violators can only do so much and that until and unless we are individually aware of the importance of sticking to the rules, the scenario will only get worse.
We would do well if we hammered home the point that not all rules are meant to be broken. Let’s just start with the basis here: Red light means stop, green means go and yellow means take it slow. And just because most of the traffic lights in the capital don’t work, doesn’t mean you rule the streets.
cillakhatry@gmail.co
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