We learn the basic traffic rules in primary school and as we go on to ride two and four wheelers, we are presented with different sets of traffic rules. We know these rules are there for our own safety and yet, we compromise on them. This isn’t just a sweeping generalization but the risky reality that most of us Nepalis put ourselves through.
On our Facebook page, we discussed this issue.
While Ekta Mishra knows the importance of abiding by the traffic rules and does so most of the time, she shares that there are some other times when she has not followed those rules. “I have, sometimes, jay walked as it is really tedious to wait. It is the worst thing when the traffic light is not working and the traffic police make pedestrians wait for so long to cross the roads. Sometimes I even cross without using the overhead bridge,” admits Mishra. “Besides with the traffic police monitoring everywhere, it’s difficult to not follow,” she adds.[break]
Similarly, Nabindra Man Shakya says that he follows all the traffic rules unlike most pedestrians and drivers, who he sees flaying these rules. “It’s mostly the vehicle-drivers who don’t follow lane rules and drive haphazardly,” he says, adding that since the traffic rules control road accidents, those who break the rules should be strictly punished. “I think the traffic police should seize the license of the rule breakers and should never allow renewal of their license,” suggests Shakya.
Presenting a slightly different view, Sushant Khanal says that he follows traffic rules as long as he is in no hurry. “I do think traffic rules are important, but we cannot always live by the rules. Rules are more like guidelines made for our own good. So forget the rules if there’s something bigger to worry about,” he says.
“If you don’t follow the traffic rules, it means that you are almost close to buying a ticket to hell,” Kurtyel Nirmal uses a metaphor to emphasize the utmost importance to adhering to traffic rules.
Also complying with these views, Dinesh Kunwar says, “I believe traffic rules are extremely important in maintaining the proper flow of vehicles as the sky rocketing demand of infrastructures, like roads, tends to be more than the supply of such infrastructure, especially in developing countries like ours.” Kunwar, however, admits to have broken traffic rules in rare occasions.
Although we might think of rules as hassles and feel bound by them, we shouldn’t forget that the reason the traffic rules are exercised, in the first place, is to ensure the safety of us citizens. There is a place for everything. There are some rules that are meant to be broken. But not when on the road, where neglecting the even a simple rule poses life-threatening possibilities.
Related story
We are not in a hurry to join the government: Chairman Nepal
