What road sense?

WHAT ROAD SENSE?
The number of motorists flouting traffic rules is peaking here, making this among the worst cities for driving
The Times of India

WHETHER it’s concern for the rules, for others on the road or for their own safety, Bangalore’s road users don’t seem to care too much. Even if it means being booked for a traffic offence, they’ll pay up and be on their way. And it’s getting worse. Last year (2003-2004) saw around 11 lakh cases booked against Bangalore’s vehicle users, for flouting traffic rules, under the Karnataka Motor Vehicle Act and Karnataka Police Act. Going by the number of cases booked till April end (this year alone) — over 5.4 lakh cases — the traffic police department expects the number to cross 20 lakh by the year end.

Bad-mannered on the road:
“There will be a threefold increase in the number of cases booked from now till the year end, if we look at the number of cases booked till now. Poor road sense is the main reason. That, coupled with the inability of people with a licence to understand the consequences of bad driving is what’s making driving an unpleasant experience for those who follow the rules. The average Bangalorean’s road sense is much lower than that of road users in most other cities,” says KVR Tagore, IGP and additional commissioner of police (traffic and security).

Driving us crazy:
Though there are vehicle users who go by the book and respect the privileges of other road users, there are others who don’t. Signal jumping, over-speeding, driving without licences, using defective and dazzling headlights and overtaking from the wrong side are some of the more common traffic offences. Says architect Kiran BK, “There’s no respect for the law and, yes, road sense is worsening. I’ve seen people jump signals and cut lanes and then yell at others who do the same to them. Even when they’re stopped by the police, some drive away or try to use influence to get off the hook. The government must make the rules water-tight to enable the police to enforce the laws to the maximum.”

Easy to pay up:
Many motorists who flout the rules pay up because it’s usually a question of a few hundred rupees. Though the fine rates were revised not too long ago, it’s still an amount most people can cough up. Motorist Leena Venugopal says, “If the fine amounts are raised, road users will be more diligent and less arrogant.” Says Tagore, “The penalty we levy is very low. If it’s made higher, people will hesitate to break the rules. We collected Rs 12.5 crore in fines last year. This year if the rate of traffic offences keep growing the way they are, we expect to collect over Rs 17 crore.”

Not enough personnel:
For a city with 22 lakh registered and moving vehicles and 5 lakh floating vehicles, there simply isn’t enough manpower to ensure that road users don’t break the rules. The traffic police department has a staff strength of just 1,300 as against the sanctioned strength of 1,800 personnel. Around 2,000 more personnel have been sanctioned, but they will not be available for at least another year. Says NGO worker George Daniel, “Everyone complains that the traffic police are not doing enough, but no one spares a thought for the traffic policeman who works a roundthe-clock shift because of staff shortage. If road users did their bit, then the traffic police would be able to spend more time on decongesting traffic instead of booking offenders.”