 |
|
| Kathmandu Friday April 05, 2002 Chaitra 23, 2058. |
|
Strict traffic rules a must to
curb road accidents
By Suvecha Pant
KATHMANDU, April 4:The number of vehicles in the
Kathmandu Valley is increasing day by day. The roads are becoming smaller and the totality
of traffic bigger.
While on the one hand, the traffic hazard and
environment risk have increased, the lack of proper system to control this ever-expanding
traffic cannot be ignored.
One has to leave only the boundaries of home to
start encountering numerous problems on the roads. Just take a walk down the neighbourhood
and a long list of violations of traffic rules and regulations can be detected.
Why is this so? Before a driver is able to drive
a vehicle, doesn’t he have to get a licence? In addition, isn’t this licence
meant to ensure capable drivers? What about a traffic rule-monitoring policy ?
To give some answers to these questions a senior
officer at the Valley Traffic Police Office, Ghataghar said, "We take a written and a
practical driving test under strict surveillance. Although a demonstration of driving
skills is essential, the assessment is also made to examine the attitude of the
licence-seeker to driving, his outlook towards fellow drivers so as to ensure safety of
the pedestrians."
"The tests range from an understanding of
major controls of a vehicle, completing certain manoeuvres, driving in a busy traffic,
observation skills and dealing with hazards," said the senior officer
Well after examining the list of rules that is
issued by the traffic centre to the want-to-be drivers, it seems many rules are left out
to be learned by the drivers on their own. Perhaps, this could be one of the reasons why
drivers tend to create problems in roads even after getting a licence from the concerned
authority.
"Despite the implementation of strict laws
while issuing a licence, it is the negligence of the drivers that causes serious problems
on the roads," said a traffic police.
A pedestrian was about to cross the street from
the zebra crossing at Ratnapark. On being asked to the pedestrian, what he would do if a
vehicle was approaching him, his response was "I will have to out-run the car in this
case."
Asked about the zebra-crossing mark on the
street, a tempo driver retorted, "How do I know? It may have been marked that way to
make the street beautiful!"
If one knows a little about traffic rules, he
should understand that any vehicle has to stop before the zebra crossing to give way to
the pedestrian first who may have already entered the zone by then.
Another rule that was found to be alien to
drivers was the use of driving signal or blinkers. According to traffic rules, the driver
should always use it to indicate to other drivers when he intends to diverge on the left
or on the right, to make a U-turn or to slow down and suddenly stop.
"We do this by the means of hand or
arm," said a taxi driver. This is,however, very dangerous as the person could be
seriously injured by an approaching fast vehicle.
After enquiring many vehicle drivers, it is also
revealed that another headache in the city are motorbike riders. They are one of the most
annoying causes for traffic jams in the streets.
"The way they drive at a high speed through
small spaces in between other vehicles can lead to serious accidents in the streets,"
said microbus driver Arun Chhettri.
Bidya Shrestha, a car-owner said, "I
believe that current traffic rules in the Kathmandu Valley are being violated by reckless
drivers," adding "They seem to lack the knowledge on how to maintain a safe and
peaceful system for driving and the valley traffic police should see to it."
It seems the traffic problem in the Kathmandu
Valley is never going to end. Nevertheless,as a token of reassurance, the Valley Traffic
Police Office says they are trying their best to improve the situation.
The primary causes of road accidents are
inattention, confusion, negligence, speed and drunken driving. However, we can contribute
enormously to reduce ever-increasing traffic problems in Kathmandu by safe and attentive
driving.
Other Stories
|
