August 17, 2003

Statistics suggest that the level of rudeness on the roads is on the rise in Lahore. Most accidents could be avoided if one made up his mind to do everything a bit slower

I REMEMEBER the exact moment when felt the menace of road rage. It happened recently. Around 4 p.m., on Jail road, a man driving Honda suddenly cut in front of our car. My uncle’s foot rammed the brakes, but before that, he was out of sight. Spotting the police, he started to slow down. The scene had blocked two lanes of piled-up traffic. One of the loose-tempered drivers rolled down his window and screamed “Get this out of the way I am in a hurry”. So we moved our car from the middle of the road and at that moment realized what causes accidents.

The ‘speedy man’ bolted out of the car, stalked towards the officer standing stiffly against the door. About 40 years of age, tall and trim, well dressed. He spitted out “what’s the problem?” as the officer pointed out whose right of way it was ? He was also exceeding the speed limit. When the officer demanded his license and registration he made up a story based on some lame excuse. The officer took his time writing out the ticket and handed it to him . His parting shot was “Say salaam to your high ranking officer for me. I’ll see you later.”

Later the officer moved towards us and asked for the registration papers and license. My uncle’s words tumbled out “I am sorry. This is the first time in my life I have ever got stopped “ and handed him over the registration papers and license. He politely ordered us back in the car. Another lesson I learnt was how important the “driver’s attitude” is, that a decent excuse can dissuade a ticket writer.

While talking to us he pointed out two wagon drivers darting in and out of the traffic. Each one determined not to allow the other to get ahead. One wagon had just swerved across two lanes and half a dozen other cars to catch up with the driver of the other wagon who had cut him off 200 yards back. The driver of one wagon picked up speed and was out of sight, but the other sheepishly slowed down. The driver blurted while handing the license and registration papers to the officer “The wagon kept cutting me off. It just wanted to get ahead of me.” The officer growled with sarcasm “Didn’t you do so also?” and wrote him a ticket for making an unsafe lane change.

The reasons for narrating these incidents which took place in the duration of an hour are firstly to throw light on the job of the traffic police on congested roadways which leaves them to deal face-to-face with foul tempered drivers and secondly to prove that aggression on the road is on the rise. We all have seen people maimed for life when cars have flipped over, crushing the people inside. All because of jerks who lose their temper and concentration.

Another problem is that teens also now ‘car surf,’ their stunts leading to a rash of amputations and deaths. Tragedies on the roads often have three things in common: inexperience, speed and thrill seeking. Not only do teens typically think they’re immune to harm, but they also think they’re better drivers than they actually are. Many accidents occur at night or when teens are distracted.

The Lahore Traffic Police Accident Branch has recorded accidents in which someone has been killed or injured. The data is part of a six months’ study conducted from January to June 2001 and January to June 2002. The report reveals aggressive driving to be the cause of deaths last year. 185 persons were injured, 308 in 168 fatal and 211 non-fatal crashes. In the following year 148 people died while 169 were hurt in 140 fatal and 110 non-fatal accidents. A comparison shows strategically that the Lahore Traffic Police has to some extent helped people to steer clear of trouble on the roads.

Colonel Zaheer-ul-Hassan, SSP Traffic Police Lahore says “Drivers are guilty of a wide variety of driving offenses, running through stop signs and red lights, speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, honking, flashing high beams, passing on the wrong turn, cutting other cars off, yelling and making hostile hand gestures and in general treating other drivers like enemies.”

He further says, “Speeding is a serious state of mind - one is always in a hurry so one drives fast. Rarely does one realize that going above the prescribed speed limit can only give us a few extra minutes at the most. Slowing down means one will be late. But one would not risk killing or injuring anyone. The choice is obvious. Drivers have often been careless. One can double the chances of surviving by following rules and regulations.”

He explained that he believes that the average person violates at least one traffic rule every time he/she gets into the car, whether it is cruising through a stop sign or turning on a redlight. About 135 traffic signals are deployed in Lahore but violation, of especially the signals, electronic or manual, is a regular practice. When one is in an accident he blames the authorities for it, but one should himself gauge who is actually responsible for crashes.

Aggressive drivers are pushy and uncooperative. Symptoms are: Overtaking even when there is inadequate space, speeding, jumping in and out of lanes and accelerating on yellow lights. This kind of driver has endangered everyone on the roadway - including himself/herself. What triggers aggressiveness? If it is because you are late, give yourself more time.

About 70% of the traffic rules are written on signboards positioned on roadsides, but noone bothers to consider them, violating rules for fun. About 40-60% of drivers rate aggressive drivers as the biggest threat on the road, addicted and exhausted drivers (rude drivers of public vehicles) coming in second. Aggressive drivers operate with total disregard for the safety of others and aggression is learned behavior. The public always demands its right, but no one realizes or thinks of their own duties.

The Punjab Government on January 10, 2002 introduced the ticket system.

He stressed that: the Traffic Police is housed under the three E’s- Engineering (read Road Engineering), Education and Enforcement (of traffic rules and laws). The dire need is to make people aware about rules, of which the majority is unaware. Our department’s top priority is to educate the general public. A programme has been launched with the assistance of NGOs and the Punjab Text Book Board to make future generations law-abiding with traffic introduced as a subject in model schools.

The Department has been making efforts to introduce the subject ‘traffic’ in privatized institutes too. The targeted group falls in children of ages 1-12 while television and radio programmes for awareness have been created, as well as seminars and workshops arranged and traffic days and walks organized while lectures to students and drivers have been delivered, as are boards and banners deployed at various roadsides, pamphlets and stickers distributed and the message spread further through the public address system.

“In the future” he added “the department has plans to launch more traffic education/awareness campaigns. A few designs are under consideration for the reduction of road accidents and traffic police welfare, as well as the construction of traffic control and regulating centers and Mini Traffic Police Lines”. “A major project is the improvement of Ravi Road’s traffic”, he concluded.

Apart from aggressive drivers the other kind is inattentive drivers. They don’t bother to use their turn signals, might simultaneously chat on their mobiles or drift into the next lane. They are unconscious of the traffic situation around them. The reasons behind such carelessness is distractions, haste or a false confidence in their driving skills.

Another factor is that too many people are crowded onto a few miles of roadway. According to Colonel Zaheer-ul-Hassan the number of vehicles increases 10% annually in Lahore, but the miles of road increases only 1%. Registered vehicles are about 16 to 17 lacs. During work or peak hours, about 7 to 8 lacs vehicles clog the roads.

There are signs that the gender gap is narrowing. Women are found just like men to run red lights as men. More women are driving than ever before and are learning to be as aggressive as men. The major reason behind women’s aggression is stress. They have to go to a number of destinations in a short span of time wending their way from the supermarket to picking up kids from school/college and then to drop them at tuition centers- a frustrating, tight schedule.

The feeling of racing against time causes aggression and accidents. The stress level rises when one has to go to many places in a short time; says a professor of Psychology at a leading Karachi-based institute, who wished to remain anonymous. He further says, “to show rage in a car may be easier than anywhere else, the speed and size of car may make people feel powerful.

What is clear from the data provided by Traffic Police Lahore and from professional opinions is that general rudeness is on the rise. Most of this could be avoided if one made up his mind to do everything a bit slower. Practice common courtsy and realize how deadly the anger on the road can be.

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