RAWALPINDI, Aug 18: Noise pollution has added to the distress of the citizens by worsening the traffic mess on the roads of Rawalpindi with the exponential rise in the number of vehicles and the growing disorderliness of untrained and irresponsible drivers. Buses, vans and wagons which carry bulk of the traffic load use the banned pressure horn with a vengeance.
Traffic police which is generally clueless in the midst of this muddle look the other way presenting a picture of helplessness.
While overspeeding, overtaking and lane-breaking shatter human nerves and cause urban tensions to accumulate noise pollution according to medical opinion not only distracts drivers’ attention but damages hearing resulting in irreparable harm to auditory system.
The victims are not only commuters and the general lot of pedestrians but also residents of houses on the busy roads.
Pressure horns which in advanced countries are used mainly on out of city highways to warn approaching traffic from distant blind turns are being used in our cities by illiterate public transport drivers to attract passengers. The sudden ear splitting blare of the horn often shocks other drivers into unintended reactions that cause many accidents. One doesn’t know if the ban on the use of pressure horns has been lifted or it is being violated with impunity by the drivers.
One can have a taste of this clatter at bus stops specially where commuters spend a great deal of time daily and suffer for what seems endless minutes the cacophony of horns as undisciplined crowds wrestle for a seat in the bus of their route.
Some drivers for their amusement beckon the waiting passengers to make them run after their moving vehicle and then speed away leaving them in a cloud of dust. This daily disgrace is adding to the collective neurosis in which men of weak nerves are forced into extreme escape routes like suicide and even murder.
Shamshir Ahmad, a frequent commuter in the city, told Dawn that driving licences should only be issued to fully trained drivers who possess the aptitude and feel their responsibility on the road.
Nazir Hussain, the driver of a van, told this reporter that most of the drivers do not own the vehicles they drive and they get them on rent. “I pay Rs1,000 to the van owner daily and all I earn after a hard days work of 14 hours is Rs300,” Nazir said.
He said he had been on the roads for the last 22 years but yet he does not own his own vehicle. Traffic police fines Rs500 per violation and often resorts to extortions. One gets so fed up you can’t expect civility or good manners from someone so pushed to the wall. He said that drivers were always hard pressed for money, which was their main worry, not anybody’s comfort.