Traffic discipline a must in B’luru

There is good news on the Bengaluru traffic front no doubt with the police proudly proclaiming that fatal accidents in the city have dropped by 1.26 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year. Non-fatal accidents have also declined by 4.57 percent. In the year bygone, the city reported 4784 accidents of which 871 were fatal and 3913 were non-fatal. Fewer accidents should obviously mean a safer and comfortable ride on the roads but is that really happening? Are road rides much safer and preferable than they were in the previous year? Most Bengalureans would hardly agree; on the contrary, if last mile connectivity from Namma Metro stations to residential layouts was more available, they would surely prefer to keep their cars or two-wheelers at home and ride the Metro with ease and comfort.

So what makes Bengaluru’s traffic so messy, time consuming and painful for city residents? It finally boils down to two problems most Bengalureans are acutely aware of-road indiscipline and notoriously badly kept roads, riddled with potholes and craters. Lane driving which is an absolute must in bigger cities to ensure safe rides, is conspicuous by its absence in the city. It is also debatable if even big roads in the city’s heart have well-marked lanes to encourage drivers to stick to their lanes and not transgress on other’s space. So you have vehicles whizzing past you on either side hardly missing you by a whisker, the best you can do is to keep riding with a fervent prayer in your heart that no one gives you a sudden jolt and disappears into the maze of vehicles. Then, there is the vexed issue of negotiating through a crowd of under-age youngsters who obviously have not been to the RTO for a driving license going by their scanty riding skills; all you can do is curse them and traffic officials under your breath for not clamping down on them and keep the ride going.

A confrontation would obviously have unforeseen consequences and and could be an invitation to them to bang on your car and leave it with a few scratches. Many of these vehicles do not have number plates on the rear and one does not have to ponder much to find the reason for this. It also makes it much easier for such miscreants on the road if one may call them that, to violate traffic signals and every rule in the book with impunity to have a jolly good time on the road at other’s cost. And helmets of any kind are an unknown entity to most of them. Even if the cops were to embark on a traffic rule enforcement drive, will that provide Bengalureans a hasslefree trip? The issue of road quality naturally arises and this is something that the civic agency, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) should be more concerned about. The roads have seen patchwork so many times that it is really difficult to spot the actual road amidst a never-ending stretch of patches.

Add to that the continuous work at metro sites and civic project sites and one can be sure that a smooth ride on Bengaluru’s roads is a near impossibility at least in the near future. The traffic cops no doubt need to be commended for bringing down accidents and fatalities on the road but isn’t a comfortable ride something Bengalureans deserve? Better road and lane discipline and a stern clampdown on erratic driving practices including rash and negligent driving is an absolute must. This is all the more essential in a cosmopolitan hub where lakhs of people hit the road every morning and evening rushing to their destinations in a frenzy with time always a pivotal factor.