Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

When driving becomes a chore

Subha J Rao

Etiquette has to come from within, says official

OBEY THE SIGNAL: Lack of road etiquette has made driving in the city a torture. - PHOTO: S. SIVA SARAVANAN

Coimbatore: Driving through the busy thoroughfares of the city during the peak hours can be quite traumatic. Forget the bad roads, the lack of driving etiquette is enough to drive you crazy.

When traffic is moving at a brisk pace, a car on the left suddenly swerves to the right, leaving the driver behind fuming. At another signal, a driver turns without signalling. In the night, headlights resemble lights at a discotheque, blinding oncoming drivers. Curses fly, the blood pressure shoots up and you brace yourself for yet another battle on the roads.

"Every day, I dread hitting the roads at peak traffic time. Somehow, people seem to have forgotten how to drive decently," says S. Venkatesan, an old-timer who is pained at the transformation on the city roads. He does not understand why the high beam has to be used in the city at all. "My eyes ache after I drive home in the evening," he adds.

People like him still remember what a pleasure it was to drive through a still-growing Coimbatore. There were fewer cars and two-wheelers on the road (Now, 300 new vehicles are registered every day), life was not as busy and people still believed in road etiquette. "When someone gave you way, you honked once to say thanks. And, did not sound the horn at night when the world was getting ready to sleep," he recalls.

While expecting that kind of politeness is asking for too much these days, the least road users can do is follow rules so that driving is not rendered a chore.

The rash driving on roads makes many wonder if people are taught the rules at all. "But, they are," insists K. Yogarajan, Deputy Transport Commissioner, Coimbatore Circle. "We give a five or ten-minute lecture to those applying for a learner's licence and also conduct an aptitude test. We teach them about signals and how to obey them." Every day, an average of 200 licences are issued by the Regional Transport Office in Coimbatore.

So, why are the rules not followed? Says another transport official: "We can only enlighten people on the importance of signals and how to overtake another vehicle. The focus is on preventing accidents. Etiquette has to come from within."

Police say common problems include changing lanes without warning, not parking within the stop line at signals, ignorance of the significance of traffic lights, wrong overtaking, over-speeding within city limits and using dazzling headlights.

To tackle these issues, the Coimbatore police, under the instructions of the Director General of Police, have taken up a major drive.

From July 1 to 15, they booked 444 cases of over-speeding, 159 of dazzling headlights, 865 of bad overtaking and 79 of wrong side turning.

As for a peculiar problem facing Coimbatore, City Police Commissioner Karan Singha says: "Lane violation. People here have no idea as to how to switch lanes."

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