With the recent enforcement of Motor Vehicles Act, 2019, we saw a steep rise in the number of fine payers in the first month itself. This stricter law has been imposed keeping in mind the high number of road accidents. With the fear of law instilled in motorists, many have started to carry proper documents and get their vehicles checked for pollution. The traffic police has become stern against rule-breakers. But what about pedestrians who don’t follow the traffic rules? Recently, I was waiting at ABC, Bhangagarh crossing to get to the other side safely. I saw many people in a rush to cross the road, even before the lights turned green. There could easily have been an accident, yet the traffic police didn’t take action.
Often we see that when there is an accident involving a vehicle and a pedestrian, half the times the blame goes to the driver who then has to cough up some sort of compensation even if following proper rules. Pedestrians as well as vehicles should stick accordingly with zebra crossings. At times, vehicles are seen waiting on the zebra crossing itself, which makes it harder for pedestrians to cross as there is not much space left. It is pedestrians who should use the zebra crossing as it has been made solely for that purpose. This besides, pedestrians are facing trouble in crossing roads due to dividers installed across the city; negotiating these dividers in haphazard manner on busy roads make them prone to accidents. Such chaos must be avoided. Imposing fines and taking strict action against errant pedestrians would help reduce accidents just the way fines do on vehicles breaking rules and speed limits. People would become more alert then and follow proper rules of the road.
Florica Brahma,
Bhangagarh, Guwahati