Who is Responsible??

Avoidable mishaps. A picture is worth thousand words....here it says it all..

Labourer working without wearing any reflector jacket during rush hours

Construction material left unattended and unmarked, the moment it's time to call of the day. 

And so are the road rollers and other equipment...proudly blocking the road. 

Communication or Miscommunication??

Communication is a great tool. The sender of the message sends forth an intended message via a channel or a medium to the receiver or target audience. The receiver gets the message and tries to comprehend. Well, here is the catch, there is a probability of the message being misinterpreted due to variety of reasons. The information conveyed might not be understood the way it was supposed to be or the way sender wanted to either because of the language used, or the disruptions in the channel of communication.  There are n-number of case studies how even the advertising message or the public service campaign (like the famous family planning one), failed due to the message getting mis-interpreted by the recipients.

Why am I writing all this is due to the fact that on our roads too, the signages, billboards, hoardings are installed for a specific reason. They should convey some meaning, that is the very reason they are placed at a particular point or an intersection to cater to the masses at large. The information might not always be relevant as most of them are for advertisement purpose to promote their product. But recently I came across a traffic junction in my city's vicinity where the attempt has been made to promote the drink  'Pepsi' - the official partners to the World Cup - and the headline that screamed out of the bill board, "Rules are for followers".  

Well, how would that get interpreted on a traffic light where the youngsters follow their youth icon screaming at them to, ostensibly, 'break the rules'. 

Well, here probably the one composing this tag line was not aware that this will be installed at traffic intersection where 'rules are meant to be followed' but then the people who placed it here probably were oblivious about their 'moral or social responsibility'. At first instance when I saw it, it instigated me to violate, the message coupled with the enraged expression for a moment makes you think in that way. Time to ponder. 

The day India held its breath!

For the nation where ‘cricket’ is worshipped as a ‘religion’, the semi-final between India and Pakistan was an event that caught maximum eye-balls.  And surely many were biting their nails, holding their breath at every ball, and having nerve-wrecking moments throughout this meeting of titans.  And there could have been no other way to let lose the expression of euphoria for the people to come on the street and join in the frenzy.  It was a maddening release of pent of emotional stress by dancing in the streets, driving like crazy on the roads, hanging from the windows of their cars and waving their shirts…it was sheer mania. 

Youngsters blocked the roads and danced in the streets. Police had a harrowing time controlling the unruly mobs of men, women and children dancing in the streets and blocking traffic. Others quietly stood on the sidelines or leaned over their balconies to witness and wonder at the way people behave. At the end of the match even well-to-do people behaved strangely picking up chairs in the restaurants and jumping on to the tables.

Many youngsters could be seen taking a repeated round of the main road which led to the PCA stadium (where the match was being held) and displaying their antics unmindful of the danger they were posing to themselves and the people standing on the road sides. 

Blaring loud music, open consumption of liquor, public smoking in a city where it is banned, hanging out of the car windows, standing on the pillion of the motorbikes, over speeding, by a large number of individuals, was a collective celebration or mass hysteria?  Two boys lost their lives, turning their joy into a harrowing experience for their families left behind. 

Is it the Frankenstein within each one of us that is always rearing to come out at the very first opportunity? That perhaps unveils the way we drive.

Raging Road Rage

"Thus it happens all too often, as an outlet whether of a permanent or temporary state of mind, that sitting behind the wheel a person's whole attitude changes as if the period of driving were not part of real life, but some stage between episodes of real life. Many think only in terms of 'other cars' not of 'other drivers', and thus forgetting all consideration assume a dangerously competitive or even aggressive attitude towards those other cars. The motor car offers man a tremendous increase of power, and by identification it becomes the driver's own power and will which are thus multiplied. The greater this uncritical self-exaltation, the greater the irritation when it is obstructed."
J.J. Leeming, Road Accidents: Prevent or Punish? (1969)

The above quote very explicitly focuses on the human ‘psyche’ that is vulnerable to the personality disposition it carries. I wrote this article to draw attention towards the horrendous acts people indulge in, deliberately on roads.

‘Road Rage’, each one of us knows about it, have read it or probably encountered the same. Although this term was first coined in the USA in the 1980s, it has been prevalent in our society ever since the driver took control of the vehicle.But ever since several citations of road rage in newspapers world over have existed from that time and place, for example, this from the St. Petersburg (Florida) Times, 2nd April 1988:

"A fit of 'road rage' has landed a man in jail, accused of shooting a woman passenger who's car had 'cut him off' on the highway."

Road rage is an escalated form of aggression. It has been definedas an "assault with the intent to do harm arising from the use of a motor vehicle’. The word ‘intent’ is of prime importance here and clearly demarcates the Road Rage from Aggressive driving.Aggressive driving does not rise to the level of criminal behavior. It includes tailgating, abrupt lane changes, and speeding etc. These potentially dangerous behaviors are traffic offenses, but are not criminal behavior. However, aggression is often observed to be a predisposition leading to road rage.

One such horrific incident occurred recently in the city of Porto Alegre in Brazil. There was a peaceful demonstration going on by young bicyclists to spread forth the message of reduction in the number of cars on the streets.Out of nowhere a speeding black Volkswagen comes andrams nearly 100 cyclists injuring at least forty people. The driver fled the scene of incident but was later arrested by the authorities.

This video will give you some insight on this dreadful attack

The perpetrator identified as Ricardo José Neis, 47 years old was said to be mentally unstable. The reason that was given by the accused - that cyclists were scratching his car while he waited for them to ride by.

Was the reason big enough that led him to commit such a heinous act? Was he really mentally unstable? Where is the role of enforcement in preventing such avoidable acts?

Whatever the case may be, it does not justify the murderous attack as it was deliberate and consciously done. This is just one incident out of hundreds that occur every year all over the world, some are reported others go unnoticed. I would just like to end this article with a thought….

"When involved in a road rage incident, take a deep breath and ask yourself if the actions are worth your life." ~ Grant Boles