WHEN we think about traffic in Srinagar; mismanagement on the part of the Traffic Police, reckless driving by others, going against the traffic rules and hundreds of other issues come to our minds. We see hundreds of vehicles plying on the roads in our City and when we all see so many cars bothering us (thinking that we are not bothering others), we think that advertisements attract people to get loan from bank at low interest rates.
 We feel that these ads flatter a common man to buy a car for himself. And when we ourselves get flattered by these advertisements and secure loan to buy cars; our statement changes completely. And when we find nothing to talk about, our last-resort is the traffic police. It’s human nature to point finger at others when we see something bad happening around us. We people instead of looking for a possible solution for that problem, just sit-back.
 But have we looked at ourselves while we drive? Have we ever thought that we might be wrong somewhere while driving? The answer is a big No. Few months back, traffic lights were installed in our City and all of us (including me) did one thing perfectly, curse them for being installed by citing a reason that they will only  to add to the chaos.  I am not saying that there is nothing wrong with the management or the people know nothing about driving or I drive perfectly and others drive like lunatics; not at all. I am just saying that there is something wrong with ourselves.
 The reason for traffic chaos is none other than us. If we develop something called traffic sense then we would not see the evil-side of traffic. Traffic sense doesn’t mean that if I see somebody taking a wrong turn, or see somebody going against the flow of the traffic. Instead one should stop such people from doing such things, being a responsible citizen of the society. And don’t ever think that “Rules are for fools”, instead they are for all those who call themselves “humans” and if you still insist on them being fools; feel free to declare yourself as an animal. If we want to see our City free of traffic mess, then stop talking (criticizing) and start acting (following the rules).

By
Zain Zahoor
Law student
(zainzahoor@gmail.com)
(The ideas expressed are author’s own)

Lastupdate on : Wed, 8 Aug 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 8 Aug 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 9 Aug 2012 00:00:00 IST