Driving aimlessly on our roads

KOCHI:The responses to questions on maintaining lane disciple were unsurprising seeing the state of the traffic on our roads. But the level of ignorance on this basic traffic rule was somewhat worrying.

"Lane traffic? I don't know anything about lane traffic. I used to keep to the left side of the road whenever there is no vehicle on the side. If there is no vehicle on the right side, I navigate the vehicle to the right side of the road. Speed does not determine which lane to go on," said Pandiyan, a container driver who hails from Tamil Nadu, when asked about keeping lane discipline on the four-lane road.

Pandiyan is not just a lone case; there are many experienced drivers who are totally unaware of the lane traffic system that has to be followed while driving mainly on four-lane roads. Though the Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) and the Traffic police in the state have spent a hefty amount from the Road Safety Fund for providing awareness classes to motorists about traffic rules, it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

When Express conducted a survey last week, it also found most of the motorists have not even heard about the lane traffic rule. As per the survey which polled 153 motorists who ride heavy trucks, buses, cars and motorcycles, only 26.14 per cent were aware of the lane traffic system and the rest 73.83 percent of motorists are clueless about the lane traffic system.

During the survey, a middle-aged car driver expressed his surprise saying he didn't know the country had lane traffic system and he had only seen such a system implemented in foreign countries. "We like to drive in a zigzag manner on the roads. We'll not reach anywhere in time if we keep to the lane," said an auto driver from Palarivattom.

Unfortunately, the survey found even bus drivers, including private and KSRTC, ignore this important rule. Though a major section of them are aware of lane traffic rules, they do not bother maintaining this while driving on the four-lane roads. "If we stick to the system, we will never reach the destination on time. For this, flouting the rule is the only option," said a KSRTC driver.

"As per the lane traffic system, the vehicle that moves slowly has to keep to the left side of the road which is known as the slow track; however only a few follow it," said George Thomas, Motor Vehicle Inspector. "The right track of the road has to be used for overtaking, but this idea collapses on our roads and motorists just flout the rules. If the motorists keep the lane traffic system wherever possible, accidents can be reduced to a great extent."

According to the MVD, the major accidents and the traffic block in the four-lane roads are happening without keeping the lane traffic system. "No one is ready to let another vehicle to overtake; this attitude of drivers needs to change. Since it is difficult to implement the lane traffic in the city we are trying our best to implement it in the other four-lane roads. We will also plan to implement a lane traffic awareness programme in the road safety week which will be inaugurated on April 23," said Reji P Varghese, Regional Transport Officer, Ernakulam.

Who said what

* Number of people surveyed: 153

* Number of people unaware of lane traffic rules: 113

* Only 40 motorists had clear knowledge about the lane traffic rule, however no one follows it

Age group of the surveyed motorists

Up to 30 yrs: 59

30-50 yrs: 63

Above 50 yrs : 31

Inputs from Rachel Berkumon and Remya Ramakrishnan