Wrong side driving: Big detours raise questions on planning

Stretch after stretch that suffers from ‘wrong-side’ driving, reveals the impact and extent of poor urban planning in this city. Wherever a new highway has been built, the focus has been on those who will cross the stretch on this road, not on how it will affect the lives of people living on either side.


The stretch of Golf Course Road near AIT Chowk is one of the most dangerous ones for ‘wrong-side’ driving. Vehicles coming from Sector 54 Rapid Metro station and adjoining commercial areas, instead of going all the way to the Genpact crossing to take an U-turn to reach the AIT Chowk roundabout and proceed to Rail Vihar and Wazirabad, a distance of over 10km, take a short-cut by driving against the traffic on the service lane of Golf Course Road to reach Rail Vihar and Wazirabad.



During peak hours, the number of cars moving against the flow is so high, it obstructs traffic coming from Wazirabad and going to Golf Course Road.

Software engineer Sushma Arora said it’s convenient for people to drive on the wrong side, as it cuts short travel time. “Otherwise, we have to travel 10km extra, though I know this is dangerous,” said Arora, adding roads should be designed keeping needs of people living in adjoining areas in mind. Senior police officials said they are aware of the problem, but accepted it’s not possible for them to man all such stretches, and urged commuters to follow traffic norms.

Sheetla Mata Road

With increasing traffic and a new divider on this road, driving against traffic flow has emerged as a new worry on this stretch.

People, mostly devotees arriving from Atul Kataria Chowk and Bus Stand, who want to reach the parking lot on the other side of Sheetla Mata Mandir and have to drive to Sector 5 Chowk for the next U-turn, drive on the wrong side instead, cutting travel time by half an hour and distance by 5km. From the car park, they take the foot over-bridge to the temple.

With crowded shops on both sides of this congested road, wrong side driving inevitably results in jams. A senior police official said in view of the congestion, they had recently installed a road divider on this stretch, and have traffic cops on the road most of the time.

A resident of Sector 5, Sunil Yadav said despite all efforts of the administration and police, wrong side driving continues unabated, causing congestion every day. “Life is at risk due to people driving on the wrong side.”