The story behind traffic issues in India

Is traffic a big issue in our cities?

Most of us think it is, but we tend to forget that we are the traffic; that we are the problem, and the solution. We find it easier to blame the traffic police and the infrastructure for the issue, but what does the Traffic Police think?

We interviewed a few traffic police officers to know their perspective on the “traffic issue”, and here’s what they had to say:

What is the most challenging aspect of managing the Traffic?

K.P. Gopala Reddy, ACP, Bangalore Traffic Police, said that there are too many vehicles in our cities, and the numbers are increasing every day. This is a big challenge for the traffic police officers, and they need cooperation from the people, the pedestrians, and the motorists, to be able to manage traffic. Our lack of patience and lack of empathy disrupt the balance the traffic police try to maintain on roads. If one person stops, the people behind try to overtake, blocking vehicles coming from the opposite direction. Just because one person decides is impatient, the entire stretch of road gets blocked.

How dependent are we on Traffic Police Personnel, and why?

Every junction in our cities need constant monitoring. Our disregard to traffic rules make our roads dependent on the Traffic Police. Mr Gopala Reddy said that if there is no officer in one junction, the junction is sure to collapse. You can imagine the kind of pressure the traffic police officers go through. While a normal person needs a haemoglobin level of 11-16, our traffic police officers have less than 10 because of the constant exposure to both, pollution and natural elements like sun and rain.

Should we have more stringent rules?

We can plan and have rules, but if people do not care about these rules, they are not going to help. Mr Reddy says that we have everything on paper - good plans and good rules, but implementation is extremely difficult, especially because there is no regard for others on road, or for the traffic police. Everybody is in a hurry, or is thinking about themselves, no matter how their actions affect others.

What are the pressures faced by the traffic police?

Traffic police departments are understaffed, and there are limited number of personnel even as our cities are expanding. People don’t want to join the traffic police force because of the long and hazardous work hours. Hence, it becomes extremely difficult to manage escalating population on roads. The Department of Traffic Police are ensuring that a minimum educational level of SSLC is required to get a driving license, so that people who drive or ride know the traffic rules and are aware of their responsibilities in traffic, but it is sad to note that even educated people do not obey traffic rules.

What is the one traffic rule that all citizens need to follow?

All traffic rules are important, and we need to understand that these rules are in place to ensure our safety. Dhananjaya K.J., Police Constable at Bangalore Traffic Police, pointed out 3 rules that he thinks everyone must follow – wearing helmets, stopping at red and yellow signals, and following lane discipline.

The recent rule enforcing helmet for pillion riders has been put into place after extensive research which pointed out that a large number of pillion riders suffer or succumb to head injuries, hence people must wear helmets while on two-wheelers. Mr Dhananjaya believes that if people start following these simple rules, our traffic conditions could improve manifold.

One thing we learnt from our conversation with the traffic police officers is that they are willing to work extra, to put their lives in danger every day to make sure that we are safe. Don’t you think we need to take steps to help them by following rules and finding ways to pay the traffic police officers their due respect?

Send us your suggestions or views on solutions for traffic issues in our cities, on Facebook or Twitter, or send us an email at jaagorein@gmail.com.