2016 Jun 27
by Ridmi Upeksha
Sri Lanka, a small island with small cities and roads, for those who’s been living in the city of Colombo, daily traffic is no stranger. School traffic in the morning and afternoon , after work hour traffic, festival traffic, and all kinds of traffic due to all kinds of reasons make us spend so much time of our lives just on the road. Most of the reasons are triggered due to lack of attention, understanding of traffic rules and personal nuisance. Those few people who actually follow proper protocols are becoming the actual victim on the roads, but to those eyes of who drive crazy on the roads of Sri Lanka, sometimes the good drivers become the causer of traffic nonsense. Under maintained roads and its drivers are caught up in their own drama with the attitude of not accepting their own traffic faults are causing a real pain for rest of its users. Getting a penalty charge or getting a temporary suspension of license does not seem to make our local drivers to follow any kind of traffic rule, because it just seems too easy to get away from being an irresponsible or a lousy driver.
The respect for traffic rules seems so thin – some people tag along on a tail of an ambulance in this country. To start discussing about this topic firstly, lets focus on a local driver’s knowledge in using the correct line on roads. It’s either the driver’s lack of knowledge and observation in focusing and using the correct line or most of the time drivers are aware of the rules and they just chose not to follow it because they feel like they can do whatever they feel like doing in these roads. Switching lanes on the roads is also another hysterical event where sometimes some drivers ride on middle of the separated lanes of the roads being right in the middle not letting rest of the drivers ride smoothly on the either of the lanes. Not only that they just switch to whichever the lane they feel riding on regardless of the front and back drivers. Secondly, placing yourself before everyone else’s , making lives of other people miserable on road only focusing on where you are headed and how you are going to make it to your destination. It’s human nature to focus on the above mentioned scenario but for a minute if you concentrate on focusing on yourself as well as the others on the road, the trip that you are going to go to would be much easier for yourself as well as others. Thirdly, the actions made by drivers for convenience is ridiculously illegal. Drivers taking turns on middle of the roads and using one way lanes at times without any kind of emergency just because its convenience is highly often in this country. Basically, one of the main reasons causing traffic in Sri Lanka is the driver’s imagination of him being the only driver on the road. Are the rules and penalties going to change this wreck of a road system? Limitation of license approval and dismissing licenses of horrible rule braking drivers would seem a bit extreme but it can pass out a message to those who are driving recklessly and lousily with zero respect for traffic rules. For any worker who is travelling in public transportation, their lives revolves around 9 am to 5 pm work and their travel time. For a person who is stepping outside of the house to go to work at 7 am can only come back home barely at 8 pm. This scenario is applicable for school children who are away from home from 7 am to 4 pm. Are we blaming other drivers about this difficult situation? Can we really do something about this ourselves? For a system that’s broken so bad the rule regulators need to be on point finding a solution for this forever traffic situation.If the traffic on the roads were minimized and the strict travel time schedules were to be introduced to make people’s lives more productive and efficient. This country will reach a much higher economic success within few years of well-established and well performed traffic and travel rule systems. Proper DMV system for drivers, a well explained set of rules for drivers and a proper education about traffic rules and regulation are few of the steps that can be taken to save and bring back this broken road system in Sri Lanka.
Why is the current system failing even though there are driver’s tests and examinations to go through before getting a valid driver’s license? To what extent does the education in driving and traffic rules effect this current situation in hand? Very much. To develop a broken system the change needs start from its initial step. This process need to have a stable foundation as well as strict set of actions for those who sway pass legal boundaries and get what they want. However, for a person to be a good driver that person also should possess the ability to educate himself and also to understand how to be helpful for fellow drivers when riding on roads. Not only the drivers, the pedestrians should also need to be very thorough when walking on roads without failing to follow road rules. Road system is a connected and a dependent routine that is created with all the important parts of its system, one fails the whole system becomes a craze maze where no one will be able to escape. Pay attention to your actions on the road, rethink what kind of a driver you are, valuate yourself and decide if you are a good driver. If you are not a good driver rethink about all the problems that you have created on the road for all these years because of your bad driving skills and how much time and money you have costed for yourself as well for others. If you care enough and value the energy and the time you spend because of such a thoughtless mistake, remind yourself not to do so the next time. If you can be a better driver today so can your friends and your fellow drivers. Respect the rules and the roads and its drivers our country and its roads will be a much better place.
