What is it with us Nagas and our complete disregard for blaring ambulances transporting fatal patients to emergency rooms! We hardly prioritise the sick transported in ambulances above our needs in jams. I find this creed utterly morbid. There is a dying patient being transported in an ambulance with emergency signals on, and yet we are indecent to make way for it until emergency vehicles are next to you with deafening blares, or until we are accosted verbally or a medic riding shotgun bangs his hand on ambulance's door to amplify the seriousness, we do not classify their dire need for emergency rooms.
Respecting ambulances and fire brigades on duty in roads doesn't have to be a knowledge that has to be drummed in an individual, because we all know what lies at the other end. Only problem is that we do not have the common courtesy to initiate other's need before our own.
I am not directing this article to all drivers but few hard-headed ones. I know spewing common courtesy would be equivalent to preaching to the choir. Hence, I'd prefer to let you know that Karma does happen. So, the next time you hear emergency vehicles approaching far behind you, make a wide berth for them because in the near future, your position could be reversed and you or your acquaintances could be the one needing emergency care. No amount of curses can bring back the deceased because they failed to reach the hospital in time; or salvageable houses burned down to ashes, all due to the indifferent and passionless drivers appropriating to their needs more.
And so I add, if you want others to allocate your emergency needs before daily chores, which hopefully would never happen, you ought to start respecting their, one day at a time.
In addition, I'd like to add an insight: reckless and lawless drivers are constantly giving birth to avoidable traffic jams.
Traffic jams have become a daily basis for us Dimapurians. Despite our knowledge of Traffic regulations that we're made aware through different medias, there are still numerous hurdles we have to overcome inorder for everyone to develop an impulse to follow these regulations dilligently. What's the purpose of ninety percent of the total population practicing traffic principles if the remaining ten percentile do not regard these rules.
Everyday, you will notice serpentine of vehicles lined up at traffic points waiting for the police to direct vehicles coming from different sides to pass consecutively, one-sided at a time. While you are stuck in these jams, it is unastonishing to sight unruly drivers zooming past jam packed vehicles on the open wrong lane. These drivers careless if their impatience leads to more jams. And naturally, when vehicles start approaching from the opposite side, traffic comes to a full standstill, since these wayward drivers have occupied the wrong lane from faulty direction, impeding overall movement. In a nutshell, the outcome is disparaging. The good traffic abiding drivers, ultimately, have to accommodate these heedless drivers by systematically moving their vehicles few inches until there's enough space to avail insubordinate drivers.
You'd be surprised to note that many of these vehicles belong to bureaucrats with official lights on their dreary way to everyday office works; it would be immoral and a sin to exclude junior police officers on their daily chores, nothing emergency. This shows complete abuse of their government given powers. Such degrading practices can only be stopped individually. Nothing more for me to state here.
Anyways, these willful acts often happen on the roads that lack road-dividers. But despite the facts, I urge the responsible authority to leave these roads as it is because we would be left with no instance for us to personally abide regulations by ourselves if all roads are divided. Then, we become mere condemned sheeps, unconditionally, doing what we are directed to do and not being able to do what we are supposed to to on our own without blowbacks. It can enable drivers to build restrain.
On the brighter side, City Police Patrol vehicles deserve appreciation. They are armed to the teeth and fully exposed relfecting intimidating picture. So there would be no dread for other drivers giving them a wide berth even in jams. But unless they are in emergencies, they reduce themselves to ordinary citizens and ardently follow traffic regulations. There is also ever-increasing numbers of female drivers and it should be noted that they earnestly abide driving rules and so, has become a matter to encourage more female drivers.
Viketo Nihokhe Sumi
Purana Bazar
Dimapur