As a daily commuter from 4th mile, a sight of chaotic traffic en route and hair-pulling frustration of overworked traffic personnel has become a daily episode. Every day is an awful experience driving in Dimapur city where all the commuters such as office goers, students, and the general public are stranded, at times even for hours along 45 minutes driving distance under normal traffic flow. In the recent years, purchase of vehicles has surged tremendously in the State; in excess of 78,000 vehicles are being registered every month in Dimapur district alone in the last few months (Source: Vahan). However, daily traffic congestion cannot be ascribed solely to a recent surge in the vehicle population, ongoing road and bridge constructions. I feel that there is an absolute dearth of traffic etiquette among the drivers in Dimapur.
Driving is becoming a major source of stress, especially during rush hours in Dimapur city, as people do not seem to have patience while commuting. It seems that everyone owns the entire road. Consequently, brazen drivers do not follow lane discipline creating double or triple lane and always on the lookout to flick between the lanes. One very common practice among auto-rickshaw drivers, they always take a detour to ply on all possible narrow spaces in the congested traffic to get to their destination little earlier. An abrupt stoppage by auto-rickshaws without proper signal is very annoying and dangerous, often lead to accidents and sometimes turning into a squabble. Is it not amusing to see incessant honking by few even in the middle of the traffic jam? Even if you haven’t been tailgated yourself, you’ve probably witnessed it; it is one the main cause of road rage and collisions. A few months back, a car tailgating our vehicle near Purana bazaar in a snail-paced traffic flow had bumped our vehicle with a crashing sound. Fortunately, no serious damage occurred, and what ensued next was hilarious; the vehicle owner was apologetic by saying “Pahar teh thok pilah time teh laki jai shi!” (while spitting out, I inadvertently bump into your vehicle!). It was a mere case of tailgating, if enough distance was maintained, such mishap would have prevented. Myriads of such traffic misdemeanor often deny passage to emergency vehicles like ambulances, fire-engine, and police control room vans. The story of night driving traffic sense in Dimapur is also not different; every driver tries to outperform the others and lane divider in many parts of the city bear mute testimony to their fates of reckless driving. Thus Kushi-Kushi and reckless driving culture are unfortunately most prevalent among the drivers in Dimapur.
Can we attribute Kushi-Kushi driving habit solely to the dearth of proper awareness of traffic etiquette or is it sheer indiscipline? Nagaland has recorded a significant increase in the number of road accidents, as per Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways data. It has witnessed 531 road accidents in 2017 as against 75 in 2016, a surge of 456 accidents. However, on the contrary, Dimapur district shows a significant drop in the number of road accidents from 304 in the year 2017 to 194 in 2018. I am of the opinion and considering the prevailing driving nature, complete awakening on road safety and traffic etiquette by the commuters and drivers are very unlikely, rather I consider road condition or the ongoing road construction work has contained the speed of the vehicle and reckless driving at least to some degree. It is apprehensive that if the same trend continues, more mishap is likely to happen especially post completion of the ongoing road construction.
Under such circumstances, I am compelled to highlight how people drive in Mizoram's capital Aizawl; a classic example of discipline and traffic etiquette we should learn from. It is said that the commuters in Aizawl are polite and well disciplined. During Monday morning office rush hours – everyone is rushing to reach their office on time, although sulking and frustrated in snail-paced traffic, yet no one around honks (honking free city), no one tries to overtake or break the queues - that is precisely what happens round the year in Aizawl. In fact, maintaining traffic discipline is one of the basic norms of Mizoram. On one instance, a year back at the heart of Aizawl, our vehicle had inadvertently taken the wrong lane at a roundabout traffic point. To my utter surprise, the traffic personnel cordially asked the driver to take the vehicle in reverse and redo the correct lane to remember the same for eternity, in lieu of issuing challan.
Reportedly, the majority of the drivers are self-taught. Thus it is crucial to sensitize on road safety and traffic etiquettes sooner than later. Print, as well as electronic media, can play a vital role in spreading awareness about the do’s and don’ts by the concerned Department. The onus also lies with the driving schools to equally provide importance on traffic etiquettes, regulations along with driving skill teachings. Against the backdrop, Kudos to all traffic personnel who have been relentlessly managing traffic nuisance all throughout the day under very hot and sulking Dimapur weather.
I strongly believe that if we embrace all traffic etiquette, if not at least few as a responsible citizen, our traffic woes in Dimapur city would definitely be minimised.
