Riding on the wrong way
A front page photo in this newspaper published yesterday spotlights how recklessly VIPs are breaking traffic rules. A minister's SUV driving on the wrong side of the road with a police car in front making the way is no longer an unusual sight but a regular occurrence.
This shows scant respect for public thoroughfares to which citizens have a natural right to use at all times. When lawmakers and high-ups in the government openly indulge in such unlawful use of roads, what stops others with any clout, perceived or real, from breaking the law? According to the report, top government officials, leaders of the ruling party and its front organisations, buses carrying DU students and even vehicles of journalists are routinely seen riding on the wrong side of the road.
No one is above law and it's even truer for those in charge of making and enforcing it. The change of attitude must come from the top permeating the entire structure of traffic management. Traffic personnel must remember that their job is to enforce traffic rules and not pave the way for those who break them.
The unlawful use of road also portends accidents. What's more, it threatens the collapse of urban existence, if unchecked. If urban life is to be made safe and vibrant, which it should be, all the stakeholders should put their heads together to bring a stop to the aberrant practice. We believe a directive from the top can set the ball rolling in the right direction.
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