It is becoming difficult day-by-day to ride a bike on the roads of Chennai. As I commute to college, I notice that people who drive the vehicles are not sane any more; they assume themselves to be racers, who only want to outdo the other.
As the traffic police manage to regulate the traffic, racers jump signals, honk their way past other vehicles and create commotion on the road. The MTC buses are no exception to this. As they spew dirt and dust, they also manage to jump several signals, skip bus stops or stop way past them, making it difficult for the passengers to board.
The autos and the bikers manage to penetrate through heavy traffic, making U-turns in flyovers and bridges where they aren’t supposed to, standing way past the stop line while the signal shows red, taking turns and crossing the roads without proper hand signals or even indicators and grinding their way past other vehicles with a furtive glance. The lorry and car drivers dominate narrow roads by unsolicited parking and disrupting the peace of the other vehicles which want to pass by.
In some places where police inspection is remote, there is even more road rage, where people don’t care about the traffic signals. In Chennai, the roads have become a constant place battle, and road rage doesn’t seem to end. If at all, people could drive their vehicle cautiously and more responsibly, there wouldn’t be any road accidents or commotion.
Gayathree Ganesan, B. Com Final year, Ethiraj College for Women
