While behind the wheel on the roads of Lahore, it always feels like that we have been admitted into an undeclared race unconditionally and there are no rules to follow.
Every one seems to rush on the roads regardless of one’s educational and positional background; everyone wants to win the race; I would rather call it the “Race of Death” where all road users have been put into the risk of death and severe injuries and big financial losses.
The biggest problem we face on the roads is the lack of patience and discipline. We change lanes so frequently and with anxiety and carelessness that it not only disturb the flow of traffic but also causes delays to our own course.
One another big issue related to traffic is lack of driving education. No one has taught us how to use the roads. Everybody should go through a standardised driving course and test before being awarded with a full driving license. Alas, there is no such process in place.
To overcome all traffic related problems, there is need of proper formal education which should be started from the school level. Its as simple as asking a school to include road ethics as part of their curriculum and conduct a simple workshop on it for their students. It’s a little step which can have much more significant steps.
TAHIR AWAN
Lahore