Recently I have noticed a subtle but significant change on the roads in Bangalore. People have been making way for ambulances where not so long ago the sirens would be pretty much static behind a mess of vehicles that refused to move out of the way. I have to say I am very glad it is happening, albeit slow and inconsistent.
Every time I travelled out of the country on work, one of the things that always struck me was how motorists would move over quickly the minute they heard approaching sirens, and I would always wonder why we couldn't be the same way here.
The assumption, based on the minimum requirements to get a driver's licence, is that all the people on the road are at least basically educated. If that is the case how come they don't move? Is it apathy? or a more sinister lack of consideration for anyone but themselves? It can't be that difficult for these drivers to put themselves in the shoes of the family and friends of the person in the ambulance, who is probably hanging on, literally for dear life, while they hog the road and hold up the medical attention they need.
But it is not always a case of selfish behaviour. Our roads are chaotic to say the least and many a time I have found myself in front of an ambulance and desperate to pull over but thanks to the log jam in front of me, left with no room to maneuver. So there we have it - selfish people and choc-a-bloc roads, the perfect recipe for bad situations.
There is lots to fix and I am sure there are probably a lot of other reasons out there for what I have been seeing - but the fact remains that I see an improvement, and no matter how small it is right now - it is a huge step towards what we want to be and hopefully it is just the start.
No comments:
Post a Comment