Pune traffic is the worst I have ever seen in India. It shows the selfish and ’’I don’t care’’ attitude of people. The general rule normally found in Mumbai, etc. is ’’One SHOULD NOT cut across in front of another vehicle in a way that it causes that person to change his driving causing swerving, slowing down suddenly, etc’’. This, however is not the norm in Pune. In Pune, any vehicle comes in front of any other, and it is left to the other driver to swerve or slam on the brakes. I also see slow vehicles driving on the right side. I have even seen a cycle driving close to the divider(in the wrong direction!), where normally fast vehicles drive. I routinely see vehicles, especially 2-wheelers, driving in the wrong direction on a divided road, just to cut short the distance they need to travel(otherwise they’d have to go ahead a bit to make a U-turn). They don’t realize that even though they may be expert drivers and are careful and slow, it throws the traffic alignment out of gear! People who suddenly see a vehicle coming towards them on the wrong side are forced to make a sudden reaction. It makes me wonder - Are these people nuts?(and do they think human life is worth nuts)?
Most Puneites have atleast one or two two-wheelers, and sometimes the two-wheeler count exceeds the head count in a family. Pune’s traffic is a mess because people don’t want to depend on the Pune Municipal Transport(PMT) bus service. I’ve met many people who have lived in Pune for 15-20 years, but can count on their hands the number of times they’ve traveled by the PMT. Compare that with Mumbai, where traveling by the BEST is so normal. In Pune people look down upon people traveling by the PMT. Compare that with Mumbai where some film shootings are done in a BEST bus or a BEST depot and dialogues involve BEST buses(Arjun, Shaan, Ghulam, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Saathiya). The BEST is part and parcel of a Mumbaiite’s life. Not so in Pune. In Pune, people try to shun the PMT. Most Puneites are so scooter-happy that they immediately pick up their scooter and ride away. Agreed the PMT is in a bad shape. But the solution is not to shun it, but rather to work towards improving it.
If Puneites don’t realize that improving the PMT is the only means possible long term to resolve Pune’s chaotic traffic problems, they are living in a fools paradise. Almost every major city in the world has a good public transport system, viz. Singapore, HongKong, London, the list goes on, and not-so-far-away Mumbai. The PMT HAS to be improved so that people start patronizing it. Improvement in public transport is going to be very very essential thing in near future. The tremendous growth in two wheelers in Pune in recent years, is an indication of worst public transport system in this city in India. However, if PMT goes better, this two wheeler crowd will decrease down automatically and major of the traffic problems in the city would automatically be solved.
Ultimately, who will want to travel on bike if a good and nice public service is there to cater to all your transport needs.
A good initiative started for public service is the SAVE PUNE TRAFFIC MOVEMENT
The synopsis of the movement is as follows:
· The condition of the Pune traffic has been getting worse, with high rate of accidents and deaths.
· PMC, Traffic police and Citizens play the game of blaming each other. Especially the citizens keep aggravating the problem, by constantly breaking the traffic rules.
· Conscious citizens do not see what they can do themselves, and tend to break the rules on the road and get carried away with the irresponsible people. The young ones automatically imbibe the tricks of being ’’smart’’ by breaking rules, and traffic condition keeps worsening.
Hence, We MUST do something NOW. Not by criticizing, or telling others what to do, but by doing a positive act, ourselves!
Responsible citizens wanting to contribute to the transformation of the traffic need only do two simple things:
· Make a resolution: ’’I will always follow traffic rules’’, no matter what anybody else does!
· Put a bold message on your vehicle, declaring to the others about this resolution. ’’I am proud to follow traffic rules always!’’
For more information on this inspiring effort visit the excellent site https://savepunetraffic.com, and do rate my review before clicking away.!