Why not be more responsible?
My wife and me generally love to go for a slow and cautious drive during rains. We decided to do it on last saturday as well, when the clouds seem to open up heavily. Not just a drive, we decided to dine out also, in one of our favourite restaurants, along with the drive. A friend also accompanied us there and we had a nice time with some sumptuous vegetarian food, inspite of the kids not behaving at their best. By now, the rain had started and it was pouring down when we started to drive back home.
We had to pass a fairly big junction with properly working traffic signals and it was about 10'o clock in the night. I am sure it was green for me and it had 3 more seconds to go which is completely good enough to pass through. There came the Qualis, obviously driven by a complete moron who drove across with red for him. I had to apply the brakes quickly and managed to let that felon go. I was now stranded almost exactly at the centre of the junction. I was not in a position to go back and hence released the brake, reduced the gear and went ahead just as the green was about to go off for me. Now, because of that Qualis, a young couple in a bike decided to go ahead and unfortunately, it was my way and my car. There is no way I could have avoided hitting them, but I am proud to say that I made the collision as minor as possible. The pillion girl was down on the road with the guy just managing to hold on to his bike. I crossed the junction, parked the car and got out of the car when my wife shouted at me "don't fight", because people believe that I am known for it. I ran to the spot and lifted the bike and helped him to pull her along to one side of the road where she can sit. The girl was slightly hurt on her leg, but more shocked due the accident and was feeling very hard to stand. The guy was also shocked that he wasn't making too many efforts to make her feel comfortable. I made her sit and bought her a glass of juice and she was feeling alright and they left the scene in about 15 minutes.
By this time, the downpour has only gotten more and I was completely drenched when I came back to my car and noticed a few damages. I had to pacify my wife too who was a bit worried as I had left her and my little son in the car hurriedly. But, when I drove back for the pleasure of driving in the rains, there was nothing that prick me inside as I was absolutely not at fault. This is not just the statement made by anyone who is involved in an accident. Even now, 2 days later, when I rewind and go over it, I still see the green signal on for me. I was only being the human that I should be and helped another human who was in pain and did not bother about the material damage (to me).
More than anything, what hurts me most is the negligence and irresponsibility that is dwelling inside our citizens. Why don't we all respect traffic signals, even if its raining? I make sure that I don't disrespect them, even if someone is honking from behind and I am not a fresh driver - I have been driving for atleast 10 years now. If the Qualis and that biker had some sense of responsibility, they would have waited for me to pass and then went on. Now, the Qualis is gone happily and the girl in the bike had little bruises which, I am sure, she will forget in 2-3 days. Please note that those two were the ones with lesser sense. For the responsibility and cautiousness, I am forced to spend a few bucks to set my car right. I, honestly, don't care about spending that money. But, I would be greatly relieved, even if one person decides to be a human and also not disrespect traffic rules from the time he reads this. Its not just about seeing movies with social messages and appreciating them. Its about how we take it into real life, atleast some of them.
We had to pass a fairly big junction with properly working traffic signals and it was about 10'o clock in the night. I am sure it was green for me and it had 3 more seconds to go which is completely good enough to pass through. There came the Qualis, obviously driven by a complete moron who drove across with red for him. I had to apply the brakes quickly and managed to let that felon go. I was now stranded almost exactly at the centre of the junction. I was not in a position to go back and hence released the brake, reduced the gear and went ahead just as the green was about to go off for me. Now, because of that Qualis, a young couple in a bike decided to go ahead and unfortunately, it was my way and my car. There is no way I could have avoided hitting them, but I am proud to say that I made the collision as minor as possible. The pillion girl was down on the road with the guy just managing to hold on to his bike. I crossed the junction, parked the car and got out of the car when my wife shouted at me "don't fight", because people believe that I am known for it. I ran to the spot and lifted the bike and helped him to pull her along to one side of the road where she can sit. The girl was slightly hurt on her leg, but more shocked due the accident and was feeling very hard to stand. The guy was also shocked that he wasn't making too many efforts to make her feel comfortable. I made her sit and bought her a glass of juice and she was feeling alright and they left the scene in about 15 minutes.
By this time, the downpour has only gotten more and I was completely drenched when I came back to my car and noticed a few damages. I had to pacify my wife too who was a bit worried as I had left her and my little son in the car hurriedly. But, when I drove back for the pleasure of driving in the rains, there was nothing that prick me inside as I was absolutely not at fault. This is not just the statement made by anyone who is involved in an accident. Even now, 2 days later, when I rewind and go over it, I still see the green signal on for me. I was only being the human that I should be and helped another human who was in pain and did not bother about the material damage (to me).
More than anything, what hurts me most is the negligence and irresponsibility that is dwelling inside our citizens. Why don't we all respect traffic signals, even if its raining? I make sure that I don't disrespect them, even if someone is honking from behind and I am not a fresh driver - I have been driving for atleast 10 years now. If the Qualis and that biker had some sense of responsibility, they would have waited for me to pass and then went on. Now, the Qualis is gone happily and the girl in the bike had little bruises which, I am sure, she will forget in 2-3 days. Please note that those two were the ones with lesser sense. For the responsibility and cautiousness, I am forced to spend a few bucks to set my car right. I, honestly, don't care about spending that money. But, I would be greatly relieved, even if one person decides to be a human and also not disrespect traffic rules from the time he reads this. Its not just about seeing movies with social messages and appreciating them. Its about how we take it into real life, atleast some of them.
Labels: responsible, society
Scribbled by Ganesh at 17:02
3 Comments:
Indeed. People skipping signals is about the most dangerous thing that can happen on the road. The other thing that gets my goat is when vehicle drivers behind me keep honking when they bloody well know that either there's a road-block ahead or because the signal hasn't yet turned to green. I normally peep out [if in car] or move to the side of the road [if on bike] and ask them to try to move forward.
I frequently hold up traffic by refusing to budge just because the people behind me can't wait for the signal to turn to green. I get abused, but hey, there's a lower chance of being hit [or being caught by the police for that matter] than if I roared ahead when the signal was still red.
whatevr am goin to say here doesnt mean that i have forgotten the fact that am still an indian - the traffic rules and police bastards need to be blamed for this. Saamy padam madhiri dhan, if you fine them heavily, they wont do it again. having said that, there are horrendous drivers in the US too, but there is very little possibility that one will cross a signal when its glowing red for 2 reasons (1) if the driver is still alive, he ends up getting a heavy ticket from a smart Mama (2) if he is unlucky, he is hit by a truck/car which is corssing properly for its green
its not just in the peoples' mind, its enforcement that lacks in our country
Hi Ganesh,
Life is good here. I'm still in Hyd. How are things there? How is Sid doing?
Again, great review on Vallavan..I was going to watch it online. Will not do that mistake now :)
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