Disregard for rules reason for chaos on city roads: Residents

As one navigates bustling streets of Amritsar, it becomes painfully evident that the city’s traffic woes are a direct result of a glaring disregard for the most basic rules. The once-orderly roads have devolved into a chaotic free-for-all, where drivers brazenly flout the simplest of norms, leaving in their wake a trail of frustration and disorder.

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“It’s as if drivers have forgotten the fundamental principles of driving,” laments Joginder Singh, a long-time resident of the city. “The most basic of rules which is staying in one’s lane seems to have been relegated to the realm of forgotten knowledge.” Singh’s words are laced with a sense of despair, a feeling that is echoed by countless others who have grown weary of the city’s traffic chaos.

The root of the problem, it seems, lies not in lack of awareness, but rather in a blatant disregard for the law. Drivers, it appears, have grown accustomed to doing as they please, with little fear of reprisal. “It’s a culture of impunity,” says Satwant Singh, another resident.

“Drivers know they can get away with flouting the rules, so they do,” he said, while proposing a novel solution which is mandatory training sessions for drivers who violate traffic norms. “It is the only way to drill some sense into them,” he said.

As one watches the mayhem unfold on city roads, it becomes clear that the solution to its traffic woes lies not in grand, sweeping measures, but rather in a return to the basics. If drivers simply followed the simplest of traffic rules, the city’s roads would be transformed overnight.

“It is a matter of personal responsibility. Drivers need to take responsibility of their actions and start following rules,” said another resident Balkaran Singh.

“Until that day comes, roads will remain a testament to chaos that can ensues when rules are ignored,” he said.