"One discipline always leads to another discipline."-Jim Rohn The minute a foreigner embarks upon the soil of another country, he is able to perceive the character of a nation from the vehicular traffic on the roads. The first interaction is with the public at large, which casts on him a good or bad impression about the country in general.
A disciplined clean environment speaks volumes about the quality of governance, law-enforcement and nature of the public, whether it is content and happy or whether there is a feeling of uneasiness in the atmosphere. Bad traffic is an immediate source of irritation for the unsuspecting traveller and during his entire stay, he may wonder about the credibility of the government's strength in enforcing simple traffic regulations.
For a first time visitor (irrespective of where he is coming from) to Pakistan, there is plenty of food for thought. He may be greeted pleasantly by the staff at the port of entry because they are trained to be polite and co-operative, but no sooner does he step outside, he is subjected to innumerable possibilities of traffic violations. He is probably being driven but even seated as a passenger, he is definitely holding onto his life while praying for his safety. What he witnesses is a traffic nightmare wherein any or all of the following could be occurring:
--- Lanes are not maintained.
--- Intermittent overtaking by one and all.
--- Fast traffic in slow lanes and vice versa.
--- Improper blowing of horn.
--- Failure to yield right-of-way
--- Driving with blocked vision or tinted window
--- Driving wrong way on one-way street.
--- Making turns without indicating.
--- License plates improperly displayed or not displayed
--- Over-speeding
--- Violation of traffic signals
--- Pedestrians crossing from anywhere at any time
--- Following too closely
--- Buses/vans stopping whimsically, picking and dropping passengers anywhere other than their designated stops
--- Making U turns and driving around round-about without taking care of maintaining lane
--- Throwing garbage and spitting right in the middle of the roads in order to keep their own vehicles clean.
--- Free movement of cattle across busy roads at any time of the day.
--- Movement of tractor-trolleys and other heavy traffic vehicle during peak hours.
--- Smoke-emitting and non-road-worthy vehicles plying freely.
--- Overloaded pick-ups and carriage of goods like glass, iron and even ladders on motor bikes.
--- Carriage of perilous over-sized iron girders on horse/donkey carts and mini trucks.
--- Instances of physical settlement of driving disputes in case of accidents.
--- Driving under the influence of drugs.
Such experience can scare the wits out of any sane person for whom these scenes from a real life horror movie could lead to thinking about the very existence of the writ of the government, besides depicting an outrageous character of the nation.
We are all simultaneously talking about rule of law, good governance, developed infrastructure, a corruption-free society and what not, but have we ever really given thought to implement these principles in our routine lives?
There is a Chinese quotation that if everyone fulfilled his duty, no one would ask for his rights. Thus if we resolve to follow our road traffic rules in letter and spirit, the whole nation along with its leaders (who are at present the target of extreme criticism) would start showing that level of maturity, which is essential for bringing about substantial change in the entire fabric of the society.
Before anyone socialises with his relatives and friends outside the precincts of his home, he has to come into contact with innumerable kinsmen in the form of fellow commuters on the roads. To each he owes the obligation of care and kindness, especially those who are less privileged yet when we are on the wheels of our vehicles, we are suddenly transformed into incredible hulks who are on a vengeance spree, sparing neither humans nor animals, disregarding all norms and values and, of course, shamelessly violating the rules.
When caught red-handed, instead of admitting our mistake, we pounce upon authority figures with audacity, tossing arms and wielding pressure by bragging about connections with influential people of the land or simply, argue incoherently.
Many attempts have been made to enforce traffic law and at times these proved to be very successful. However, it has been observed that things begin to deteriorate the moment a public figure or member of his family is caught in a vehicle with tinted glasses or is found involved in a hit-and-run incident or has an unauthorised number plate or under whose patronage unfit vehicles ply on the roads, then hell breaks loose on those responsible courageous traffic officials who dared to catch these elite law-breakers.
With being punished for fulfilling one's duty, why should any officer pay attention to maintaining law and order on the roads? As a result, a few isolated incidences of high-handedness cause immense inconvenience to the innocent members of the public.
Though it may not be possible for the government to provide an infantry of police wardens for every area of the country, yet a few measures could prove to be of long lasting benefit. Amongst these are:
--- Extreme care in issuing driving licences and immediate confiscation of the vehicles driven by unlicensed persons.
--- Include traffic and civic laws in the curriculum of all schools right from the primary level.
--- Introduce media campaign on a war footing to educate the public about these rules.
--- Fill the cities with banners, streamers and hoarding emphasising importance of observation of these rules.
--- Use the electronic media to widely circulate fatal accidents showing their causes and how they could have been prevented.
If the local governments can manage to enforce traffic laws effectively, there is no reason why this nation cannot be trained to follow suit in other areas of their lives. By observing discipline on the roads, a sense of discipline would also become embedded within its soul inspiring every member of the society to instinctively queue up where required, to be more courteous towards others, to volunteer support to a needy, to denounce acts detrimental to the peace and serenity of society, to prevent national, historic landmarks and buildings from being disfigured by naughty elements, to respect persons with physical and mental challenges and in short, to nurture a feeling of pride of being part of a highly regarded nation.
(The writers, tax lawyers, are Adjunct Professors at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)