As I was on my way home this evening, driving during the peak traffic hours, I began asking myself the same question, yet again. Am I a freak because I believe in adhering to traffic rules and not just because there is a traffic policeman right around the corner?
I stopped on a red light, all the people I had just left behind did not stop and I ended up having to drive after them since they don't see it fit to stop on an unmanned red light crossing. I was the only one standing and waiting for the light to turn green.
On the next red light, the traffic suddenly started moving even though the light hadn't turned green. I drove forward and stopped before the STOP line. There was a motorcyclist behind me, apparently disgusted with my act. He started honking and, as usual, I turned a deaf ear to it. He kept screaming for a while then found a corner and went ahead. Not before telling me - "Madam! What is wrong with you?!". Obviously, he didn't wait to listen to the answer. There were two small children on his motorcycle, looking at me with obvious bewilderment at my stupidity. I pointed to the kid and said "Red light". He looked at the light that was red indeed.
The motorcycle sped away. However, I was left wondering what this child would do once he grows up. Clearly, like the adult with him, he is likely to think people don't need to stop on a red light. And oh there are freaks around that just keep braking. I shuddered to think of the new generation. I firmly believe that the young people of this country are capable of bringing about change, change that makes lives better for the masses. They are the ones who would finally drag the country out of the jaws of corruption and callousness. Perhaps I am wrong. They might just grow into people who brought them up, doing the same thing, probably worse since they would be armed with the new technologies.
Ironically, it turned out that the signal was indeed faulty, all lights were red at the same time. I waited 2-3 more minutes and drove ahead. Sigh. I lost a speck of my conviction.
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2 comments:
When I went to my friend's wedding in Chennai, I commented on the traffic as well. Even when there was someone apparently directing traffic in the intersection, a large group of people would still run the red light. It was really foreign to my American eyes because you'd almost *never* see that in the US. According to my friend, that was pretty common, although she never ran a red light while we were with her.
@elwing
Jumping red lights is certainly not uncommon here. In fact, if you were surprised at Chennai, you should see some smaller cities. I think in metropolitan cities it is less prevalent because these cities usually have more police and greater fines.
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