Spare the many

Consider this spectacle: A vehicle with a missing or inactive electronic tag enters the cashless express lane on the highway. The barrier, of course, does not open. A dozen cars get stuck behind the offender. The staff asks everybody to reverse, creating chaos, frustration, and wasted time for everyone. Unfortunately, this absurdity is not a page out of a Monty Python script, but plays out regularly at our motorway toll plazas.

It is emblematic of not only poor management, but also of a mindset which is willing to punish the many for transgressions of the few. Surely, it does not require an ‘Einstein’ to improve this appalling process by allowing the violator to pass the barrier and park on the side, where he/she can be properly reprimanded and penalised while others can merrily go their way unobstructed.

Adeel Ahmed

Lahore