Impudent violations of driving rules

Rawalpindi : Private and public vehicles in the city whiz by right and left without caring for each other. Frequently, people drive the way they like. At times on the left side of the road but sometimes on the right side of the road. ‘The News’ interviewed some Rawalpindi residents in this regard. They spoke as following.

“There are no driving rules here. People often do as they please. For instance, even if there are demarcated lanes, people do not stay in them. I have seen cars and bikes going the wrong way. Despite the number of horns blaring at them, the drivers really do not care,” said Abbas Raza.

“One day I was going home from the office. I indicated that I was going to turn left, when out of nowhere the car in front of me turned sharply to the right, trying to get over so he could go straight. He seemingly saw the light was green and decided to go straight instead of turning left to avoid a traffic jam. I just slammed on the breaks to avoid hitting him,” told Ali Zulfiqar.

Syed Faraz Hasan answering the question remarked, “I think bike drivers tend to be the most unpredictable. They weave in and out of traffic, at times without even observing if there are any cars in front or beside them. One day, on the way to pick up my cousins from school, a bike sideswiped my car. The bike had three persons riding on it and was attempting to move to the far left side of the road.”

“Bike is meant for one to two folks, but here it’s common to see a whole family riding on it. In the front sits a young child, followed by the father, then another child, the mother, and finally another older child in the back. I have even seen five adults on one bike,” commented Ayaz Hussain.

“There are also buses, vans, flying coaches, Suzukis, and wagons that city residents ride. All of them are crowded. Employees ride the buses, flying coaches, Suzukis, and wagons to work; students take school-college-university-specific vans. There is no difference in the style they are driven,” stated Sajid Jafri.

“Car drivers are just as senseless as bikers. On quite a few occasions, I have seen some cars changing the lane by driving up the wrong way. No amount of horn honking affects them,” articulated Jan Nisar Ali.

Irfan Naqvi spoke on ‘Qingqi’ rickshaw (ching-chi), “Then there are three-wheeled motor-powered vehicles called ‘Qingqi’ and rickshaw. ‘Qingqis’ are the most interesting of all vehicles in the city. They have three seats in the front and back and a roof on top. Apparently, only six people can sit in a ‘Qingqi’ at a time, but during rush hours I have seen two passengers sitting behind the driver thus pushing him to sit on the petrol tank.”