Imlisanen Jamir
It may seem like common sense to most of us, but motorists need to stick to their lane when driving through the newly completed four lane highway from Purana Bazar in Dimapur to Chümoukedima.
The number of accidents and near misses which are being caused due to motorists’ unwillingness to follow lane discipline is a cause of worry. The Dimapur Police also noted a week back that most of the recent accidents occurring in the highway are due to motorists driving on the opposite lanes.
Driving etiquette has never been a forte for Nagaland’s motorists, but with the completion of large sections of the four lane highway, this tawdry disregard for traffic rules is bound to have tragic consequences.
For one, we need to understand first why lane discipline exists. The rule has been made to ensure there are a lower number of accidents and the faster vehicle gets the right of the way. In India, faster cars or those who want to execute an overtake need to do it from the right lane. It is expected that in a right-hand drive country like ours, people tend to check their right-side mirror more often. This way, the vehicle coming from behind can easily be spotted and a collision averted.
If you end up in the right lane and are driving much below the speed limit, it is fair that you let the faster driver behind overtake. For this, look at your left side mirror and keeping an eye on the approaching traffic, put in the turn indicator. It is also imperative that you also turn your neck if possible to check for blind spots that might not be visible in the mirror. Merge with the traffic and let the one behind you overtake. This ensures the harmony of coordinated driving.
While these guidelines exist, a number of factors make them extremely difficult and many a times near impossible to follow. For one, there is a visible lack of enforcement of traffic rules on the highway and when offenders do catch the eye of the cops, there are hardly any consequences. Compound this with the haphazard parking and worst of all those who insist on driving on the opposite lanes and it’s a hot mess.
Road safety is one of the least understood and followed concepts in Nagaland. But it is important to understand that road safety is a double-sided and complimentary exercise. Maintaining road discipline and ensuring road safety will bear less fruit if the police or the motorists fail to do their part.
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