Road discipline through self discipline

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The lack of discipline is a factor that all road users, be it motorists or pedestrians are well aware of. At one time we indeed were a nation of disciplined people but sadly though it is eroding fast. The best manifestation of this fact is observed in road transport, in particular between 0600 to 0900 hours and 1630 to 1930 hours. In my observations, I have come across two key contributors, namely:

The lack of discipline on the part of pedestrians and motorists.
Absence of innovative methods in the road traffic management that can instill disciple in motorists and pedestrians.

An outsider trying to use our roads during peak hours will surely know that it is free-for-all, where the fittest will survive. It is extremely sad to realise that in a span of 200 years our self discipline has hit such low depths and is indeed a disgrace to our forefathers. This speedy deterioration has really accelerated in the last 25 to 30 years. Disciplined and righteous forefathers In 1815 the British took over our nation, and one of the acts of then Governor was to appoint a Government Agent for the North Central area based in Anuradhapura. In one of his monthly reports he has written as follows: It was the night before Vesak full moon day, and in the evening he found a large number of people parked in his garden and they were silently going about their work, and cooking the dinner. He says after dinner he went to sleep and got up in the early morning expecting to see the villagers still in his garden. By then they had all gone and his garden was spotlessly clean, and there were no telltale marks. (What would it have been today?). Two or three days after Vesak he had sent two people to bring the till that was kept near the Sri Maha Bodhi Tree. He found that there was over

Rs. 180, a princely sum of money those days. He goes on to say that two able-bodied people could easily have lifted the till and vanished into the thick forest nearby without a trace. (We all know what happens to temple/church tills, Buddha statues today and how thieves steal these things.) Then he goes on to say that if this much of money was left in a till in a place of worship in his country, it would surely have been stolen. This tells us how disciplined and righteous our forefathers were. Accidents during Avurudu This lack of discipline has been well demonstrated by the number of accidents during the New Year period in April this year when 65 people, motorists as well as pedestrians, were killed. Thus it is increasingly evident that there is acute need to create a system that while optimising the usage of road inventory also reduce the loss of lives and property. All drivers must possess both knowledge and wisdom. They must have an understanding of the vehicle being driven, know the roads or have the knowledge where to find, road rules, traffic signals, about pedestrians using the road, etc. Then they must have the wisdom of using the knowledge to drive the vehicle based on the needs and wants, while respecting others needs and wants as well and conforming to road rules and regulations. Unfortunately the wisdom part seems to have deserted us, and thus the quagmire we get into daily when using the road network. Proposed changes Creating a well-structured traffic management system can lead to a reduction in congestion through instilling discipline in our road users. With increasing dual carriage ways, we will definitely see an improvement in road discipline. Yet, unless we start now, the free-for-all attitudes of our motorists will continue to prevail. The following proposals provide a number of changes to the existing system which will enable this vision to be realised:

The centres of junctions and intersections should be demarcated with yellow lines such that traffic should flow continuously in these areas. This area is the preserve of traffic police and motorists must always be on the move on this patch of road. If a motorist stops their vehicle on this area, then they become liable to be fined. In other words motorists must assure themselves that there is sufficient room beyond the yellow lines to proceed forward. This will in essence ensure that the patch of road will always remain vacant even in rush hours allowing for smoother movement.
To install traffic cameras at all such points so that any vehicle/s in violation of the rule gets photographed, thus providing proof of the violation and fines imposed accordingly.
At present passenger buses do not conform to the rule of allowing passengers to embark or disembark a bus at designated points but use their free will to accept or disembark passengers at any point on the road. The previous rules where bus drivers were penalised for taking passengers outside bus halts has not been effective. Hence it is proposed that both the passenger as well as the driver is fined if they use any place other than a bus stop for embarking or disembarking.
Where there are four lanes, the buses should be restricted to the outer lane. Often it is noted that buses use the lanes of oncoming traffic to overtake other buses and resulting in a free for all. This has become quite dangerous and other vehicles are at their mercy. Action should be taken against such bus drivers. Equally those who conform to the rules must be complimented by way of a monthly award which can be sponsored by the private sector.

It is quite evident to any regular road user that the container trucks too happen to get hyper active during the evening from 1600 to 2000 hours. Indeed one container truck occupies space of three cars and due to the need of space and the need for space to manoeuvre becomes an impediment. Therefore I suggest that during the hours 0600 to 0900 and 1600 to 1930 hours all container trucks and lorries be kept off road. However since they will be losing one of their rights, the right to use the road on a 24 hour basis an incentive for same should be provided. This incentive can include reduction of license fee and those who refrain from using the road in the restricted hours also being provided with a reduced import duty when importing new or reconditioned trucks and lorries. On the other hand those who are not willing to abide by the restricted time zones should be levied a license fee premium over the normal fee, and no reduction in import duty for new or reconditioned vehicles.

Under no circumstance should the road be considered as a static asset which is always there. In essence it is a perishable asset, time related and whose use must be optimised. The Perishable Asset Revenue Management (PARM) principles apply to the road asset just as to a passenger airline, rail track, cruise liner, retail management, hotel or any other time related asset. Burden to national economy The suggestions mentioned above are both to ensure trouble free transport as well as to optimise utilisation of the road asset. The current road congestion specially in and around Colombo City is causing loss of national productive time, foreign exchange while increasing g carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere. By many accounts, the burning of fuel in traffic congestions results in loss of billions of rupees annually and is increasing year on year

exponentially. In addition the wastage of productive man-hours is a burden to national economy. In 2009 a survey done by University of Moratuwa placed the loss due to idle fuel burn in traffic congestions and lost productive time at Rs. 32 billion. Asian Tribune in an article published in 2007 placed the loss at Rs. 489 billion. Due to the recent development activities the road users are being provided with motorways as well as better structured and wider dual-carriage trunk roads with up to date facilities such as traffic lights with high visibility, proper illumination at night, pedestrian pathways and various other facilities. Yet unless our errant motorists discipline themselves we may not be able to utilise these facilities and optimise the usage of this road inventory. How often does one see a vehicle trying to turn right is given the opportunity by oncoming traffic? If that happens then it is a very rare occurrence. This shows how our minds are conditioned. Today in this country there are thousands of beauty parlours, hair dressers, etc., to make the body beautiful. Yet how many of these people think of making the beautiful mind a reality? A beautiful mind (motorists and pedestrians) knowing the essential will always act in such a way to be an asset to other minds (motorists and pedestrians). “Sarancha sarato nathva, asarancha asaratho, thesaran adhigachchanthi, samma sankappa gochara” – having known the essential as the essential and non-essential as the non-essential, those nourished in right thinking arrive at the essential – Dhammapada. Increasing construction of dual carriage highways, widening roads and a disciplined force of motorists will bring immense benefits to the nation, and is therefore the singular and collective responsibility of each and every citizen. (The writer can be reached via [email protected].)

Road discipline through self discipline

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