Mr. Sood, Please respond and act, its high time !!!
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dvsquare - 10 December, 2009
| Traffic
| Bangalore
| Complaint
| Praveen Sood
| violations
| traffic management
| signals
| Enforcement
Tuesday's TOI contained a news -
1 Killed, 3 Injured When BMTC Bus Hit Their Vehicles While Trying To Jump Red Signal
What Mr. Sood has to say about it?
Its just a one incident, but the thing is that it happens on a very frequent basis, its just the FATALity is not that frequent.
Mr. Sood, what was the fault of that person who got killed and other 3 injured?
Why are you not penalizing errant drivers so that they dare not to do the same violations again in lifetime?
Why drivers (BMTC or cab or auto or any private vehicle) think that violating signals is not a big deal?
Why your police cops are just hiding somewhere near the signal to catch hold of a few slow moving vehicles, what about those who are jumping signals at faster speeds whom you dare not to catch, because try catching them might pull you under the wheels?
We as Bangalore citizens need ANSWERS to these questions, its a high time, how many more innocents are going to die because of a few errants?
Mr. Sood, still keeping hope that you will do something.
(I have already talked about similar in earlier post too here)
COMMENTS
I understand what your are trying to say Murli Sir, but I am as well very much sad about what I see everyday my trip to work and back home, or for that matter any ride on Bangalore roads.
(1) I don't understand why BMTC buses (including volvos) are allowed to enter those narrow service lanes on outer-ring-road?
(2) Why always auto drivers, BMTC drivers and cab drivers are the most frequent traffic jumpers, I know other also do, but percentage is low, and anyways I am talking about everyone.
(3) Have you ever faced a cab driver or auto driver standing behind you at a signal bullying over you, threatening you when you are not giving him side so that he can jump signal? I have faced that.
(4) Have you ever seen a lot of motorcyclists dare to easily move over the footpath honking over the pedestrians? I see many times and feel helpless. I think if we have some control on this, we don't need much more specific plans for pedestrians. If normal rider/driver's habbits and road-sense can be educated and enforced, a lot many things will be solved by itself like traffic jams, pedestrians safety etc.
(5) At many narrow lanes its normal habbit for lot of drivers to just park their car and make the lane narrower causing trouble to traffic moving there?
Its all happening around us and people are doing it without any fear, once we have a controlling entity, enforcing entity so that people should feel that I shouldn't do this, I should do that, then we will actually see a lot of difference in current statistics and then statistics.
dvsquare avare'
Ease it! Don't get too strident! Mr Sood does look into PRAJA blogs & postings, and to the extent possible, he does act. What may appear to you and me as obvious solutions, may not be quite that considering the limitations he is working under, about which we have no idea whatsoever, and perhaps he can't talk too much either. So, just express your disappointment, and leave it at that. I have done that once earlier.
blrsri -
11 December, 2009 - 15:02
as the transport minister..hes said training etc will be initiated to senstize drivers of BMTC busses..this accident was more his depts making..
The traffic cops had switched off traffic lights at the signal and manually managed traffic at the junction in question for the last few days and are turning it back on today..they are already doing their part..
Yeah in the general sense..yes..traffic cops do not have any concrete plans to improve/train ppl with their traffic sense..for example there is a defunct signal in front of mallya hosptial which was put in place when the hospitals car park was in the kanteerava stadium grounds..the parking is not there anymore but the signal remains..
Traffic cops stand just after the signal and catch ppl who jump that unnecessary signal..on the other hand allow swanky cars to park on the road in front of mallya hospital where there is no parking..these vehicles belong to influential ppl and doesnt matter even if it blocks traffic!
Generally, it's only when somebody close to you becomes the victim that people tend to wake up, and then, it's too late. As such, I can't agree with you more on what you are saying.
Certainly, there's a lot more that Mr Sood can do, and it's quite disappointing that a person of his calibre allows himself to be tied down this way - check this
Now, we all saw how Mr Baligar was shunted out of the office of the Chief Secretary at the behest of the mines mafia. There are the equally powerful BMTC/ KSRTC union mafia, and the various other mafia's of auto/ cab/ truck/ bus-owners, that Mr Sood has to bother with on a daily basis. Even the slightest mis-handling of a situation, which politicians will then immediately pounce on to take advantage of, will find him shunted off to Timbuktoo. So, I guess he has to play a balancing act. But, yes, that's costing the city dear, and is cetrtainly not good enough.
The answer perhaps lies in
- amendment of the archaic Police Act, providing for the institution of the Police Accountability Authority, which will then see the curtailment of the powers of the polity in the matter of transfer of officials.
-
Competition in the bus services sector from reputed players, following which the unions will no longer be able to hold the public to ransom through strikes, etc, like we have seen in the case of Indian Airlines (now Air-India), and, most importantly
- PRAJAgala power
Murli Sir,
I just wrote what I saw everyday on my way to office and back home. I didn't cite any incident where someone close to me became the victim. Its just that reality is what I mentioned, and everyone sees that, its only a handful of people like me who think about it, try to see some solution out of it, try to escalate it, make their mind strangled in all these activities, and rest all just smoothly ride/drive away.
I also agree with you that Mr. Sood has to deal with a lot unfavourable stuff, but that's what he has to fight out, I mean that's where we as Praja members coming in right, complaining about wrong things, or giving feedbacks of the civic stuff, if taken in a right manner, Government can make Bangalore a heaven.
Anyways, no harsh words, just hope and pray that Mr. Sood will definitely find a solution to my grievences, and if that could be solved, I strongly believe a few more problems around it will also be resolved.
@ dvsquare
As Mr.Murali has rightly pointed out, he has also done this and I have also being doing your kind of enough shouting from the roof top only to get my throat hurt.
Mr.Sood may not be in a mood to listen to 65 lakh citizens because he also has his own problems from top and also from bottom like ours. Mr.Sood is a good officer and actions initiated by him may not be available on the public domain; still it is a case of 'mounam ardha sammatham'. Priorities of top officials in bureaucracy cannot be dictated from the bottom but if it comes from the top, it is a different matter.
Look at the auto-men atrocities, fingers keep pointing at various directions and we are victims of tampered meters, harrassement with bad behavior, abusive third rate language without respect and women and children getting the worst treatment.
Look at stratified BMTC volvo service to select commuters - Recently, an RTI application has confirmed that BMTC has incurred nearly Rs.3.50 crore due to running of hi-end buses procured at fantabulous rates from money from Consolidated Fund of India (public money). A detailed report is likely to appear soon in media with comments from whistle blowers. Only wish officials had the elementary courtesy of responding to open complaints from people like us. Majority of them are having thick hides but we cannot generalise because some are very sensitive and responsive.
But we need not take all this lying down - some day some good man will take us seriously and help us lead a peaceful life and serious actions like cancelling DLs of errant drivers, automen etc., will be initiated.
- In our society, hungry crying children get the stick not milk.
- Let us continue our battle with ahimsa (blah, blah) against the evils of our society, albeit in a peaceful manner.
- Vasanth Mysoremath
From what I have seen, there has been a definite reduction in instances of catching random people in the name of just doing some paper checks. I notice that hunting parties park near "no free left" or "no U turn" situations and then catch those who ignore the signs.
But this is based on my observation in and around Whitefield and Indiranagar. I recall that recently Mr Sood had announced something to the effect that cops will stop vehicles only when something is visibly wrong (or they break the rules) with them. Hope that guidance is being followed.
Let us use recent stats published from trafic police themselves to get hold of what has changed. That is the best way to criticize and suggest.
IDS had posted a quick analysis of traffic police stats, let me switch to that post to talk more about numbers.
One person was killed when a BMTC bus ran over him while he was jogging near Kengeri in the early hours today, police said. The deceased was identified as Shivaprakash (39), police said. The bus has been seized. The driver is absconding.
For the full report in the TOI, click here
I know, there is a lot that can be improved, and no matter what the situations are and what the circumstances are, a few things are very much important to be enforced if we feel we have a good governance, I mean we cannot go away like this saying Mr. Sood has this-this limitations. I cannot stop saying all these, a recent experience again about the lane discipline (PS- By Lane discipline, I just mean that left turning people driving on left lanes and right turning drivers be on right side, that's all, I know we Indians are very uneducated to understand the meaning of LANES) - From Madivala when you go the forum, at Taverekere junction, roads diverge, one go towards Jayanagar and one goes towards Adugodi right. Now I was with my friend and we were on the right side of the left lanes. But just then a BMTC bus came from our left and just stood diagonally in front of us as there was signal . The situation you can imagine, I mean you all would have seen once daily, we wanted to go just straight and this bus is just in front of us not letting us move anywhere and a few more vehicles lined-up before us.
There are many more such incidents, and if something happens, nothing happens to BMTC buses, its the private vehicle drivers who are victims.
I always see BMTC buses going on the service lanes on the Outer Ring Road towards marathhali, I mean they are not wide enough for buses, but they still go there and huge traffic jam and chaos for the normal public.
I mean, these are a very few instances BMTC buses are actually doing their monopoly and when something happens, they just absond. Very bad.
Let me come back to another point regarding action -
(1) I see there is a very good appreciable work being done for pedestrians, there is a loud music which comes when signal becomes GREEN for pedestrians, but pedestrians are still to blame because they still don't follow. Mr. Sood, please do spread the awareness about this so appriciable development, do some campaigns for public to aware of this.
Also we do a lot of campaigns because I am hearing that there is a lot of limitations for Mr. Sood, but I don't think there will be any limitations for public awareness. I see that is the only solution which can work towards solving traffic problems in bangalore. Educate the common man and that will work.
Probably there is a need to go back to basics. How about the Traffic cops getting on an overdrive to stop and fine offenders on the streets.
Simple things like waiting for the signal to turn green before taking off ( as most 2-wheelers do...they rarely start sedately...auto's are a different ball game ...they have explosive ear shattering starts and the bigger ones (including the cabs, SUVs and car owners drive as if they own the road) and the sheer madness to get first is mind boggling.
Second one on lane discipline is completely absent from our vocabulary. Like water finding a way to flow down - our drivers are completely adept and super smart at wriggling their way through never mind if it means 90 degree turns in less than 10 feet distance just to ensure the 'pole' position. Here 2-Wheeler drivers are the biggest culprits with the auto drivers breathing down their necks but just. On roads without dividers - thats a free for all. Perhaps the Bangalore Traffic authorities have forgotten all about the Yellow line (or double white line) in the centre of the road which strictly prohibiits crossing the line. Why cant we have this brought back and more importantly strictly enforced? This would be far better compared to the police hiding at strategic locations to catch unsuspecting drivers.
Third, strictly prohibit and implement driving on footpaths, culverts and the 'non driving parts' of the road. When you find police men ignoring this blatant violation, what more 'licence' do you need to give for drivers to go berserk?
Fourth, strict implementation of the helmet role - either you lift the ban on driving without helmets or enforce it. Today even on major roads, drivers with impunity flout this rule. Many riders wear flimsy head tops which are a caricature and certain to fail in its most important duty - saving the driver's head from an injury.
Fifth, most car drivers and many two wheeler drivers continue talking on the mobile. God alone knows if these people have any brains but they are likely to cause accidents to fellow drivers as they gingerly balance the mobile near their ears supported by their chins or worse with one hand.
Can any of the Praja readers throw some light on whats stopping enforcement of rules by Mr. Sood and his team?
To end, its only gotten worse in the last few years and i really wonder if a PIL is in the offing as the executive has failed us and the Politicians - that's a topic for another post. In another context, our honourable ministers contradict each other and the officials admit that violations are comon place (http://www.deccanherald.com/content/54704/a-building-catastrophe-written-all.html).
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