Traffic system again on test
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Shahiduzzaman Khan
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) enforced a new set of traffic rules this week in order to bring discipline on the city streets. On the first day of its enforcement, response from the running transport was poor, and there were reports that on-duty sergeants had arrested a good number of delinquent drivers for violating the traffic rules. Earlier, the DMP had announced that from December 8, drivers violating signal lights or lane rules could be fined a maximum Tk 1,000 with three months' licence suspension.
In this respect, the DMP personnel have demonstrated reasonable sincerity in enforcing the rules. There were enough preparations from their side, although the agency is short of sufficient manpower. Traffic police and sergeants were trained on how to go after law-violating drivers, how to fine them with accelerated tariff and take them to custody in case of their refusal. On the first day, sergeants made bold endeavour to hold up the fleeing cars on the streets and in doing so, there was huge traffic snarls all over the city. But also, a good number of drivers were seen unaware of the new traffic rules.
According to the new rules, the fast lane of selected city streets has been reserved for private cars, microbuses, sports utility vehicles and such kind of automobiles, the middle lane for minibuses, buses, covered vans and similar vehicles and the slow lane for CNG-run auto rickshaws, pickup vans, motorbikes and similar vehicles. There would be, however, exceptions only for the motorcades of the president and the prime minister in using the lanes while all other vehicles, including those of the rest of VIPs, will have to follow the automated traffic signals.
The DMP claimed that for the last two weeks, it had observed an awareness campaign throughout the city to educate the car drivers about the new traffic rules. The authorities divided the roads in three parts for systematic running of different kinds of vehicles. But unfortunately the drivers got little training out of the DMP campaign. It is a widely accepted fact that a significant number of the buses, three-wheelers and truck drivers have fake driving licences. They use to obtain these licences from the BRTA by giving bribes. As most of them are illiterates, they bother a little about traffic rules. How can one expect a disciplined traffic from them?
However, country's Transport Workers Federation authorities claimed that they had trained the drivers so that they (drivers) could go by the new traffic rules and help police to improve congestions on the roads that waste hundreds of working hours on working days. It is believed that, despite the move by the DMP, it would take some time to get the drivers habituated with the new system.
It has been seen that when a new system is enforced, most of the buses and CNG auto rickshaws without valid documents, disappear from the streets. What is the reason? Obviously, they try to escape imminent crackdown by the DMP. Most of these buses and autos are outmoded and old, beyond 20 years. Earlier, the government had taken up a crash programme to eliminate older vehicles from the streets. But the programme ended up in futile exercise. Some old vehicles were hauled up and thrown into the garbage but their number is far less than the anticipated counting by the DMP authorities. Old buses and cars have returned to the streets with renewed vigour.
What will happen this time to those violating traffic rules? According to a transport analyst, nothing is going to happen. The violations will continue to give enough sufferings to the commuters. The three-lane system will continue until the DMP keeps its present rigid stand. Afterwards, any laxity in its enforcement will end up in total collapse of the system and make a mockery of situation, he added.
Indeed, no system appears to work for a mega city terribly haunted by ever-rising traffic. The DMP, along with the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), suddenly decided to switch over to automated traffic signal. The preparations were highly inadequate. They did not learn from their past failures when the automated system was launched. Some of the automated traffic signals had gone out of order since long. Without repairing those, the authorities re-launched the system in haste and faced an unprecedented challenge. With the re-launching of the new automated system, the traffic system appeared on the verge of complete breakdown with the roads and highways getting tediously clogged. Then, the DMP and the DCC started accusing each other for the lapses in re-launching the system. Without synchronising each and every traffic light, what had led them to go for such a dubious re-launch so suddenly?
When the city fathers and the traffic police could realise their fault, they put an abrupt halt to the system and started both manual and automated traffic signaling which, to some extent, calmed the situation. Yet the traffic snarls continued unabated giving a damn to the automated signalling system. Commuters continued to suffer for the city's number one problem -- traffic jams. There is no immediate respite, indeed.
Elevated expressways, monorails, flyovers etc., are some of the options the government is seriously weighing. In a congested city inhabited by about 15 million people, construction of expressways, flyovers and underground rail should brook no delay. There should be a crash programme to build these facilities. The communications ministry has to give extra attention to raising funds and implement these projects. But, nevertheless, singular attention must be given to seriously address the city's ever-rising traffic gridlock problem.
szkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.com
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) enforced a new set of traffic rules this week in order to bring discipline on the city streets. On the first day of its enforcement, response from the running transport was poor, and there were reports that on-duty sergeants had arrested a good number of delinquent drivers for violating the traffic rules. Earlier, the DMP had announced that from December 8, drivers violating signal lights or lane rules could be fined a maximum Tk 1,000 with three months' licence suspension.
In this respect, the DMP personnel have demonstrated reasonable sincerity in enforcing the rules. There were enough preparations from their side, although the agency is short of sufficient manpower. Traffic police and sergeants were trained on how to go after law-violating drivers, how to fine them with accelerated tariff and take them to custody in case of their refusal. On the first day, sergeants made bold endeavour to hold up the fleeing cars on the streets and in doing so, there was huge traffic snarls all over the city. But also, a good number of drivers were seen unaware of the new traffic rules.
According to the new rules, the fast lane of selected city streets has been reserved for private cars, microbuses, sports utility vehicles and such kind of automobiles, the middle lane for minibuses, buses, covered vans and similar vehicles and the slow lane for CNG-run auto rickshaws, pickup vans, motorbikes and similar vehicles. There would be, however, exceptions only for the motorcades of the president and the prime minister in using the lanes while all other vehicles, including those of the rest of VIPs, will have to follow the automated traffic signals.
The DMP claimed that for the last two weeks, it had observed an awareness campaign throughout the city to educate the car drivers about the new traffic rules. The authorities divided the roads in three parts for systematic running of different kinds of vehicles. But unfortunately the drivers got little training out of the DMP campaign. It is a widely accepted fact that a significant number of the buses, three-wheelers and truck drivers have fake driving licences. They use to obtain these licences from the BRTA by giving bribes. As most of them are illiterates, they bother a little about traffic rules. How can one expect a disciplined traffic from them?
However, country's Transport Workers Federation authorities claimed that they had trained the drivers so that they (drivers) could go by the new traffic rules and help police to improve congestions on the roads that waste hundreds of working hours on working days. It is believed that, despite the move by the DMP, it would take some time to get the drivers habituated with the new system.
It has been seen that when a new system is enforced, most of the buses and CNG auto rickshaws without valid documents, disappear from the streets. What is the reason? Obviously, they try to escape imminent crackdown by the DMP. Most of these buses and autos are outmoded and old, beyond 20 years. Earlier, the government had taken up a crash programme to eliminate older vehicles from the streets. But the programme ended up in futile exercise. Some old vehicles were hauled up and thrown into the garbage but their number is far less than the anticipated counting by the DMP authorities. Old buses and cars have returned to the streets with renewed vigour.
What will happen this time to those violating traffic rules? According to a transport analyst, nothing is going to happen. The violations will continue to give enough sufferings to the commuters. The three-lane system will continue until the DMP keeps its present rigid stand. Afterwards, any laxity in its enforcement will end up in total collapse of the system and make a mockery of situation, he added.
Indeed, no system appears to work for a mega city terribly haunted by ever-rising traffic. The DMP, along with the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), suddenly decided to switch over to automated traffic signal. The preparations were highly inadequate. They did not learn from their past failures when the automated system was launched. Some of the automated traffic signals had gone out of order since long. Without repairing those, the authorities re-launched the system in haste and faced an unprecedented challenge. With the re-launching of the new automated system, the traffic system appeared on the verge of complete breakdown with the roads and highways getting tediously clogged. Then, the DMP and the DCC started accusing each other for the lapses in re-launching the system. Without synchronising each and every traffic light, what had led them to go for such a dubious re-launch so suddenly?
When the city fathers and the traffic police could realise their fault, they put an abrupt halt to the system and started both manual and automated traffic signaling which, to some extent, calmed the situation. Yet the traffic snarls continued unabated giving a damn to the automated signalling system. Commuters continued to suffer for the city's number one problem -- traffic jams. There is no immediate respite, indeed.
Elevated expressways, monorails, flyovers etc., are some of the options the government is seriously weighing. In a congested city inhabited by about 15 million people, construction of expressways, flyovers and underground rail should brook no delay. There should be a crash programme to build these facilities. The communications ministry has to give extra attention to raising funds and implement these projects. But, nevertheless, singular attention must be given to seriously address the city's ever-rising traffic gridlock problem.
szkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.com