GOOD MOTORING
Stick to the rules
H. Kishie Singh

There are a number of dangers on the road and they are of our own making. In one case, the responsibility lies directly with the oil companies. Most often the staff is not well trained and it is common to see pump attendants holding a glass of tea in one hand as they pump fuel with the other. I consider this rude and sloppy.

Some petrol stations do not have defined entry and exit points. Cars enter the pump area from any direction and end up parked nose to nose. This necessitates reversing. A lot of people can’t reverse so this causes more chaos. It would seem many drivers don’t know which side their fuel filter is located. Someone should direct the driver to stop on the correct side of the pump.

Another very irritating scenario: as soon as you come to a halt in front of a pump, for sure the attendant will tell you to move to the next one. He will make you fire up your engine unnecessarily. This is another example of being disorganised and undisciplined.

This lack of discipline can spell danger too — when the ban on the use of cell phones while refuelling is not enforced. Often drivers talk on their cell phones when they get out of their cars to supervise the refuelling. This could lead to disaster and the petrol station and oil company would be entirely responsible.

Beggars at traffic lights are a safety hazard too. Here’s a real life story. A little beggar girl approached a woman driver for an offering. As the woman was digging into her handbag for a coin, the light changed to green so she was obliged to move off. As she passed the beggar, the girl gave the rear light a whack with her begging bowl, breaking the glass. That was about Rs 1,500 worth of damage.

At the Press Chowk in Chandigarh there is a regular beggar. A pathetic sight. A bedraggled dirty man with a beard and saliva dripping from his mouth. His modus operandi is simple. He approaches a car and bows, touching the bonnet with his forehead, and leaving blobs of saliva on the bonnet. It is really a most distasteful and disgusting sight. It’s time the police addressed itself to this problem. Come to think of it, some years ago there were no beggars on Chandigarh roads, which are considered the best and most well lit in the country.

Road users must follow traffic rules. The Chandigarh Traffic Police is not tough at all times. If it is, chances are the driver is at fault. Take this instance, traffic cops on Dakshan Marg flagged down a Mahindra SUV, which was in front of my car. The driver zig-zagged to avoid the police. He was again flagged down at the next round about, and again the driver tried the zig-zag technique to avoid the police. A policeman then stepped on the road in front of the SUV. To avoid hitting the policeman, the SUV hit my car. We all came to a halt and the policeman confronted the driver, who was nervous, shaken and most apologetic. He was coming from a village in Haryana and carrying a very sick patient to the PGI. At first the policeman got tough with the driver but on finding that his story was true, he took a lenient and humane view. "Sir," the constable requested me, "the man he has with him is genuinely unwell, we should not hold them up." The police let the vehicle proceed on its mission of mercy.

Happy motoring