Flouting traffic rules: Wrong side driving, jumping red light signal go unabated on accident-prone GT road in Amritsar

Neha Walia

Amritsar, February 8

Call it a lacuna in the system or laxity of the authorities concerned, but traffic chaos rules roads in the holy city. Despite claims of streamlining the vehicular movement and installation of traffic signals at various intersections facing bottlenecks and roads witnessing rush of vehicles, violations of traffic rules continues unabated.

The city traffic police have time and again come out with a plan to streamline traffic on roads. But they have failed to keep a tab on violators, who break traffic rules by driving on the wrong side, driving without helmet and jumping the red light signal. Such violations continue under the watchful eyes of the traffic police at several crossroads on the GT road.

At the traffic signal crossing right in front of the Khalsa College for Women on the GT road, two and four-wheeler drivers can be seen driving in the BRTS lane and jumping the red light. All this happens in front of the police post set up right on the crossing to manage traffic on one of the busiest routes in city.

Another example is the crossing in front of the Kot Khalsa Gate, where commuters, mostly youngsters and students from the GNDU and Khalsa College, often take wrong side or drive in the BRTS lane at high speed. Noticeably, the GT road, especially the stretch from Chheharta till Putlighar Chowk has seen many fatalities in road accidents in the past. Among them were commuters and vehicles driven at high speed on the wrong side or in the BRTS lane that were involved in accidents.

The police felt the need to control the speed of vehicles at these vulnerable points. So, traffic signals were installed on the stretch to manage the movement of vehicles. As traffic police personnel are not deployed at many of these signals to check for any violations, commuters continue to throw caution to the wind.

An endeavour of the traffic police to check the speed of vehicles through the newly acquired speed radar guns is an appreciable move. But, officials have yet to come up with a mechanism for proper execution of its plan to stop drivers from speeding their vehicles.

Fatalities on stretch heading from Chheharta to Putlighar Chowk

The crossing in front of the Kot Khalsa Gate is one such example where youngsters and students from the GNDU and Khalsa College often take wrong side or drive in the BRTS lane at high speed. Noticeably, the GT road, especially the stretch from Chheharta till Putlighar Chowk, has seen many fatalities in road accidents in the past.