Understanding Red, Yellow, Green More than just colours

Red, Yellow, Green. Each of this signal tells the driver what to do as one approaches a traffic island. Red means stop. Yellow means slow down. And Green means go. Other than these traffic lights, Zebra crossing is another term that motorists need to be educated on, seriously. Given the growing volume of vehicles on the roads of Imphal it becomes indispensable for everyone behind the wheel to stick to traffic rules and regulations to ensure the safety of everyone. Defeats the very understanding of Zebra crossings, the Yellow signal as well as the Red signal when drivers have no compunction in parking their vehicle plum on the Zebra crossing when signalled to stop via the Red light. It was with a reason why The Sangai Express felt it necessary to carry a story on how Zebra crossings have become the favourite spot for many to stop their vehicles when the Red signal comes on and top this off with the report that no motorist has ever been penalised for going beyond the Zebra crossing when asked to stop and here is the prefect recipe for the all round chaos that one sees on the roads of Imphal on a daily basis. Yellow means to slow down and the relevant question is how many actually slow down when this signal comes on ? On the contrary it is not uncommon to see motorists suddenly picking up speed when the Yellow signal comes on to beat the Red signal that will follow ! Something is just not right with the mentality of the people for refusing to obey the traffic signals reflects a mentality that says, ‘don’t care for the others, as long as I can proceed.’ This is not the first time that The Sangai Express is commenting on the circus that is being enacted on the roads of Imphal and this will not be the last either for the traffic chaos and madness that one sees on a daily basis is due to the mentality of the people. So while many continue to refuse to see the significance of the traffic signals as well as the Zebra crossings, many others still need to be educated on the use of the high beam as well as the dipper when driving in the night. Speeding with the headlights put on high beam means it is literally blinding the driver coming from the opposite direction and here is a tale of scripting the perfect conditions for a head on collision. All these instances should jolt the senses of the people that thinking about others when using the road is indispensable in making the roads of Imphal safer for everyone concerned. Perhaps the mentality of the road users in Imphal may best be known by the devil may care attitude that manifests itself when no thought is given to the habit of honking mindlessly even though the vehicle in front has to stop because the Red signal has come on. But who actually gives any thought to this ?
The Zebra crossing is for the use of pedestrians and telling the motorists to respect the rights of the people on foot. Respecting the space of others and if something as simple as this refuses to get registered in the mindset of the people behind the wheels then it should say something significant about the overall attitude of the people towards others. Not at all a healthy sign. It is this same mindset that comes out in all its ugliness when one sees motorists happily yakking away on the mobile phone while driving. Not uncommon to see people on two wheelers yakking away on the mobile phone which has been secured in the wedge between the ears and the helmet and here is a case of endangering anyone out on the road. Like the case of the  Zebra crossing, The Sangai Express has never heard of the cops penalising anyone for talking on the mobile phone while driving. On January 5 this year, the Road Safety Month was launched and this is the second time that The Sangai Express is commenting on how the traffic rules are being flouted with impunity with no corrective measures being taken up seen at all. All traffic rules violators need to be pulled up and penalised and a strong message ought to be conveyed that the roads are not the playground of anyone.