Jammu, May 06: The traffic department of the state has installed numerous traffic signals all over the Jammu city to ease the regular traffic jams in the city which have been creating chaos in the city for the vehicle owners and the pedestrians equally.
But the purpose for which these signals have been installed is not being served to the extent the department had desired partly due to the lack of traffic sense among the vehicle owners and partly due to the lethargic attitude of the traffic police officials who forget that they also have a duty to manage the crossings till citizens learn to obey the traffic signals.
What the traffic department forgets is that merely installing traffic signals does not bring traffic discipline on roads and it needs to be followed up by alert traffic policemen to educate the people to obey the traffic rules and signals particularly in the areas where people are not used to such signals.
Even in advanced states like Delhi, the traffic police can always been seen manning the intersections to challan any person who crosses the red signal to drive home the point that breaking signals is not so easy.
However here in Jammu and Kashmir it has been observed that once traffic signal is installed at an intersection the officials manning the roads heave a sigh of relief and either abandon the intersection or get busy in chats while the law is being broken brazenly by the commuters.
The intersection at Bikram Chowk is an example at hand where people can be seen zooming in even when the green light has turned orange with policemen sitting aside on the other end without intercepting the violator which only discourages the people who have stopped beyond the zebra crossing after the light turns orange.
At the same time it is also a fact that at many small intersections the timing of the signals is more than required which again discourages the drivers to wait for 90 seconds even as there is no vehicle running on the road.
It is imperative for the traffic department to first educate its own men of how to manage the intersections after the signals have been installed and how to educate the drivers on road who are facing these kinds of restrictions for the first time.
But nothing of the sort is being done and it seems the traffic department is interested only in cosmetic implementations and the number of challans it has effected rather than instilling a sense of discipline among the drivers.
The rash driving by the young boys on Jammu streets is a common sight these days with many young lives having vanished due to high speed biking but it hardly effects the administration which has till now failed to curb the menace which not only results in loss of life to the driver but also to the innocent pedestrians who are crushed by these speeding young bikers.
The traffic signals at various places had come as a sign of relief for the commuters and parents but the way these signals are left to the mercy of the drivers has raised many questions instead of answering any.
The department must wake up to the reality and survey the roads properly to see where the signals are actually required and how much time the signal must get according to traffic besides putting its alert men across the chowks to catch the violators so that the drivers learn to respect the law of the land and the traffic signals.
For such an initiative the department can seek the services of other states like Delhi where traffic signals are a success and help maintain the traffic instead of creating more chaos as in Jammu.
Installing signals must serve the real purpose otherwise it would be seen as an activity by the government to help the blue eyed contractors of the department with no effective results on ground.