Jaywalking accounts for numerous causalities though it is a very common and aberrant practice among the pedestrians in Dhaka and other big cities in the country. In this teeming mega city, in spite of having an adequate number of designated footbridges within reach, pedestrians are often found crossing roads and jumping over the dividers. Indeed, such behavior exposes our tendency not to obey the traffic rules.
Not only traffic policemen who are responsible for maintaining discipline on the roads, but also each and every one of us is responsible for it. We talk about reckless driving, unskilled drivers, unfit vehicles and many other road-safety concerns. We have written about jaywalking and how they increase the chances of accidents. But what we now need is to take necessary measures to create awareness about violation of traffic rules among pedestrians and drivers.
We need to take necessary measures to create
awareness about violation of traffic rules among
pedestrians and drivers
As long as awareness is concerned, drivers also must be aware of not using mobile phone while driving their vehicles. Citizens must obey traffic rules and maintain discipline while crossing roads and jaywalking must be strictly prohibited. Also, we need to execute stiff penalties for jaywalkers who put both themselves and the speeding vehicles in jeopardy.
We need to build a concrete social movement to make people aware about road safety and violation of traffic rules. In this regard, media should play a significant role in the way it contributed in carrying messages on family planning and use of birth control methods. Hence, traffic education should be a regular feature on print, electronic and social media. Also, it should be more emphasised in the academic syllabus at the primary level education. The culture of obeying rules must be learned and practiced from an early age. Hence, the authorities concerned should take necessary steps to include lessons on road safety in the primary school’s syllabus.
