(About the Lesson)
Here the
writer tells us about some of the important rules of the road. All the users of
the road ought to know these rules and follow them strictly. A knowledge of
these rules will save them from accidents and accidents and help in the free
flow of traffic.
There is
story of a man who thought he had a right to do what he liked. One day, this
gentleman was walking along a busy road, spinning his walking stick round and
round in his hand trying to look important. A man walking behind him objected.
“you ought
not to spin your walking-stick round like that!” he said
“I am free
to do what I like with my walking-stick,” argued the gentleman.
“Of course,
you are,” said the other man, “but you ought to know that your freedom ends
where my nose begins.”
The story
tells us that we can enjoy our rights and freedom only if they do not interfere
with other people’s rights and freedom.
There are
very few of us, of course, who will argue like the gentleman in the story, that
we have a right to go about spinning our walking-sticks in a busy street. We
certainlay do not interfere on purpose with other people’s way without knowing
it This happens when we act without thinking or when we disobey rules that we
ought to obey.
Let us look
at some of the things we sometimes do without thinking of other people’s
convenience. Someone is getting married in one of the houses in a crowded
street. Suddenly one morning a loudspeaker, put up outside the house, begins to
broadcast loud gramophone music. The music doesn’t stop for two or three days
Sick people, in nearby houses, can’t sleep in quiet; students preparing for
examinations can’t do any reading; and everybody is forced to listen to the
music! The people in the house where the wedding is taking place do not, of
course, mean any harm to their neighbours. They just do not realize that they
are acting without any thought for other people’s convenience. Sometimes they
do not care even if someone does object. But really there is no need for a
loudspeaker outside the house at all. All the guests in the house can hear the
music without it.
We often
come across an example of want of thought for other people’s convenience, when
we travel in railway trains. Here is one. Some of the passengers may be trying
to sleep. Suddenly two or three persons, who can’t sleep or don’t want to get
interested in politics and begin a loud argument on India’s foreign policy! And
they go on arguing for house. The other passengers, who are more interested at
that moment in sleep than in India’s foreign policy are forced to listen to the
whole argument and go without their sleep.
Of course,
everybody does not behave in this way. One can see, now and then. Examples of a
different kind of behaviour. We sometimes notice with pleasure a young man in a
bus giving up his seat to an elderly person or to a woman who has got into the
bus with a baby in her arms. When a man sitting in a train turns to the person
next to him and asks, May I smoke?” He
is giving thought to the convenience of the other person. When two motorists,
coming from opposite directions at night, dim the lights of their vehicles,
they are being helpful to each other. In all such actions, we give up a little
of our freedom and convenience so that other people may enjoy theirs, and may
run smoothly for all.
There are no
rules to tell us how we ought to behave or ought not to behave in all matters.
But in some matters, there are rules that all have to obey. Take for example,
the rules of the road. The purpose of these rules is to make the roads safe for
everybody. The roads in our cities and towns are getting more and more busy
with traffic these days. All kinds of vehicles, some slow, some fast, fill the
rods during the greater part of the day. If people disobey traffic rules,
accidents happen sooner or later. There are rules for pedestrians as well as
for vehicles and every user of the road ought to know the rules.
Here is
important rule for pedestrians. They ought to keep to the footpath and leave
the middle of the road for vehicles. Where there is no footpath, pedestrians
must keep close to the edge of the road. If they do not obey rules, they will
cause danger to themselves as well as to others. A driver may turn his vehicle
suddenly to avoid a pedestrian and in doing so, may knock down someone else; he
may even lose control of his vehicle and drive over the footpath and knock down
several people.
All vehicles
should keep to the left and leave the right half of the road free for those,
coming from the opposite direction. This is the traffic rule in all parts of
India. In some countries in the west, however, vehicles have to keep to the
right and not to the left. It does not matter whether it is right or left, but
everyone should obey the rule. Cyclists should always keep to the edge of the
road and not get in the way of other vehicles or of pedestrians. We often see
two or more cyclists riding together side by side right in the middle of the
road. Traffic rules do not allow this where the road is busy, this will
interfere with the flow of traffic and cause accidents. The rule about
overtaking is an equally important rule. One vehicle should overtake another
vehicle only on the right, because otherwise it may get in the way of the
vehicle which is trying to keep to the left.
There are rules about right of way where roads
cross each other. There is usually a roundabout at these places.
The vehicle coming from the right has right of
way over the one coming from the left. If every driver follows this rule,
traffic round a bouts will flow quite smoothly and accidents can be avoided.
Drivers of
vehicles should never fail to give the
right singnals, because otherwise there is great danger of accidents happening.
There are singnals for turning right or left, for showing down and for stopping
and for letting another vehicle overtake yours. Cyclists are often careless
about giving signals, thinking that these are important only for motorists. But
all road users, cyclists as well as motorists, ought to have the right signals
so that others on the road may be warned. Pedestrians too should have a
knowledge of these signals so that they may be able to tell which way the
vehicles on the road are going to pass.
Above all,
everyone using the public road ought to obey the policeman on traffic duty.
This is the most important rule of all. Just imagine what would happen in a
busy street filled with pedestrians and speeding vehicles, if there was no
policeman on duty. You will quickly realize how important the work of the
policeman is; and then you will always obey him and never be angry with him
even when you think he is wrong and you are right.