Road safety should become a personal responsibility rather than a reaction of fear of penalties. As far as traffic literacy and traffic discipline are concerned, people in Jammu appear to be far ahead of people in Kashmir.
Farhanna Shafiq
A few days ago, I had to travel from my home to distribute sacrificial meat on Eid. The journey stretched from south to north Kashmir, where my maternal uncle lives. During this long drive, I observed and felt many things related to traffic behaviour and road discipline.
What I noticed was quite disturbing. I realised that many people in Kashmir behave carelessly when it comes to following traffic rules. Perhaps I noticed this more deeply because I have been living in Jammu for the past three years, where traffic discipline is comparatively much better. Whether the traffic police are present or not, people there generally follow their lanes properly. Two-wheeler riders wear helmets responsibly; not just the rider but even the pillion passenger usually wears one.
During my entire journey, I barely saw three or four bikers wearing helmets properly and nowhere did I see a pillion with a helmet. What surprised me even more was that many riders actually carried helmets, but instead of wearing them, they simply hung them on their bikes. It made me feel that perhaps they only carried helmets out of fear of traffic police checkpoints ahead, not out of concern for their own safety.
In contrast, during my three years in Jammu, I can hardly remember seeing people riding without helmets. This clearly reflects that many of us are more worried about avoiding traffic fines than protecting our own lives.
The most shocking moment came when I saw two men riding a scooty on the Srinagar bypass while carrying two sheep with them. One sheep was somehow placed in front of the driver near his legs, while the other passenger held another sheep on his lap in the back seat. Looking at them through the car window made me laugh in disbelief, but at the same time, it left me genuinely shocked.
I even observed this behaviour within my own family. My father repeatedly wore and removed his seat belt during intervals of the journey. When I asked him to keep it on, he casually replied, “Nothing happens from this.”
This entire experience reminded me of something I had studied during my B.Sc Nursing course: health behaviour approaches – a concept that focuses on the idea that lifestyle choices directly mould disease risk, and these actions can be modified through learning, environmental restructuring and psychological techniques to simply prevent illness and improve the quality of life; how people approach disease prevention, and whether they adopt protective behaviours for their own well-being.
I realised that traffic behaviour is also deeply connected somehow to such behaviours and approaches. Many of us in Kashmir still do not fully understand the importance of road safety. We often wear helmets or seatbelts only when traffic police are around, not because we truly value our lives and safety.
I believe we need to work on our attitudes, behaviours, and approaches towards traffic rules. Road safety should become a personal responsibility rather than a reaction of fear of penalties. Perhaps I would never have observed this difference so clearly if I hadn’t lived outside Kashmir.
As far as traffic literacy and traffic discipline are concerned, based on what I have personally observed, people in Jammu appear to be far ahead of people in Kashmir.
Bottomline:
Traffic police appear to be doing well nowadays in Kashmir. More strictness and hefty fines are the need of the hour to reinforce the modification of our behaviours. To save the youngsters from falling prey to accidents. To bring discipline on the road. Besides. Period.
Farhanna Shafiq is an Intensive Care Nurse at the Government Medical College, Jammu.
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