The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Motorists in the capital have flouted the ‘one way’ traffic rules one occasion too many. This is especially the case for the junctions below the Labor ministry and below the Changangkha Lhakhang.
These areas were designated for one way traffic to decrease traffic congestions and to reduce the possibilities of fatal accidents.
However motorists have indefinitely ignored these set ups even with the visible sign boards the authorities had put up. Some taxi drivers, according to pedestrians and residents around the area, violate these rules just to save fuel.
The proper way for a motorist to visit the Labor ministry or any area around it is to drive from the uphill stretch which goes past the UNICEF office and make a round trip from above the road which passes by the Dzongkha Development Commission (DDC) office.
The shops located just below the Changangkha Lhakhang say that accidents are inevitable and they have actually witnessed numerous accidents which went unnoticed from the traffic cops.
The penalty for violating these signs according to the traffic division is Nu 600 however if due to these incidences any accidents happens then the violator will be charged Nu 1700 under reckless driving. Generally, many accidents occur due to this violation and at times violators are amateur drivers without proper driving licenses and some cases it happens due to drunk driving.
Road officials said in some emergency cases such as rushing ambulances or police vehicles engaged in pursuit of criminals in a car chase incidences are more or less excused due to the nature of the situation. Besides that any vehicle, be it a government vehicle or any bureaucrat should comply with rules.
An official with the Traffic division said that there are generally three crucial signs besides several others in relation to vehicle disciplines, like the circle signs for ‘No Entry’, triangle for ‘information’ and the square boards for ‘caution’.
Initially when a road stretch or a junction is declared as a one way path the traffic division deploys certain number of personals to sensitize motorists and make them aware of these recent adjustments. If any individual happens to violate the rule during the sensitization process, they are more or less excused but after the process as mentioned above Nu600 will be charged as a penalty.
The sensitization processes are basically induced only for a certain period of time after which the enforcement agency, the traffics division, expects the motorists to abide by these rules and as far as the enforcement agency is concerned, they say the people should have the moral conscience to uphold these rules and regulations for the betterment of the country’s traffic system in general.
