voices
express yourself
but not while driving I have heard of plugged in electrical gadgets
A few policemen I spoke to in Jayanagar conceded that at busy intersections like the one facing the shopping complex, it is difficult to catch offenders or even note down their numbers, because of the nature of the traffic flow.
and equipment, but it is now “plugged in humans” – wherever one goes, one sees men and women, girls and boys, all with wires dangling from their ears and fiddling with buttons on a mobile, and Plugged in human beings – be it phones or music oblivious to the gadgets, people use it while driving causing world around injuries to themselves and others. them.
Original pic source: Wikimedia Commons
The papers carried a report last year about a woman who was run over by a train at a level crossing because she was listening to music on her mobile and didn’t hear the train hooting as it sped towards her. Technology kills? Sure, if it is misused, just as a gun kills if it is in the wrong hands. How often have you noticed two wheeler riders with their heads tilted to one side, a cell phone tucked and balanced between ear and shoulder blade, negotiating their way through dense traffic? How many get caught? Autorickshaw drivers and BMTC bus drivers routinely pull out their mobiles, to answer calls.
No one cares, or pulls these idiots up. We don’t have statistics on how many such idiots we have in the city, we only have figures for the numbers killed on the roads. How many of these are caused by drivers “multitask ing” while on the road – listening to music, talking on the phone, chatting with someone at the back?
Perhaps it is time some neighbourhood groups undertook a movement for pulling up such erring drivers. Civic groups and volunteers can lend a hand after all, it could be someone you know, getting killed by one of these drivers tomorrow. ⊕ Sakuntala narasimhan is a freelance writer, consumer activist and Jayanagar resident.
plan for cyclING-friendly jayanagar
Membership drive at Manjari
Jayanagar, south-central Bangalore’s prestigious locality, with more 30 educational institutions, has a higher number of cycle users. But the cyclists have to jostle with motor vehicles for space and risk accidents. V Manjula, Commissioner, Department of Urban Land Transport, who is spearheading the initiative, says that plans for cycling corridors are ready but the implementation will come after getting the BBMP and the traffic police on board. “Apart from various civic agencies, the plan also needs to get the nod of the residents and only then can we implement it”, she says.
Membership is open at Manjari Ladies Association(R). Meetings will be held on first Saturday of every month at the JP Nagar Club between 2 pm to 5 pm. All women are welcome to enroll. For further details contact:
Gubbi Labs, a private research collective did extensive research to identify cycle routes and understand possibilities of using dedicated cycles lanes, and the conflicts that could arise in Jayanagar.
Yogaraj Mudalgi
8
CITIZEN MATTERS
15-28 Jan 2010
Vol-2 Issue-25
Annapurna Murthy, President: 9845058349 Mala Jayaram, Vice President: 9845665137 B K Uma Devi, Secretary: 9663373766 Usha Dorai, Joint Secretary: 9844302831 Sreedevi Mukundan, Treasurer: 9886743855
Shared by Annapurna Murthy