Forced driving

With the school holidays coming in about a month's time, many would be driving across the country, either for sight-seeing or to visit their friends or relatives.. And without fail, the traffic fatality rate would "rise up the the occasion" (pun intended).. this is one phenomenon that would only worsen, looking at the situation in this country..

Why do I say so?? well, the gross lack of public transport has forced people who aren't fit to drive to go behind the wheels. Forget about the road regulations, defensive driving or even basic road courtesy, as long as one can start the engine, drive without knocking into anything during the exam, one can get a drivers' license as long as one pays (a bribe, that is). Add to the lousy infrastructure that we have - pothole-filled roads, horrible road signage, forever-changing road systems and ever-absent traffic police, it is just a matter of who-gets-unlucky-enough to be caught in an accident.

Other than the above mentioned factors, there is yet another ticking time-bomb waiting to explode.. Elderly drivers. Most of these elderly drivers usually stays in smaller towns, where traffic is slower and not so chaotic.. Many of these elderly drivers are still driving like they were back in the old days, at 40-50km per hour, not signaling when they make a turn, cutting into opposite lane, etc... And to make things even worst is that some of these elderly drivers are NO LONGER FIT to drive, as they are bogged down by eye problems, reflex issues and judgment concerns.. Furthermore, many of these smaller towns' infrastructure are in a worse shape than the big towns, with many unmarked/faded road lines, unworkable traffic lights and horrendous road conditions.. However, these are not really an issue as locals will show more patience and are more tolerant to these old folks..

But things are different during festive seasons or school holidays when all the younger drivers, who usually stay in big cities, come back to their home towns.. Patience is never a virtue of the young and coupled with their fixation on speed, accidents or near-misses are a common occurrences.. non-stop honking and/or loud swearing too are daily happenings. Thus impatience and unfamiliarity have become the major contributors to the raised accident rates in smaller towns.

With the raising percentage of aging population and the still non-existence of public transport systems, the elderly have no choice but to drive themselves from one place to another, no matter if they are fit to do so or not. And from the looks of things, public transport will NEVER rank high in the list of "concerns" for our elected representatives as they are more worried about how much "kick backs" from which projects they can get their hands on before their political careers end..

Mmm.. think I better re-learn my driving asap.. better be the person at the steering wheel and not the one in front of the car bumper..