The road belongs to …

Walking on the road has been difficult recently, not because of the increasing number of vehicles or the traffic rules but the attitudes of the vehicle owners. Be it a biker, car driver or taxi/micro-bus/bus/tempo owner, their increasing attitudes have become a problem for the pedestrians. The way they behave and the way they treat the pedestrians shows how they feel about riding a vehicle over walking on the street.  Their attitudes that show as if they own the streets are just too much to bear and still, it is increasing day-by-day. Not everyone, but more than fifty percent feels like they are superior then the pedestrians.

Well, for those who have the wrong idea that the road belongs to them, here is what they need to know: the road had and will always belong to the walkers not the vehicle owners. Although these days, the roads are made keeping in mind the types of vehicles that would be operated there, there are some ways that are meant for pedestrians as well. It is a different story that some people do not follow the traffic rules and cross road wherever and however they want to. But, most often, the vehicles, too, are at fault. I am not saying that the fault lies in one party but this article is solely dedicated to the treatment a pedestrian gets from a vehicle through the eyes of a pedestrian.

I walk on the road and, yes, at times I have broken some traffic rules. It happened because probably I was late for something that could not be delayed. Keeping that aside, every time I walk on the street, whenever a vehicle, private or public (most often its private or a taxi), comes near me, I am scared to death. The image these vehicles have made on my mind is immense and yes, certainly dreadful. It is not because of me being a victim of an accident, that had happened years ago, but my fear of the vehicles is recent. My fear lay in the way the vehicles go past me. The sound that the bike creates sends chills to my spine and the taxis, well, I am grateful that I could still feel my feet when the taxi passes by. If only they had realized the result of their actions and apologized, the case might have been different. But the apologies seem far-fledged when they show their teeth and ride away. The feeling that I get then, I want to break all their teeth in one punch. Their idea of fun isn’t understandable to the pedestrians who fear for their life when a vehicle comes near them at speed. No one is stopping others to have fun but just be careful to avoid giving others heart attacks while you try to indulge yourself in fun. The real you can be defined by the way you treat those who are less powerful than you. Maybe the carelessness is the reason why the number of accident includes vehicles.

Some I had once known had said that he respected the pedestrians and believed that the road belongs to them first, then to the two wheelers and finally the four wheelers gets to ride on them. I had liked his theory. This teacher, I don’t remember his name, didn’t walk, as most of the people might have thought because of his comments but owns a four wheeler. Even though I had come to know him for about a week, I came to realize that he meant what he said and every time anyone or a two wheeler tried to cross road or overtake his vehicle, he gave them chances. Rare are the people who do that in today’s world when everyone feels they are having a race of life and death with the others.

Just make sure that you are following the rules and not causing harm to anyone else and never forget that the road belongs to others as much as it belongs to you. A road belongs to those who use it, not to those who built it, if that was the case, most of the roads of Nepal would have belonged to the foreign nations. And, also remember that the pedestrians have left the entire highway and main roads for you using sidewalks for themselves so whenever, you drive through the narrow paths, respect the people walking there and avoid giving them a shock just for fun.