It’s not that hard to drive on the correct side of the road

Representational image. Pic/iStock

IA 55-year-old biker was killed after a tempo being driven on the wrong side of a service road off the Western Express Highway crashed into him at Bandra East recently. The businessman biker was dragged 30 metres before the tempo came to a halt.

The tempo driver was on the wrong side, the driver had taken a short cut in order to save a few minutes. An additional CP (Traffic) has been cited in the report stating that driving on the wrong side is dangerous both for the driver and others. Roads that connect to highways are not service roads but slip roads which are made for motorists to enter and exit highways. Dividers cannot be set up on these roads. We have seen service or slip roads as the official claims they are called are very busy and they are usually quite narrow, so installing a divider is difficult.

We frequently see vehicles plying on the wrong side, especially on smaller roads or bylanes. Sometimes, drivers or riders take a quick U-turn trying to reach a destination, on the wrong side as they claim it is only a short distance that they have to go.

On the main roads bikers are very frequently riding on the wrong side, trying to squeeze in next to vehicles on the correct side. This is an alarming trend and in fact, very dangerous for pedestrians who may be trying to cross and are looking at one side, at the flow of traffic. A biker coming the wrong way can easily knock somebody down or even in the path of oncoming traffic.

Wrong side driving now needs a concerted campaign and needs to come to a full stop. From vigilance to strictest penalties and jail time, as this is endangering life this has to stopped on our roads. Let us begin with large scale awareness, followed by action.