In recent times the Shillong Traffic Police have beefed up their checks on vehicles that violate the Motor Vehicles Act. Those who observe the rules find it extremely difficult to negotiate the roads particularly at night when vehicles and two wheelers attack all kinds of LED lights that emit a strong glare and make it difficult for upcoming vehicles to see what’s ahead of them. Some vehicles, particularly trucks that more often than not are violating the carriage capacity, hide their number plates so that they are not immediately visible by policemen along the highway. Others don’t adhere to the norm of fitting high security registration plates (HSRP) as required by government regulations.
Parents with two wheelers often don the helmet themselves but don’t consider it necessary to make their children wear the same protective gear even while the child/children are seated in the front and would be the first casualties in case of an accident. Drunken driving is common but there are far too few traffic cops to detect such violations. It is fellow drivers who see the person in front of them or who is headed towards them that is swerving dangerously and so they drive to the side to avoid hitting the vehicle or being hit by it. Let’s face it, in Meghalaya breaking traffic rules is also a sport. These days two wheelers overtake from the right and left side of the road making it difficult for four wheeler drivers to anticipate which side they need to drive on to avoid the two wheeler. This is a common occurrence especially during school hours. Major violations such as driving without a license and drunken driving especially in the evenings are frequent. Minor violations such as not wearing a helmet while riding a two-wheeler, jumping a signal, driving on the wrong side of the road, parking in a no-parking zone, etc., are punishable by a fine of a mere Rs 500. Major violations which include driving without a license, drunk driving, speeding, dangerous driving, overloading, etc., are punishable by a fine of up to Rs. 1000; in some cases, the offender’s license can be suspended.
The problem also is that the Meghalaya Home Guards are now being extensively used to manage traffic within Shillong City but they are not empowered to collect fines and give out challans. The worst traffic violations however, happen along the Shillong-Guwahati highway where hordes of bikers perform stunts in the middle of the road thereby placing other drivers in a precarious situation. There is need for a special traffic police contingent to man this highway which has now become a racing ground for two wheeler owning hotheads. This happens particularly on Sundays when nearly every two-wheeler owner’s destination seems to be the Shillong-Guwahati highway or the Sohra track. What has made driving more dangerous today are the speeding tourist taxis and private vehicles from Assam whose drivers seem to be in a perpetual hurry. The car that turned turtle at Mawkdok recently with the injured being assisted by the Chief Minister’s entourage is a case in point. Meghalaya needs more traffic police to man the highways and perhaps the penalty needs to match the violations, especially repeated ones. Human lives cannot be imperilled by reckless drivers.
