Every morning, as we drive along the Galle Road through Dehiwela, we see traffic police officers standing every 10 metres or so and waving their hands vigorously to make the motorists go faster.
Actually, the vehicles are bumper-to-bumper, so it beats me what all this frantic waving actually achieves. All this dancing by the police only serves to amuse the motorists, who are travelling at snail’s pace anyway and have time to stop and be entertained.
And then these same police officers disappear completely from the roads for the next seven hours, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m, during which time illegal parking, U-turning and jay-walking go on unchecked.
These police officers again descend on the roads in the evenings. This time they let the traffic move against the traffic lights, causing utter confusion. When the lights change to green and the motorist is changing gear to go forward, the cop will block the car by standing in the middle of the road to let vehicles move in the opposite direction. When the lights turn red, he waves frantically to tell the motorists to move on.
It is a miracle these police officers don’t get knocked down. Often, they are not even visible to the motorists, especially at the William Grinding Mills junction. To make matters worse, the motorists on the opposite side often have their headlights full on, making it impossible for the older motorists to see clearly.
The police officer should order motorists to dip their headlights. But I don’t think our police officers are even aware of the rules of the road.
It is time someone made some significant changes to make life safer for the motorists – and the policemen.
Dr. Mrs. Mareena,
Thaha Reffai |
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