Imagine you travelling at night driving a car, you come across a red light at traffic junction. You are the only vehicle at this junction and you are tempted to stop due to the fact that it is red. You look well across all directions. Definitely there is no other vehicle. You then are tempted to go past the red light. If you know that there can be traffic cameras and you might receive a letter with fine and points on your license, then you suppress the temptation of crossing the red light, as you know it is only few seconds before it goes green.
The scenario i have given is a common sense approach. Even though the common sense tells you to override the red signal as there are no traffic, the regulatory fear of traffic camera stops you doing so.
If you had read my previous blog of hazard, risk and incident, then you understand that another moving vehicle or pedestrian is the hazard for you in the car. The risk is very low as it is middle of the night and you reduce the risk by looking well all around. you think the chance of an incident of an accident is so low that you want to take the chance and you are tempted to cross at the red signal.
As the society does not want you to take even that chance, the traffic camera makes you decide to stop.
But then this logic does not seem to work in India while you are driving. One of my patient i am treating at the moment is a handicapped polio patient who was driving a two wheeler. he came to a traffic signal where the signal was red. he duly followed the above logic and decided to stop.
He then landed at our hospital with a fracture of the leg and shoulder.
Why? Why and Why ! these are the questions he asked me and you are probably asking as well
Wait for my blog and i am sure if you are driving in India you already know why
Regards
Chockalingam
