Road Safety Afghanistan!

Continued from Part I

Right the journey started from Wazir Akbar Khan- ofcourse with the background music from the recently released Bollywood movies. One change over the years I have noticed in me is that I have become quite inquisitive… impatient my wife believes. Within a couple of minutes of our journey I asked  Dr the same question I have been asking everyone since I arrived here in Afghanistan. Hey Dr, please enlighten me about Afghan’s love affair with India or for that matter with Indians. I had not finished there, and why is that locals aren’t that enthusiastic about Pakistan? I got a classic one liner in Hindi. Abhi…. “Dushman ka Dushman Dost hota hai” (“the enemy of enemy is friend”). Food for thought... and I was quite for next few minutes.

Some of you might have started thinking by now what does the bollywood music and/or politics has to do with the road safety in Afghanistan? Nothing much I guess apart from the reasons that a) I thought it will be a good idea to keep your interests level up; b) I don’t want to present a miserable scenario right up front; and c) Turn all of you off with plain facts and figures. Anyway from Dr’s gripping response I soon realised that I am surely going to have an enticing outing and that I might pickup few clever things on our way.

By now Dr had driven us up to the 15th street roundabout (opposite Finest Superstore) and we were travelling towards Masood Circle. Sarobi (also spelled as Surobi) is in the east of Kabul; and is on Kabul- Jalalabad-Torkham (Pakistan Border) regional highway. It is almost at one fourth of the total length of the corridor (140 miles). From Massood circle we were heading towards Abdulhaq roundabout, from where we would have taken the regional highway.  

Whilst we were approaching the third roundabout on Kabul’s spinal road, I noticed almost one fifth of vehicles (old  looking) have steering wheels on their right side as opposed to the left (in the newish looking ones). Hey Dr, why is to so, I asked again? AH commented Abhi you ask too many questions. However, Dr came to my immediate rescue and replied, since mid twentieth century vehicles are being driven on the right-hand side of the road. Most of the old vehicles that I was seeing were imported from the neighbouring country Pakistan, which is a left-hand side drive country. He continued, almost 20 years back there were suggestions to change the side of the road on which the vehicles are driven. However the same weren’t considered. I was happy with the response but still see poor drivers leaning over the front passenger seat or shall I say leaning over few passengers before overtaking other vehicles or before making a left turn!  

We just crossed Abdulhaq roundabout. Have you ever wondered what are the correct procedures drivers should take on approaching or whilst crossing a roundabout? How about if we quickly skim through some of the key ones most of us follow:

• Get into the correct lane; 
• Decide as early as possible which exit you need to take; 
• Give an appropriate signal;
• Give priority to traffic approaching from your left; etc.

Unfortunately most of the drivers here have their own rules- naively drawn by me in an amateurish sketch (Did you see what the Orange car is doing?). Imagine if five cars can create such chaos what happens when atleast 15-20k vehicles cross each of these three roundabouts everyday?

One other thing that has intrigued me for the last six months is that why almost all of the drivers here are so keen to get into the near side lane of a roundabout even if they have to take the first exit? Did I dare to ask Dr this?….contd.