Civic Sense

Though we all come with the same number of senses, what’s collectively missing is our civic sense. What impact does that have on us and the society at large, and how to improve our civic sense? Well, let’s find out by delving into our topic for today — Civic Sense!

A couple of months back the Police wanted to nab the culprit who tried to rob a liquor store here in Ontario, Canada. The offender flees off in a van and the Police chase him. The entire pursuit unfolds on a busy highway with at least 7 police cars travelling in the opposite direction. The vehicles on the road have no clue of the approaching van and police cars except for the sirens. The pursuit eventually ends with a tragic accident resulting in the death of a 3 month old infant and his two grandparents¹. Needless to say, they were collateral damage. 

This incidenthad drawn severe criticism for the reckless manner in which the police had acted and caused those three deaths. There was no difference between the culprit and the Police on the road as both were traveling in the opposite direction, breaking traffic rules and putting the public at risk. Of course, the Police did it with the noble intention of catching the culprit, but then when you break traffic rules, irrespective of who you are, it usually doesn’t end well. Just think about this, three innocent lives were lost and they had nothing to do with the culprit or the police chase. 

On my way to the gym, there are multiple crosswalks. Every time I stand there waiting for the pedestrian lights to appear, I would see a handful of people crossing the road even before it’s safe to do so. It usually starts with one impatient person desperate to get to the other side and it would attract followers. 

This reminds me of an incident that happened when I was a newcomer to Canada. I was taking my driving license test and it was going great. I was on the brink of passing the test as I had meticulously executed every instruction given by the examiner seated in my car. All that stood between me and getting the license was a traffic light just before I head back into the DriveTest centre. As I inched closer to the traffic light, there was a car in front of me that moved past the light. Seeing the car move, I moved too but what I didn’t see is that the traffic light was still in red…damn!!! 

The examiner spotted it, and said right away that she’s going to fail me. 

“I know I have to stop on a red-light, but what do I do if the person in front of me doesn’t. I just blind-followed.” I responded in frustration.

“That’s exactly why I’m going to fail you. Just because the car in front of you rolls when it’s not supposed to, does it mean you have to roll with it too? Think for yourself”, the examiner said. 

Fast forward to the present, is that desperate person at the crosswalk the alibi for our lack of civic sense? Not at all. Rather, we ought to think for ourselves and do what’s right on and off the road. Okay, let’s shift gears now.

How to improve our civic sense?

• My late dad was a very punctual man and wanted to instill the same habit in me. So, he turned the clocks in the house forward by 10 minutes, just to make sure that I’m on time for school. But what I used to end up doing is deducting those 10 minutes and still catching the school bus in the nick of time. I thought I was outsmarting my dad and I had good running skills to show for it, because I never missed the school bus even once. However, in the process of catching the bus, I’d be running like a coyote, giving people on the road nothing short of a panic attack. There were several close calls but that didn’t deter me because I was hell-bent on mocking my dad’s new time zone. In retrospect, his idea to inculcate the habit of getting me to a place on time without the hustle and bustle, had another purpose besides punctuality. That is to not be a risk unto myself and to those on the road. It’s when we rush to do things, that’s when we make mistakes on the road and in life too. Therefore, if you have to get to a place at say 8 pm, it’s best to prepare yourself to be there at 7:30 pm. That thirty minute buffer will prevent you from making rash decisions on the road and improve your civic sense.
• Secondly, car or any other vehicle is not the place to pick a fight, because it distracts the driver, putting everyone in jeopardy. I understand road trips can be long and boring, but try to stick to safe topics and avoid the incendiary ones like, say, politics and religion. 
• Recently, I was in the car with one of my friends in Toronto and all of a sudden, he asked me what does this road sign mean? Of course, I told him what it meant but then I was getting butterflies in my stomach. Trying to figure out road signs is not something we do on the road, rather it’s best to spend some time at home and understand what those things mean. When we possess a driving license in our name, it’s an indication that we are well-versed with road signs, symbols, traffic lights and the permitted manoeuvres. 

• I once witnessed an old man driving his car on the wrong lane, and as I continued staring, he had a collision with another vehicle passing by. That’s when I realized that I could’ve waved my hand at the old man and informed him of his mistake right away. A failure on my part to do what I should have done, resulted in an accident that could’ve been averted. When you see people do strange things on the road out of ignorance, I feel its our duty to point them out. With that being said, there will always be daredevils on the road keen on showcasing their eccentric skills unmindful of the danger they pose to pedestrians and fellow vehicles, but let’s not get anywhere near them or try to emulate them. They are a bad example and in the due course of time, the cops will take care of them. 

We are all in some kind of a hurry to get to our places of work or any place for that matter, but then we still need to respect traffic rules not just for our safety but also for the safety of others. We may have excellent acrobatic skills at our disposal which could get us across the road in the blink of an eye on a red light, but there are far better places to use them, the least of all being the road. Also, keep in mind there are kids watching us. After we are gone, they’d do what we just did and if they don’t make it to the other side safely, well that’s on us then because we just showed them how not to do it. Streets, crosswalks, roads and expressways are public spaces that run on the mutual trust of its users. When one acts in ways that betray the trust, it has a cascading effect on the rest. Therefore, let’s think for ourselves and allow our civic sense to prevail always.

References

¹ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/siu-hwy-401-probe-update-1.7232642