Picture Courtesy: Neesha Dhungana

Last Tuesday, my friend was on her way to college. As usual, she was waiting for the bus at the bus stop near her home and after a certain time, she woke up in hospital surrounded by doctors. She was hit by a motorbike and was rushed to a hospital. She does not even remember how she got into the accident. The accident frightened her so much that she won’t be able to walk on streets as confidently as she used to, for quite some time.

How could a bike hit a person standing at a bus stop? What might be the cause for the bike rider to ride without having a sense of surrounding? Afterward, we came to know that the person did not even have a license and he was over speeding. I cannot understand what gives him the confidence to ride a bike without a license and that too on the main road. It might seem cool to over speed but what result it could lead to will not be cool. Yes, she was lucky that the accident did not harm her much but what if the situation was worse. It still gives me chills imagining the scenario of her accident.

I wonder what might have influenced them to ride bikes without a license, without proper knowledge of road traffics and without fear of losing lives. Maybe the answer lies around us. We are so influenced by the society that shows in every decision we make. We can see advertisements on TVs and the internet showing how attractive it is to ride the bike with speed performing some cool stunts. They even show girls being attracted to the speed of the motorcycles. This might seem like a minor detail but plays a vital role in shaping the mindset of an individual. The trend among youngsters of having a motorbike to show off is another cause. Their immature brain does not see the long term loss but only the short term happiness and they end up doing what pleases their brain. Speed, stunts and competition, what makes them look “cool?” The government of Nepal is not stable and so are the rules they make. The rules and regulations are limited to the paper. If you ever get caught in a traffic check, then you can give some money and you are free to go and hit the people who come in front of you. Due to these incidents, normal people like us are afraid to walk on the road even when we maintain our side and always follow the traffic rules.

So, whose fault is it? Government? Citizens? Teenagers? Society? Or the system that governs them all? Well, I will leave it up to you to decide on that.