The Dasain road accident in which the Tourism Minister's car was crushed under a minibus did not come as a surprise to me. It was an accident waiting to happen given the way VIP convoys careen through our narrow streets. I have often encountered ministerial cars negotiating their way through heavy traffic assisted by sirens from their backup vehicles. Sirens should only be used in emergency situations by ambulances and the fire brigade and not by ministers commuting to work and back. Most of them blatantly ignore basic traffic rules: running red lights, driving on the wrong side of the lane, speeding. Recently, I had stopped at a red light at the Maitighar junction and a minister's convoy drove up behind my car. They turned the siren on, telling me to move my car. Having nowhere to go and refusing to cross the red light for fear of being pulled over by traffic police, I stayed put. To my utter disbelief, the minister's car went on the opposite lane and then drove over the footpath and back onto the lane. I wonder what was so urgent that the minister couldn't wait for the light to turn green. As the highest ranking officials nominated to ensure law and good governance in the country, is it too much to ask from these ministers to follow the rules of the road?

Rabi Karmacharya,
Patan