12 Kolkata: When Md Sanwar, the father of a class 6 student of St Augustine School, walked into the Children's Traffic Park — managed by Kolkata Traffic Police — on Wednesday morning, he wanted to know why he, having ridden bikes for over a decade, needed to "relearn" traffic laws. "I came when my son insisted," he said while entering the interactive session. An hour later, as Sanwar and over a hundred other parents left the park, they realised it was always good to attend the refresher course.
"When they showed us the common violations made by bikers, I understood that I do not even realise that I am constantly breaking certain rules when I am riding. I never knew that overtaking is not allowed on certain roads. I also did not know that even in free left turns, no turns can happen by overtaking from the right," said Sanwar.
The Park Circus Traffic Guard held the special interaction with parents of students studying in schools in and around Moulali. On display were all the gadgets used by cops to track the violators.
"Any accident is a tragedy but when it involves a child, it shatters a family. Yet, they are not at fault. It is us who are failing to guide them. Hence, the change should begin with us," said Md Akbar Ali, another parent who attended the interaction.
Hundreds of attendees pledged not to block the school gate's entry and exit points with haphazard parking, so that traffic flow isn't disrupted during school dispersal hours. Officers said the thrust was on issuing a memo to each school, urging them to make helmets compulsory for students.
The cops also highlighted various aspects of pedestrian safety, stating how it was a challenge in the face of various ongoing civil works by KMC, Kolkata Metro and other agencies and how students can keep themselves safe on such roads where civil construction is underway.
"We explained traffic concepts to students on Wednesday. In a few days, we will hold regular periodic sessions — according to the wishes of the children — at their school auditoriums," said an officer of the Park Circus Traffic Guard.
Even during deliberations, commuting took centre stage. "We asked students about the commuting problems they face while coming to school and sought suggestions on what can be done to ease their concerns during the exam season. The children expressed satisfaction with pedestrian crossovers but pointed to two-wheeler parking issues. They also claimed that it made crossovers difficult and slowed the passage of school buses," said an officer.