Civic sense

There is a very clichéd' line which is often spoken when we talk about common sense – common sense is not so common. In the context of India, we can add one more sentence – civic sense is not so common here. Though we live in a civil society, education standards are lot better than the third world country and we are an emerging world power. Even then, when it comes to civic sense, we fare very poorly. Before moving to other aspects related to civic sense it is better to first understand this term.
What is Civic Sense

Civic sense is nothing but a common sense in general. It means that that our behavior at certain places and in certain walks of life shouldn't create problems for others. In other words our behavior should be what is expected from a civilized society. Writing on compound walls, on buses, trains, monuments, rash driving, smoking in public and throwing garbage on the streets – all these things indicate a lack of civic sense.
Where do we lack civic sense

Our countrymen lack civic sense at almost every place but roads and public places are favourite spots. Traffic conditions have been worsening in India in not only metros but many other large cities. The purchasing power of Indians has increased in last one decade but nothing much has changed in the infrastructure and condition of roads. But even then the huge no. of road accidents and incidents of road rage can't be attributed to this fact. The apparent lack of civic sense is the major reason behind it. Most of the people do not drive keeping other drivers in mind. They view the road as a race track and other vehicles as either obstructions or mere spectators. Rash driving has killed many people in India in past few years. Add to it blatant ignorance of the safety measures as well as traffic rules and you get a complete picture of the sorry state of the civic sense of the people on roads. In the smaller cities drivers do not care a dime for safety equipments like helmets and seat belts. As