My driving habit is quite bad and at this age too my speed is nothing less than those reckless teenage drivers. Only when my family is in the car I am compelled to drive slowly otherwise hardly any vehicle would overtake my small car.
I was driving back to Punakha from Thimphu on Saturday and it was 6pm when I started from Thimphu. The drive from Thimphu to Punakha takes about 2 hours. I overtook a Maruti Van taxi below Usipang and while ascending towards Dochula I could see the taxi pulling hard behind me. He was trying to chase me but I was alone and his Maruti Van taxi had three passengers. I could see the distance increasing between us through my rear view mirror and he was out of sight after Hongtsho.
As I crossed Dochula the dusk was falling and my speed was increasing. A car light followed from distance and gradually it overtook me. That was the same taxi which I left behind. I followed him trying to overtake but he did not heed to my signals (Ego). I wouldn’t dare to drive the Maruti Van at that speed through such road. When I looked at my speedometer we were driving at more than 60 kmph. My car may be a small one but its suspension system is stable enough to drive at that speed and my control over the car at every point do not really risk myself. We were actually racing and we did not stop anywhere. I was fully concentrated on the road till I reached Mesina after which he drove directly towards Wangdue and I had to take left turn to Punakha.
As I was descending from Mesina, a series of questions ran through my head. Why did I chase him? Why didn’t he let me overtake? Why did he drive the taxi at such speed? Why did passengers allow him to speed? And many more…….! As I reached home the clock shows only 7:23PM. I didn’t believe myself that I have reached Punakha in one hour 23 minuets from Thimphu.
Although from the way he was driving I could make out that he is an experienced driver yet he did not remember that he was driving a public transport. He was risking the lives of those passengers. Maruti van seems very risky to drive at high speed on our road. Actually I could hear his tyres screeching at every turning. There was no news of taxi accident between Lobeysa and Wangdue on Saturday and I am assuming that the passengers have reached home safely. In the nutshell it was a thrilling drive for me.
