I am truly amazed at the number of vehicles that carry the word "PRESS" on them. I am not sure if it is required for the people from a particular segment of the media to actually flaunt "PRESS" on their vehicles. I won't dare to pose the question on the justification of such use, as these days, everyone tries to justify what they believe in. If they face opposition or criticism, they proudly declare "let us agree to disagree". To my mind, only the use of "Doctor" or "+" is required, as any accident or any medical emergency on the roads can be better handled with such use. As the people around could take help of the doctors who may be passing by that place, if by any chance.
When I ponder upon this further, I feel there should be a Law on use of their professions on their vehicles – more so, the "PRESS" and the "POLICE".
The Police vehicles, which are owned by the Police department, have every right to wear the name on them. However the individual policemen who own vehicles in their personal capacity should stop wearing the word on their vehicles. I see so many people, I strongly doubt if they belong to Press (Police), use PRESS (POLICE) on their personal vehicles. How can one differentiate the rightful users from the rest?
The PRESS and POLICE have a great responsibility in a civil society. They play a very important role in ensuring that our society remains civil. I truly respect them and believe that they are doing their part in fulfilling their duties, without an iota of doubt. If not, our places of inhabitation would not have been as safe as they are now.
What irks me the most is the misuse of these words by common public who feel they are smart and clever. They wear it on their vehicles with an intention that the traffic police wouldn't stop them or would turn blind-eye to their violations on the road. These people, in the first instance wear these words with the vilified intentions of violating the rules. The use of these words on their vehicles is a mechanism to escape the clutches of the poor and understaffed Traffic Police department.
I feel there should be a Law, if not already on controlling the use of such words. If there is already a Law, there should be stricter monitoring and any misuse should be punished severely.
