I was making my way through the traffic on the bike. On a hurry to reach my office on time, I approached a red light. A familiar scene unfolded: vehicles edging past the stop line, impatient to jump the signal in the absence of police or cameras. As I prepared to join the fray, my eyes caught a young woman on a scooter. Unlike everyone else, she waited patiently for the green light.

Maybe she was new here, unaware of the city's unspoken rule: traffic signals were mere...