Smile and Drive

The expression on the faces of most drivers in India, well atleast in Bangalore is either a scowl or a grimace. We hardly find any drivers who smile. The reason for all this being the utter chaos on the roads with people jumping signals, lanes, honking incessantly and we all end up blaming our city and other road users for it.

What are some of the things that we can do to ensure calm on the roads and see to it that we are smiling drivers? Inter alia,One, follow traffic rules to the T, two, be caring towards our fellow drivers, three, dont jump lanes, four, dont honk unless necessary, fifthly, of all pedestrian pavement not to be used by two wheelers.

Check the "Smiling Drivers" who strive to make the roads a pleasant place to be on, to make the drivers smile as they drive and it is all about making Namma Bengaluru a better place to be in.

Visit their site and learn as to how this movement can be strengthened

Roads and Lanes

I enjoy driving, though of late driving on Bangalore roads can really drive you up the wall. Still with my music on, that is an hour and a half of time I spend with myself, listening to music most of the time and generally relaxing, not minding the unending traffic snarls or the incessant honking by fellow motorists.

Many roads in Bangalore are changed from two way to one way overnight and it sometimes becomes a little difficult to keep tab of that. I have had an experience, quite nightmarish of entering a lane which was two way till the previous evening and which had overnight become one way (the lane which connects Cunningham Road and Ali Askar Road, parallel to Millers Road), I had a tough time coming out of that lane. Driving on the Outer Ring Road used to be a pleasant experience always but the past couple of years with that bustling with activity, it is traffic jams galore.

I always tell people that if you can drive in India, you can drive anywhere in the world. Am I right in thinking so?

I read this which was written by Ross Koeser, who is the Executive Director of ICPHSO.

I am in England with my wife visiting our daughter and her family – husband Andy, a pilot in the US Air Force and two young daughters. I rented a car because I wanted to see the English countryside. Most of you readers are international travelers and have rented cars in the UK and survived. But, I was not prepared for the shock of riding on the left side of the road, shifting with the left hand, round-abouts (always look right), narrower than narrow roads, and trucks traveling at 60 mph missing you by 9-½” and never slowing down. In addition, I rented one of those GPS travel guide systems where “Stephanie” supposedly guides you effortlessly during your travels – NOT. Now I’m sure some systems are better than others, but I would say that our “Stephanie” did not graduate at the top of her class. For example, she says “turn left” – I turn left; after ¼ mile I hear, “at first opportunity – turn around”. What did I do wrong? – I turn around and after another ¼ mile I hear at first opportunity – turn around”. OK, get the map out and strangle Stephanie.

I now more than ever understand the meaning of safety, because I never felt safe. Somehow I managed to not have an accident in 5 days, although many a British driver increased their curse word vocabulary over my driving.

Do not ever underestimate the power of prayer.

The first time I saw traffic on the right side was when my flight was about to land in Dubai. It seemed odd to see traffic on the "wrong side" of the road. One experience I have had was when I was in New York and waiting for a bus. This was a "One Way" and so I walked upto a point where there indeed was a post marking a bus stop. I stood there and was watching the bus come, but it stopped on the other side and went away while I stood on the opposite side. Only then did I foolishly realize that, I should have stood on the right side and here I was standing on the left.

Hello Nano

Ratan Tata has done it. A car for about a lakh Indian Rupees. Unimaginable even a few years ago, but a reality today when Ratan Tata unveiled it at the Auto Expo in Delhi. He aims to market it around the world. Newspapers across the world from Washington Post to New York Times to Reuters are agog with this news.

Moreover, environmentalists are also taking up cudgels against the Tatas for the pollution that might ensue. But Ratan Tata says it conforms to the Euro-4 Standard which is still not mandatory in India.

The launch of the Tata Nano in all probability could result in many, who otherwise would not have dreamt of owning a car going in for cars in India and it could definitely benefit many but do we have the roads for new cars. Traffic problems are galore in cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and most other cities which witness chock-a-block traffic through the day. This will only add to the number of vehicles and thus adding to the congestion, confusion and chaos on the streets and not to forget the ever-increasing road rage.

Horn Ok Please

Horn OK Please!!

We have seen this phrase on trucks mainly. I always used to wonder what this means with the OK in between and found the Wikipedia entry on this. This is supposed to mean that if someone wishes to overtake, they have to honk.

Probably this shows the Indian psyche of honking incessantly on the roads at the slightest or no provocation whatsoever. As I sit in my office and listen to the blaring of horns, it is like one single continuous sound, with the variation in pitch, strength and also the output decibel.

I read this bit--

As our one and a half hour drive (only 30 kilometers) continued, I began to realize that in this mess of cars, people and huge puddles, honking is the only organizing factor.

"Honk, honk-hoooooonk, honk-honk! Watch out, I am intending to go non-stop where I am going! I am not going to stop just to save your life!"

"Honk-honnnnnk, Honk-Hon! I see, you are on my tail, going non-stop where you are going. Aye, why do you rush so much?"

Honkkkkkk-honk-honk-honk-hooooonk! I am trying to kill myself and these two stupid foreigners."

"Honk-Honk. You must do what you must do."

And so it goes, non-stop, the music of Indian roads. We make a sharp left turn and with a brave acceleration, speed towards a very (and I mean VERY) narrow street of Maja-ka-Tilla (a small Tibetan quarter in Delhi). I am convinced we are going to kill a few people but no, despite our speed and incessant honking, a few pedestrians (many of them red robed monks) respond with a surprising sense of calm and trust. Trust in the driver? Trust in the inevitable? Divine intervention? Our mini-van barely misses; sometimes it actually brushes against their torsos. Only later do I learn that personal space is highly negligible in India: especially on the streets. Cars, cows, donkeys, motorcycles and people, all rub each other as they negotiate crowded streets and small spaces. Amazing, there are few accidents.

where Misha narrates her visit to Delhi.

And another site which gives instructions as to how to drive in India, it says dont hesitate to honk. Honk to let someone know you are behind them, honk to tell someone they better move out of the way or else, honk to get someone's attention, basically honk for just about anything.

Yes!! It is democrazy on the Roads. Go ahead, Honk or you might be a murderer.

There are reports that there is a crackdown in Mumbai on noisy motorists.

But now the Mumbai traffic police, in a move that runs against the very culture of driving in this city of 18m, have begun cracking down on noisy motorists. Police have booked 368 car owners for shrill and "non-regulation" horns and for violating silence zones that prohibit honking near hospitals, educational institutions and places of worship, according to the Mumbai traffic police website.

The offending horns ranged from the shrill high-pressure variety used by trucks on the sub-continent to other kinds that have been modified to play the latest Bollywood melodies or even to sound like dogs barking.

Still, honking is second nature to Indian drivers. Hope we too are able to effectively introduce noise-less driving on our roads soon.
Pic- The Internet

Proactive Bangalore Police?

Bangalore Traffic Police are advertising through their notices in the newspapers as well as hoardings across the city that they have fulfilled their early promises made through BTRAC.


They are harping on these-

1. The traffic information system: BTIS- This seems great. It has to be seen how thisis used by the cops in regulating traffic.

2.Putting up signage and lane markings is good. They have started doing it in certain roads with dedicated lanes to autorickshaws etc. But please, this dedicated lane to the autorickshaws..is it wise? I was driving on Saturday from near Minsk square alongside Chinnaswamy Stadium wanting to enter Lavelle Road. These auto drivers who were in their lane which is at the extreme left wanted to go to Kasturbha Road, and hence taking a right. It was utter confusion there with vehicles zig zagging across the road at the junction. My take on this is that the traffic police should do a rethink about this dedicated lane, or should regulate the traffic at such points. Some markings which are visible here and there seems good though,

3.Easy Auto - Sounds so good, hope it is true. We have all heard stories of auto rickshaw drivers fleecing people.

Hope enforcement too is as good with fine being imposed on the spot for traffic violations.