Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em

[Recompose]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

imagine this scenario:

busy junction at 9 in the morning. once the signal turns green it is for the straight and left lane at the start and only after a minute or so does the signal go green for the right lane.

so here i am proceeding behind a guy/girl in the right lane and he stops at the red signal without any indicators. i assume he is going straight but when the signal goes green he then turns his indicator on and i am left with nowhere to go :(

I didnt quite follow this. What do you mean when you say 'I am left with nowhere to go'?

If the guy is on the right lane when traffic is moving straight/left, then isnt it next to obvious that this person is taking a right? Why else would he stop in the right lane for over a minute when he could have just gone straight if he wanted to?

[carfreak77]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Just wanted to know why you could not have moved to the left lane if he was behind you obviously wanting to overtake. Now i do not know what car you drive but one simple rule i follow on the road is when i see a bigger more powerful car than mine wanting to overtake me, i simple give way. Save a lot of trouble

And as for autos and taxis giving space and indicating for us to overtake is really heartwarming to say the least

I'm sorry, I should have been clearer in my earlier post. I could not move to the left lane because there were these huge potholes caused due to rain. I was driving an Accord yesterday. I also follow your rule about giving way to bigger cars but was unable to do that yesterday due to these humungous potholes on the left side. However, the audi guy went straight into them at high speed. I'm sure his car hit from the bottom multiple times but he did not care at all.

Regarding autos and taxis giving space, well that happens only when you honk at them for a long time!

[deathwalkr]

if the poor fellow bottoms his audi then he should get one tight whack on his head! And as for you driving an accord well seeing the porsche in your avatar i assumed otherwise

@ recompose: well traffic is moving left, straight and you are following a guy who does not have his indicator on so should i assume that he is going right because he is one of the rare breeds who follows lane discipline or should i assume he is going straight because he does not have his indicator on?

[aqualeo2040]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

I do not agree at all. Primary purpose of hazard lights is to indicate that there is something wrong with your vehicle. Road conditions are usually evident to every driver. If one does want to warn drivers behind, a couple of taps on the brake pedal are enough to warn the driver (if your brake lights are working) or use the hazard lights briefly. If you are reversing, the reverse light is enough.

Continuous use of hazard lights in rain or other conditions in most countries is illegal and quite so for obvious reasons. UK govt regulations: Lighting requirements (113-116) : Directgov - Travel and transport

Yes Sandeep, I agree to the second statement.
However, I guess there are no standard ways of indicating road conditions to the traffic behind.
Although it would be interesting to notice that all modern Audis (not sure about other manufacturers) have their Hazards switch on automatically under heavy braking.

had been in couple of situations last week. Not sure if it was any bad driving from my side.

Episode 1:
Saturday night : 10pm :
Intermediate Ring Road : After Eejipura Jn.
Its been raining intermittently.
I was driving in the middle lane in my Sparky. A KA-01 Blue Innova overtook me from the right, cut me across brashly, went into the left lane seeing a Tata 407 truck in the middle lane ahead.
I could clearly see a Indicab parked on the left lane with the driver's door open and the driver doing something. No way the Innova would have made it thru the gap between the truck and the cab and yet he accelerated.Obviously, the dim wit had to brake. However, he didnt slow down to join the lane behind the truck. Instead he hogged both the lanes and stopped. I had to panic brake! There was a Tavera cab behind me who also got the brakes on time. However, someone behind the tavera couldnt. Resulted in a nice crunchy crash. As soon as the Innova guy heard the sounds of the crash, he took off as if his pants were on fire! What a moron!

2.Sunday Afternoon.
Same place. Eejipura Jn : IRR: toward Koramangla
For some reason, the traffic from the next jn had almost reached the eejipura signal. I was the first car stuck at the signal in the middle lane, parked just behind the line. I immediately wanted to take a U-Turn. Since I was in the front row, I just checked with the Cop at the jn and then moved across to the right most lane over the Zebra crossing and indicated for a U turn. While I waited for my signal to go green, the signal to go ahead went off. Now, there was a lady in a M800 on the rightmost lane who wanted to go straight as well (instead of taking the u turn).So, I eased my car ahead so that the lady could ease thru. However, the lady misjudged the amount of space and overcorrected, thus moving halfway across the middle lane. A Maruti van speeding on the middle lane managed to evade just in time. A Tata 407 truck also on that lane managed to evade the van and stopped right in time. A biker speeding behind the truck however missed the cue. He slammed straight into the truck.Poor chap. My signal went green and I had to move, but I did notice people helping that poor biker.
Not sure who's fault was this. I would think that its probably mine since I decided to change the lane and block the lady and thus upset her plans.
Though, I did change the lane when the signal was still red and sought the permission of the traffic cop before I moved. Anyways, I feel really sorry for the crash victims.
Another point to note would be the fact that the biker was at a high speed when he crashed into the truck.

[IronH4WK]

spotted a black Civic this morning on the BETL - Absolutely Pathetic 29 Absolutely Bollocks 10 (AP-29-AB-10) being driven smack in the middle of the road, centered on the white line! i honked twice to get him to move left and let me pass. guess what the driver was doing - he was on the phone and i'm guessing he kept the car in the middle so that even if he sways, he doesn't hit the side wall/divider!!

[sandeep108]

As I said, it is chiefly the continuous use of hazard lights that is the main problem and that is what I am against, which why it is catching on is simply a mystery. Though considering the way licenses are issued and drivers have no training, it is no surprise.

[Recompose]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

imagine this scenario:

busy junction at 9 in the morning. once the signal turns green it is for the straight and left lane at the start and only after a minute or so does the signal go green for the right lane.

so here i am proceeding behind a guy/girl in the right lane and he stops at the red signal without any indicators. i assume he is going straight but when the signal goes green he then turns his indicator on and i am left with nowhere to go :(

does that seem like a warranted reason to have the indicators turned on at junctions when you stop i sure hope so

Made this image on paint to explain.

Fig 1:Both of you are at the signal. The car in red does not have indicators on, and hence you are confused whether he is taking a right or going straight. As you are a T-BHPian, I expect that you are taking a right as you are on the rightmost lane.

Fig 2 - Case 1- Signal turns green. He takes a right. You are following him, and also take a right.

Fig 3 - Case 2- Signal turns green. He goes straight. You first wonder why he wasted a minute if he was going straight anyway and then take a right and carry on.

Either way, I couldnt understand your statement "i am left with nowhere to go :(". Am I missing something?

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

@ recompose: well traffic is moving left, straight and you are following a guy who does not have his indicator on so should i assume that he is going right because he is one of the rare breeds who follows lane discipline or should i assume he is going straight because he does not have his indicator on?

If you have seen that he has been waiting for a minute on the right lane when the signal is green for going straight/left, to me it would imply he is taking a right turn.

EDIT: Off Topic - Note how dimensions of car change when taking a right

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by RECOMPOSE

EDIT: Off Topic - Note how dimensions of car change when taking a right

OT:

maybe they're the new Fluidic Vernas - hence the shape shift


i've been noticing this for a long time - people tend to go left/right or any way around if an obstacle presents itself in front of them rather than slow down and stop and by doing this they put themselves in the opposite lane!


saw this on the ITC flyover. both of them have stopped their bikes in the fast lane (facing opposite direction) and were sitting and talking on the median! as i approached closer they were exchanging hugs and leaving!



last night (actually early this morning) we were heading home after watching a movie and when we reached the Cantonment area, we saw a large gathering of people (mostly Muslims) on the road (end of Miller's road). first i thought they were blocking the road, but later saw that they were standing aside since some of the youngsters were doing wheelies - with three people on the bike!!!! there was another bunch who were riding alongside and shooting the video of the stunts! saw this phenomena at the Ulsoor side too.

[deathwalkr]

^ that pic is the limit good catch

and recompose nice figures and thanks for pointing out the size changing

but pertaining to fig1, the point is left lane is full, right lane is full and there is a relatively empty lane on the right with one car without indicator on. now here i am running late for office or whatever and i go stay behind him thinking "yay i can save a few minutes now" but imagine to my idiotic frustration our man is wanting to go right and he does not have his indicator on.

so in such instance, lane 1 and lane 2 proceed on and here i am stuck waiting behind a person oblivious to my banging my head on the wheel and after a minute blissfully takes the right.

lane discipline is all well and good but in a big junction what lane do you take when you have only two lanes? :( that's another big headache here in little Kerala. Ideally one lane for the left, two straight lanes and one for the right. But don't see that happening out here anytime in the near future unless we take over our neighbour TN

[Mik]

I have a quick question.
On Friday last week, i was at a U turn just outside my office in Gurgaon Unitech Infospace SEZ.
At the green light, i was on the right most lane and started taking the U turn. A tempo traveller on my left (turns out it was from my wifes company- hence we are pursuing the case) took a wider turn and swung madly and brushed badly against the left front edge of the bumper. The bumper is badly scratched. Needless to say, i honked like crazy but he kept on scratching. Finally, reversing the vehicle saved major damage.

Now, we pursued the case with the the transport and they really stumped us.
They said that its our mistake since the tempo traveller is a bigger vehicle and i should have given it right of way. I am not inclined to believe so since i was in my lane and had moved first to take the turn.

A pic attached will give an idea.

Do let me know your views.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

but pertaining to fig1, the point is left lane is full, right lane is full and there is a relatively empty lane on the right with one car without indicator on. now here i am running late for office or whatever and i go stay behind him thinking "yay i can save a few minutes now" but imagine to my idiotic frustration our man is wanting to go right and he does not have his indicator on.

so in such instance, lane 1 and lane 2 proceed on and here i am stuck waiting behind a person oblivious to my banging my head on the wheel and after a minute blissfully takes the right.

Well, firstly, by jumping a couple of cars, you would have saved nothing more than maybe 10 seconds, at best. And that too till the next intersection only

Secondly, what you could have done is left some space between you and the car in front of you, so that in case he decides to turn right (which eventually happened in this case) you would still have some room to move and switch lanes. Although in this process you would have annoyed a few in the left lane, but thats a situation you can rectify easily by an appreciative/apologetic gesture.

Originally Posted by Mik

I have a quick question.
On Friday last week, i was at a U turn just outside my office in Gurgaon Unitech Infospace SEZ.
At the green light, i was on the right most lane and started taking the U turn. A tempo traveller on my right
.
.
.
Do let me know your views.

You meant "on my left", right? Clearly its the TT's fault. Unless, the TT had moved to the left to take the turn and then you tried to sneak in, then it would be your fault. But knowing these TTs, i am almost certain that thats not the case. And these TTs do not require that big a turning area either, unless its driver used to drive trucks/buses till yesterday.

[deathwalkr]

^ hate it when that happens. not really sure as to what the law states but i've had autos and what not doing that and its really irritating especially when there are two roads to cut into on the right and the lanes intersect between me and the guy taking the wider route into the turn

Originally Posted by amitoj

Well, firstly, by jumping a couple of cars, you would have saved nothing more than maybe 10 seconds, at best. And that too till the next intersection only

Secondly, what you could have done is left some space between you and the car in front of you, so that in case he decides to turn right (which eventually happened in this case) you would still have some room to move and switch lanes. Although in this process you would have annoyed a few in the left lane, but thats a situation you can rectify easily by an appreciative/apologetic gesture.

i know but the point i was trying to make in all this was the need to use indicators even at junctions even if the vehicle is stationary at a junction that's all

leave the indicator and save everyone a lot of trouble, self warranted as it may

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

i know but the point i was trying to make in all this was the need to use indicators even at junctions even if the vehicle is stationary at a junction that's all

leave the indicator and save everyone a lot of trouble, self warranted as it may

True. I always leave my indicator on, when turning right, specially when i am the last in the queue! But whaddayaknow! There are still people who queue up behind me, wanting to go straight. This happens a lot specially at the Arekere junction, when I want to take a U turn, coming from Bannerghatta side and getting back to go towards Bannerghatta side. Of course, situation is compounded by the bus stop right AT the signal. But i am ranting now.

Anyway, it is always best to assume everyone else out there is a bad driver and be prepared for the worst.

[Mik]

Originally Posted by amitoj

You meant "on my left", right?

Oops.. my bad. Yes, he was on my left. The accident occured after i had almost completed the turn (because i had the first mover advantage) The TT guy simply cut it more fine and blocked my way.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by Mik

I have a quick question.
On Friday last week, i was at a U turn just outside my office in Gurgaon Unitech Infospace SEZ.
At the green light, i was on the right most lane and started taking the U turn. A tempo traveller on my right (turns out it was from my wifes company- hence we are pursuing the case) took a wider turn and swung madly and brushed badly against the left front edge of the bumper. The bumper is badly scratched. Needless to say, i honked like crazy but he kept on scratching. Finally, reversing the vehicle saved major damage.

Now, we pursued the case with the the transport and they really stumped us.
They said that its our mistake since the tempo traveller is a bigger vehicle and i should have given it right of way. I am not inclined to believe so since i was in my lane and had moved first to take the turn.

A pic attached will give an idea.

Do let me know your views.

We have similar U-Turns here in Bangalore.

The most prominent ones are on Airport Road. Two of them actually. One right in front of Leela/Manipal Hospital and the other a kilometer or so ahead. The traffic-police have put up barricades at the signal so as to avoid brash lane-changing maneuvers by idiot road users and it has helped indeed.

However, since the road is quite wide, the barricade ensures that there are two lanes for road users looking to take a right/U-Turn at this junction, much like your illustration.

Now, ideally, in such situations, the lane next to the divider is the lane for those looking to take a U-Turn and the lane next to that is for those who want to take a right turn. But I've seen people take the other lane and take a U-Turn and vice-versa.

The tempo-traveler is down-right wrong here. He had no business to overtake you from the left and then cut you off while taking the U-Turn. He should have waited for you to make your move since he is a larger vehicle that would require more space and area to perform the U-Turn. But do you think such people would even begin to understand that? I don't think so.

The tempo-driver can be taken to task, merely by simple rules. But who follows rules here in India? For all you know, the tempo guy would have changed the story and narrated it according to his 'perspective'. It's really hard to prove such instances.

I suggest you follow it up, but if you don't see any progress in the matter, I'd say that you should let it go. It's a waste of time, effort and money at the end of the day, not to mention the infliction massive strain on your noodle.