My Rant on Bangalore Traffic (and now even a note of appreciation... its not all bad)

[Nitin]

Many years ago, some of the top IT firms in B'lore fixed their work timings such that it would save a lot of traffic on the route to the specific offices.That made things much better,and the Traffic Police urged a list of Companies to do the same,so that it would make things easy for everyone.
simple,yet effect idea.If only something like this could be used to make the traffic easier to handle.

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by Nitin

Many years ago, some of the top IT firms in B'lore fixed their work timings such that it would save a lot of traffic on the route to the specific offices.

How many years ago was this ? Last I knew, such a thing was enforced in e-city two years back and my work timings also changed.

Originally Posted by Nitin

That made things much better,and the Traffic Police urged a list of Companies to do the same,so that it would make things easy for everyone.
simple,yet effect idea.If only something like this could be used to make the traffic easier to handle.

Which part of Bangalore got better mate ? The list is still on and thats why we don't have that prolonged wait at Bommanahalli and other areas between 5-7pm.

Most of the big companies still follow the rule and work timings have been re-scheduled AFAIK.

[Nitin]

I remember,it was probably 2000/2001 when many IT firms (pardon my memory,I do not recollect the names) ,especially towards the Techno park, moved to the 7.00/7.30am to 4/4.30pm slot. Airport Rd did see some change,albeit for a short period of time.

Just goes to say that with a percentage of workers getting to their offices 30 mins before rush hour,traffic can be regulated to an extent.

[thefreak]

Originally Posted by Nitin

I remember,it was probably 2000/2001 when many IT firms (pardon my memory,I do not recollect the names) ,especially towards the Techno park, moved to the 7.00/7.30am to 4/4.30pm slot. Airport Rd did see some change,albeit for a short period of time.

Just goes to say that with a percentage of workers getting to their offices 30 mins before rush hour,traffic can be regulated to an extent.

May be a bit OT but what the heck

Folks has the metro construction been adversely affecting the traffic in Bangalore these days?

[raghaviyengar]

Siemens (Electronic city), Symbian and Buisness Objects are the companies that i am aware of having adjusted office timings to beat the peak hour rush.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by thefreak

May be a bit OT but what the heck

Folks has the metro construction been adversely affecting the traffic in Bangalore these days?

Adversely is putting it mildly. There is total chaos on MG Road. I travelled by it only once and have stopped taking that road. With the bangaloreans penchant to squeeze themslves into the narrowest of gaps has made it even worse. If only people stuck to their lanes we wont have to see tis mess.

[Wheeliej]

Hi all,

Instead of starting a fresh thread, I am using this thread to describe what occurred this morning before the EPIP entrance on ITPL Road from Kundalahalli. This road is jinxed for my Honda city, it appears.

I was going towards Hoodi at around 9 a.m this morning in stop and go traffic. The traffic had just started moving again and my foot was off the brake. In my Honda City CVT I don’t need to press the accelerator to get it moving, it starts moving slowly on its own once the foot is off the brake (I guess this is to prevent back-tracking). A Hyundai Accent rear-ended my car just then and sent it sliding into the back of a truck. I was shocked for a couple of seconds and couldnt react. In the meanwhile the truck moved away and basically disappeared. The Accent driver came up to the door and tried to re-assure me and apologised and said he had lost control of his car and hence rammed into my car from behind.

Made a few calls. Called my mom, my friends and Rahul (who then called Benny who is the closest since he works just around the corner), the police and Dakshin Honda (to send a tow truck). The other driver has agreed to pay for the difference in damages (after insurance claim). He was the decent sort and hence there were no harsh words exchanged. His relative who came later he tried to change the story but the policemen asked him to shut up.
The police arrived and advised us to go file a complaint with the KR Puram traffic police. When we went there we were told that since it appeared that the damage cost was likely to be high we needed to get both the cars inspected by the RTO. That was also completed. The report will be ready by Mon/Tue. The insurance company (NIA) sent a spot surveryor, but by then the car had been towed to the police station, inspected and left for Dakshin Honda already. End result - the car had to be towed since the radiator fluid had leaked out and I don’t know what other damage there might have been so didn’t want to take a chance. To my non-expert eyes it only looked like crush zones had been crushed. I don’t know about the engine bay. There was no effect on the interior of the car. DH will be giving the estimate only by Mon/Tue. From the looks of it the following parts may be affected :

Front Bumper
Radiator
Front Bonnet & sides
Headlights – they didn’t crack; only got displaced by the looks of it
Rear Bumper & sides
Back lights – again I don’t think they are cracked.
Dickey cover did not close after I opened it to remove my laptop and other items but the cover itself was not damaged in any way.

Doors and wheels did not look damaged in any way. Will post pictures shortly. Cant find the USB cable now. But Benny also took some pictures, so he may be able to post some.

Is there anything that I should have done that I have missed?

PS : Thanks Benny & Rahul for the help.

[skandyhere]

Originally Posted by finneyp

Reg the Blueline buses creating havoc in Delhi roads, saw one analysis in Newspaper why State buses in Delhi are causing so many accidents & deaths but almost negligible in cities like Bangalore.

The writer says that due to the pot-holed roads in Bangalore, the Buses are driven slowly and so the accidents are minimal , but in Delhi the Roads are flat (bereft of pot-holes) and wide, so the Bus drivers overspeed and crash!
Any takers for this logic? Atleast I am not...

Surely not! One look at how those Bluelines go, and you know you're at the end of your lifeline. I have noticed that those Delhi buses are driven extremely aggressively, pushing through and fine-cutting at speed.

BMTC buses in B'lore have to be given credit for not being that reckless.

[skandyhere]

One more interesting feature of B'lore traffic is that each different area in the city seems to have a different style. Indira Nagar, Airport Rd, Whitefield etc. are a different thing to drive than in, say, Basavanagudi or Jayanagar. And once again, a different driving experience it is, to be in Rajajinagar or Malleshwaram.

Surely it has to do with multiple factors like demographics of age, domiciliary roots and lifestyle (time spent on the road, distance routinely traversed, work pressure, etc). But I feel it a different driving experience in every different area.

Without question, the IT corridors en route Whitefield and Electronic City are the most hectic. Sheer numbers, perhaps.

[benbsb29]

Here are the pics which i had clicked from Wheeliej's accident.

The Honda City :







And, here is the Accent which rear-ended the City.



Note to mods: Used a direct image link, as thumbnails option was not working.

[sammyboy]

wow , that hurts . Ben/Wheeliej i just cant comprehend the amount of damage to the city ...what speed were you at ? by what i read , couldnt have been over 10-15 kmph .
Sorry for the loss Wheeliej .

[vid6639]

WheelieJ, good to knwo your fine. The accident looks bad. Your car has taken a beating font and back.

Luckily the guy was decent enough to own up.

If you need any assistance from me for Dakshin honda let me know. My office is in E-city and Dakshin is on way to work.

Drive safe.

[theMAG]

Sunitha,

Very sorry to read abt your accident. I'm suprised by the amount of damage on your car compared to that Accent which is virtually scratchless. Anyway glad to know that you were unharmed. Hope your car gets back as new.

At the time of the insurance claim when you involve the Accent driver/owner, have Benny/others come along with you in case of a degradation in stance/conduct by him/his relatives.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by theMAG

I'm suprised by the amount of damage on your car compared to that Accent which is virtually scratchless.

That alone had me foxed! In fact, i clarified with Wheeliej if this was the car which was responsible for this mess. Sunita was herself surprised no less.

Originally Posted by theMAG

At the time of the insurance claim when you involve the Accent driver/owner, have Benny/others come along with you in case of a degradation in stance/conduct by him.

From what i made out about the guy in question, he seemed to be a rather timid and straightforward fellow. He owned up to his mistake, and did not seem to overact in any way. He has said that he would pay up the difference amount following insurance.

For a change, we had some cops who behaved and thought rationally. They were not traffic police, but they understood the situation and also asked a guy who was trying to divert facts to shut up. Quite nice, it was. They spoke proper English and were co-operative. They informed that this needs to be looked into by the traffic police, and radioed them for assistance. The traffic cops who later arrived asked for both cars to be taken to the KR Puram police station.

Replace the privately owned Accent from this incident with an Indicab or a Sumo cab, and you would have had total mayhem.

[theMAG]

Good job there, Ben sultan.