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

[v1p3r]

Look, I'm not saying paying taxes gives me the right to drive like a nincompoop. But I think if we pay taxes, we should have:
-Clean, well-paved, broad roads.
-A well thought out traffic regulation system.
-A system of one ways that actually make some sense.
-An efficient and courteous police force.
-An efficient licencing system.
-An efficient vehicle registration and pollution control system.

Believe you me, if we had this, we would have a much better traffic situation today. And I expect to have this for paying my taxes.

[Selective]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Look, I'm not saying paying taxes gives me the right to drive like a nincompoop. But I think if we pay taxes, we should have:
-Clean, well-paved, broad roads.
-A well thought out traffic regulation system.
-A system of one ways that actually make some sense.
-An efficient and courteous police force.
-An efficient licencing system.
-An efficient vehicle registration and pollution control system.

Believe you me, if we had this, we would have a much better traffic situation today. And I expect to have this for paying my taxes.

I agree with you and Torqy and I do feel the same.

But at times I see the govt also doing there bit but not upto our expectations. In last few years the roads are improving, which I dont want to deny. The auto lane they introduced in few roads is being opposed by all the auto driver unions which is very discouraging to the govt as well. This is just an example and I dont inted to start a new topic here.

I came across few old age people who still drive their cars on these chaotic roads and when they witness the urgency and mindless driving from others, they say, this young road users are never going to grow when it comes to road usage. This is really sad. And I definitely dont want myself to count among that lot!

I guess it is upto us to decide where we want to go from here. I am always positive and I want to make difference by following the traffic rules whatever may happen...

May be I am too optimistic, so be it.

[Selective]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Look, I'm not saying paying taxes gives me the right to drive like a nincompoop. But I think if we pay taxes, we should have:
-Clean, well-paved, broad roads.
-A well thought out traffic regulation system.
-A system of one ways that actually make some sense.
-An efficient and courteous police force.
-An efficient licencing system.
-An efficient vehicle registration and pollution control system.

Believe you me, if we had this, we would have a much better traffic situation today. And I expect to have this for paying my taxes.

I agree with you and Torqy and I do feel the same.

But at times I see the govt also doing there bit but not upto our expectations. In last few years the roads are improving, which I dont want to deny. The auto lane they introduced in few roads is being opposed by all the auto driver unions which is very discouraging to the govt as well. This is just an example and I dont inted to start a new topic here.

I came across few old age people who still drive their cars on these chaotic roads and when they witness the urgency and mindless driving from others, they say, this young road users are never going to grow when it comes to road usage. In the past they have experienced better days on road where people used to respect other road users. This is really sad. And I definitely dont want myself to count among that lot!

I guess it is upto us to decide where we want to go from here. I am always positive and I want to make difference by following the traffic rules whatever may happen...

May be I am too optimistic, so be it.

[Torqy]

Selective, you're right. The govt is trying to do something. But is that the RIGHT thing?

The govt and the politicians exist to eat public money. Every year they come up with a new tax. "Cough" tax. "Sneeze" Tax......and we all pay like donkeys. Where does all the tax money go? Nobody knows.
Every day you read about scams which run into crores. What happens to that money? Is it recovered from the scamsters? No. What happens to that money? It's gone........and when somebody makes noise about bad roads they say "we don't have money" and introduce another Tax.

With all those education cess and what not, rural schools still do not have basic necessities. Is 60 years not enough time for us to grow?

Isn't India amazing? Isn't India SHINING?

Regarding traffic, i do my bit when on road. I keep my lane. BTW, i keep to the middle lane, because the left lane is never usable because of parked vehicles. I obey the signal and the timer. I won't budge from my position till it hits 0. I stop for pedestrians. If you drive through Tin Factory junction on old madras road, you'll know. And finally my speed is not dictated by the "road surface". It's decided by the "traffic condition". I've seen well dressed (unfortunately educated) idiots driving fast through congested areas just because the "surface" is good.

Like i posted elsewhere..the govt has to get its basics right. We don't expect the town / city / road planners to be idiots. So we have a right to expect good, well thought about stuff. Too keep a lane you should know which lane goes where. How do you know that unless you keep the directions well in advance. What's the use if you keep them at the junction?

Has anybody thought why there is a jam on top of the flyover near tin factory? That's because our great thinking planners FORGOT to connect the hebbal ring road to old madras road forcing them to take a right at kasturi nagar!!!!

Any idea how a trailer truck coming from sarjapur ring road will turn to Hoskote without any hassle? He just CANNOT. He has to go crawling towards MG Road all the way till Pai layout on old madras road, take a U turn and get on to the suspension bridge!!!!

Would you call this road design / planning?

Sorry, i just got carried away.

-- Torqy

[leodelg]

Originally Posted by Torqy

What have the GOVT done?

1. Is it rocket science to figure out that BAD Road Design leads to BAD Traffic?

2. Is it rocket science to figure out that without bus bays buses will stop in the middle of the road blocking all traffic?

3. Is it rocket science to understand that just following LANE discipline will solve 50% of Bangalore's problems?

You see....it's not rocket science. It's because bird-brains rule.

-- Torqy

Sigh..... Torqy my friend... I had started a thread with the exact same thought quite a long while back. But after a lot of posts being posted left, right and centre, it just died. I felt a bit let down because the thread didnt serve its purpose. I not only wanted to bring to attention the issues faced on the Domlur - ITPL stretch, but also wanted us TBHPians to do something about it. But that was not to be the case....

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...t-science.html (Easing Bangalore Traffic - Rocket Science?)

[Selective]

Originally Posted by Torqy

The govt and the politicians exist to eat public money. Every year they come up with a new tax. "Cough" tax. "Sneeze" Tax......and we all pay like donkeys. Where does all the tax money go? Nobody knows.
Every day you read about scams which run into crores. What happens to that money? Is it recovered from the scamsters? No. What happens to that money? It's gone........and when somebody makes noise about bad roads they say "we don't have money" and introduce another Tax.

With all those education cess and what not, rural schools still do not have basic necessities. Is 60 years not enough time for us to grow?

I can understand what you are saying. I always feel that the govt is one/two generations behind us!

Originally Posted by Torqy

Regarding traffic, i do my bit when on road. I keep my lane. BTW, i keep to the middle lane, because the left lane is never usable because of parked vehicles. I obey the signal and the timer. I won't budge from my position till it hits 0. I stop for pedestrians. If you drive through Tin Factory junction on old madras road, you'll know. And finally my speed is not dictated by the "road surface". It's decided by the "traffic condition". I've seen well dressed (unfortunately educated) idiots driving fast through congested areas just because the "surface" is good.

Thank god I am not alone Lets do our bit, always...

Originally Posted by Torqy

Like i posted elsewhere..the govt has to get its basics right. We don't expect the town / city / road planners to be idiots. So we have a right to expect good, well thought about stuff. Too keep a lane you should know which lane goes where. How do you know that unless you keep the directions well in advance. What's the use if you keep them at the junction?

Has anybody thought why there is a jam on top of the flyover near tin factory? That's because our great thinking planners FORGOT to connect the hebbal ring road to old madras road forcing them to take a right at kasturi nagar!!!!

Any idea how a trailer truck coming from sarjapur ring road will turn to Hoskote without any hassle? He just CANNOT. He has to go crawling towards MG Road all the way till Pai layout on old madras road, take a U turn and get on to the suspension bridge!!!!

Ah! Engineering!! Less said is better...

[Venkatesh.C]

HEAR!! HEAR!!

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Look, I'm not saying paying taxes gives me the right to drive like a nincompoop. But I think if we pay taxes, we should have:
-Clean, well-paved, broad roads.
-A well thought out traffic regulation system.
-A system of one ways that actually make some sense.
-An efficient and courteous police force.
-An efficient licencing system.
-An efficient vehicle registration and pollution control system.

Believe you me, if we had this, we would have a much better traffic situation today. And I expect to have this for paying my taxes.

@v1p3r and
@selective - well said.

Government is doing it, a bit too late albeit. Maybe better late than never. This is India after all.
If you notice, it is only in some areas we lag woefully behind.
Look at telephony and telecommunications, we are not so bad off. when will it be like that for the roads. Maybe, once GQ is done, our centre will allocate more funds for similar surfacing of state roads(more than our state goons can swallow. Is there a limit to how much they can swallow?).

And so I dream.
Me and my utopian world of distorted realities. Sigh..

[benbsb29]

I agree that certain steps are being taken, and they are appreciable.
I remember the ORR was tarred atleast twice in the space of 1 year, and then the median height was raised, and so on. Thankfully, the tarring this time round was good enough that it survived the rains which lashed Bangalore. Last time round, there were potholes everywhere along it.

With the sheer number of vehicles plying on this road, its imperative that the road is well maintained. The speedbreakers on this road also serve their purpose, and arent backbreakers.

Take a look at the road (??) linking Jakkasandra with Lemon Grass restaurant, and one would experience how the surface of the moon looks and feels like.

[rjstyles69]

Take a look at the road (??) linking Jakkasandra with Lemon Grass restaurant, and one would experience how the surface of the moon looks and feels like.

The only reason why we dint have our last tbhp meet at Lemon Grass.

My company bus takes that road everyday and its feels like the bus is doing some kinda off-road thingy. I enjoy it sometimes though .

[Torqy]

Another thing i never understood is the general thinking "Progress means more and more ring roads". While it's true that we need ring roads / highways for progress, why are the other non-ring, non-highways and bylanes ignored. Why should your be surrounded by knee-deep slush just because you're not living on ring road?

There are mud roads (??) which are worse than the moon's surface where buses refuse to ply and the residents have to walk all the way to the main road (a few kms). They being mud roads, you can imagine how they'll be in the rain.

The tax I pay is NOT just for myself. It IS for others too. I pay tax for myself and for others who live a hard life. Just because a poor person doesn't pay tax does NOT mean that he should be denied the basic stuff. He has every right to demand them. Because YOU and ME are paying for them.

It REALLY pains when i see the ANARCHY that INDIA has become.

(As you might've figured out, this is my favorite topic.)

-- Torqy

[benbsb29]

Torqy, ring roads mean more money for all corrupt hands involved.

Once a ring road which was meant to facilitate fast movement of traffic comes up, soon you have apartment complexes which mushroom along it. These in turn lead to multiplexes, shopping malls, and the likes, all bringing with them their share of increased traffic. Soon a ring road becomes just like another road within the city, with the just the name indicating its a 'Ring Road'.

Property prices appreciate like hell along these and i personally know of some people who have become bl***y rich owing to the same.

[eflanker]

Whats up with broken-down vehicles that are parked right in the middle of the road / or on fast lane, awaiting to be fixed????

Sometimes I see trucks, or sometimes I see ordinary cars parked on the faster lane along the divider - only to cause traffic jams and risk of an accident!


damn guys!! people should have basic sense to have their vehicle pushed to the side of the road !!



Recently I got very irritated when a tempo was driving on the fast lane at 30Kmph. I overtook him and slowed down ahead of him just to give him a taste of what it feels like - obviously that didnt help much either

[Torqy]

Originally Posted by eflanker

Recently I got very irritated when a tempo was driving on the fast lane at 30Kmph. I overtook him and slowed down ahead of him just to give him a taste of what it feels like - obviously that didnt help much either

No, you can't teach certain people certain things. That's what i've learned from all these years. So, i've mellowed down and just ignore these guys.

Money can't buy common sense...and Education need not bring common sense. Or else you wouldn't find educated idiots in expensive cars.

-- Torqy

[lohithrao]

Originally Posted by eflanker

Whats up with broken-down vehicles that are parked right in the middle of the road / or on fast lane, awaiting to be fixed????

Sometimes I see trucks, or sometimes I see ordinary cars parked on the faster lane along the divider - only to cause traffic jams and risk of an accident!


damn guys!! people should have basic sense to have their vehicle pushed to the side of the road !!



Recently I got very irritated when a tempo was driving on the fast lane at 30Kmph. I overtook him and slowed down ahead of him just to give him a taste of what it feels like - obviously that didnt help much either

Very true, what frustates more is that they keep stones around the vehicle. they keep atleast the stones atelat a ft awway from the vehicle this sometimes covers entire lane.

Later they dont remove the stones from the road before moving... heights of irresponsibility.

As Torqy mentioned people lack common sense.

[gt_mustang]

u guys are complaining about bang traffic u should see hyderabad then
i was there around 2 years back and man i found bang traffic very civilized as compared to hyd traffic

its horrible in hyd too chaotic no rules at all