Rants on Bangalore's traffic situation

[madhav]

what I don't understand with Bangalore traffic is why the Police are not doing anything about the offenders!
They can rake in tonnes of moolah by collecting fines. I get very angry when a cop does nothing when he sees that there are vehicles blocking the traffic from the opp direction. They need to crack the whip... if the Police force is inefficient, then make a citizen forum to be part of this exercise. They'll need powers and should be able to punish violators.

The above part was the wishful part, now the reality....

The Lok Ayukta did so much, caught so many corrupt Govt. officials red-handed and the Govt. didn't do anything! The politicians do not want to correct the system coz if they do make a change, then their importance is lost and the system becomes more important.

Don't know if we will ever change!

[sixthsense]

I've lived in Delhi for about 10 years followed by 1 year in Hyderabad and the past 1 and 1/2 years in banagalore. I've also been to Chandigarh quite a few times. Believe me Bangalore stands at the Top of the list and can be awarded "The most chaotic city" in terms of traffic. Some major major problems in bangalore:

1. Traffic light systems are not maintained and as correctly mentioned before by somebody the timings on these lights need to be recalculated and revised.

2. Most of the junctions are manned with traffic police controllers busy reading novels (yeah!! that's true) or hiding in shades nearby. They are particularly ignorant about the bikers or autorikshaws (probably they don't get much from them...) and are more concerned about the 4 wheeler owner's road tax slip. Seriously i'm still unable understand where the hell does that huge amount of road tax that the RTO here in b'lore collects goes into (a blackhole) ??? ( I paid 44k for my swift towards road tax )

3. Roads are so bad that you won't find the same colour/texture/shape of road for even a stretch of 2 kms ( if you know what i mean ). Driving is a pain physically as well as mentally, as your mind is always pre-occupied with the thought of the next undetectable speed breaker or the pothole.

4. One thing needs a special mention , what kinda idiot designed and planned the placements of redlights in bangalore. Every redlight is placed on the camel bump section of the road where every driver would fail to see the traffic situation on the other side. The Autorikshaws and the BMTC would take extra care to brake their vehicles kissing your car's bumper on these redlights, so you're sure to get your paint brushed off every time the car backs up a little while taking off.

The latest one of the "chaotic" moments happened today when i was returning back from office , i had 4 auto rickshaws driving in front of me besides each other and most probably competeing with each other at their top speed @30 kms . The greatest pain being that they won't give me way and i did honk continously at them only to get a nasty glare at me when i went past through one of them as if i committed a crime.

Hyderabad is more or less the same , as you get towards secunderabad the road starts shrinking and the tarffic increases. The problems in hyderabad are the same as bangalore only the traffic police controllers are more active and less corrupt, so are efficient to some extent.

Delhi so far seems to be my best out of the three with so many flyovers to manage the traffic and strict traffic rules ( i know there is corruption to some level ). The drivers in Delhi follow Lane rules and Delhi particularly feels heaven after driving in B'lore and H'bad.

My hats off to Chandigarh Traffic Police , the place is amazing and you'll not find any traffic jams or anyone even trying to violate any traffic rules. It is the most organised city i've ever seen in every aspect. My friend lives there and last year i got a "Radar Detector" for him from US ( suppose to alert you about the PCR with speed detectors before their radar detects you) . Believe me guys i cannot even think about crossing 40 kms/hr in B'lore, so what the hell would someone do with a "radar detector", if i need it here then that would be a dream come true.

This post can go on , but i'll leave it here......

[blueraven316]

Well for our traffic situation everyone is to blame, cops , common people, most of us drivers, and bikers are phenomenal in Bangalore
Here are the various components.

1) Cops:
Description : Passive person wearing the dumbest Hat I have ever seen in my life standing on the side of the road sticking his belly out and waiting for the next motorist they can collect fines from.
They are by default catching all the bikers moving on the left side of the road, one thing I have noticed is they have this typical pattern, they only catch people riding on the left side of the road, and people who ride slow and unsuspecting.
When I used to ride my bike I always kept behind come big vehicle on the right so that they can't see me and it invariably worked every time, I did not have papers in my RD for 2 years and never got caught.
That shows how stereotype the cops are.
In a situation that they check you in a nice modified car/bike , they will always try to find some fault and put a case on you even if there was none. That’s why all people hate them and no one respects the law as the law keepers are bunch of jokers.

2) Auto Driver:
Description: Person driving in Khaki dress riding 3 wheeled mode of public transport Which moves sideways more than straight. And yes no matter where you want to go they don’t want to.
So I don’t really understand why they are on the road if they don’t want to go anywhere a passenger asks. Their vehicles will not exceed 35 KMPH properly and has a stretch top speed of 40 KMPH. Another common feature is they hold everyone on the road responsible for their miseries except for themselves, which again in turn makes them ride the same 3 wheeled auto till their hair turns grey and they cant ride any more and kick the bucket. (Not all auto drivers are like the above description but 99% of them fit right into it)
Once in a blue moon I come across some Auto Driver who is honest and gives exact change back or asks money for a genuine reason.

3) Bike Rider:
Description: Person commuting from one point to another just like everyone else on the road on a Two Wheeled mode of transport.
Now there are various kinds , in fact there are all kinds of people on 2 Wheelers,
The characteristic of their riding differs mainly in age groups,
The older folk have taken an oath of not exceeding 20 KMPH when on road (especially ones with scooters) and they also have taken an oath of riding in the middle and keep a deaf ear to any horn pressed. “I am old, so I will not move, so you move and overtake from the left.”
The middle aged folk, some ride fast (supposedly) , some ride slow, some ride well, some are totally not bothered about who is there on the road or for that matter anyone is there on the road. If you see the Female species riding , STAY AWAY, they are bound to crash because of their own incapability or lack of road sense or any sense at all. And after they crash into you they will make you feel that it was your fault that you are on the road they were riding on.
The young folk, all ride fast, at least most of them, some ride decent , some ride like they were to be the next Valentino Rossi and our roads are the best training grounds for MOTOGP. Especially ones with Kinetic Hondas, man some are totally nuts.

4) Car Drivers:
Description: Person/People commuting from one point to another just like everyone else on the road on a Four Wheeled mode of transport.
All kinds of people again, instead of getting into all the types here’s the best type,
HIGHWAY IDIOTS:
They will take up the fastest lane and drive the slowest or maybe have the slowest car which if it goes any faster will fall apart, they are deaf and blind, will not get out of the way no matter how hard you honk, some are the best , they will drive in between 2 lanes, half here, half there and again will not move to any side when needed, but will invariably move towards you when you overtake. (Best example: Older Fiat Drivers...... aaah I love them )

5) BTS, Truck and Cab Drivers:
Axe Murderers in disguise and The less said about them the better it is.
Every cab driver thinks he is the decendent of Tommi Makinnen born in the wrong country driving the right car, SUMO.

Bangalore is total Chaos, and people claim if they can drive here they can drive anywhere which is very very wrong, cos they are used to roads with no rules or conceptions, and will cause accidents wherever they go outside India to any country with a better economy.

I love Bangalore, but not the roads, have driven in Chennai and Mumbai and Delhi, all are better, in fact Mumbai with all that much traffic and chaos is much more organized.

WE DONT NEED TARRED ROADS OR POTHOLE FREE ROADS, WE NEED ROAD SENSE !!

Only city which can match Bangalore in being as bad is Calcutta.

[Autophile]

I have seen very sad situation in Bangalore. The traffic is totally mismanaged and roads are not sufficient for traffic. Also on our way to coimbatore I took us close to 1.5 hours to cross electronic city we were literally sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. Bangalore is slowly closing Bombay.

Delhi traffic is far better than banagalore, thanks to open roads, flyovers & managed one ways.

[theexister]

I agree with all here.

Been Banglore twice, & very often to Chennai...last being a couple of months back & I live in Hyderabad.

Banglore traffic was pretty bad last when I visited about 5 years back. I drove around for a while but then decided I cant anymore. I can just imagine how bad it must be.

Hyderabad though was never this bad. I remember when I learnt driving in my dads M800 I never felt any sort of hesitation or nervousness thanks to very less traffic. And the flyover laid out all over secunderabad helped because they were laid much before the traffic got out of hand. Thanx to this city is able to barely cope up now. The 3 new flyovers near somajiguda, panjagutta coming up by March'07 will make things much better.

What is sad is though that inspite of all the efforts the admin people are not reciprocating it through good driving habits. I used to drive real rash 4 years back but then I had a close call & learnt my lesson. Then my trips to US helped me understand what actual traffic sense is.

Hyd guys just dont respect others on the road. It is more of a dada attitude. I often hear drivers saying 'Nobody stops for light so why should I'. I just deal with them saying 'If they are donkeys so are you!'.

I think more than fining people it would be better to catch traffic offenders & then post their pics in the newspaper along with their car. This public embarrassment will deter people from any traffic violations atleast among the literate group.

I have a friend who has lived in US for 5 years & after coming back drives so rash that I told him I will never travel with him if he drives this way. Shockingly he drove very well in US but then brushes away my advice on the pretext of India having relaxed rules so enjoy!

I think in every city a drivers forum must be started to educate & reprimand offenders & also reward good drivers.

[sandeep108]

Well, same goes for civic sense as well. Here we spit and throw garbage all over, but when we go out of India, we behave ourselves. Why does this happen? Do we need psycho analysis? What is this trait in us Indians and how can we overcome it?

[sharu]

guyz, common u find other places better is because there are less 2 wheelers there.......its simple. when i was in KL cars used to maintain the lanes but the guyz on motor bikes were the same.....

If something needs to change then

govt should ensure small cars are available at a nominal cost...(4 member family - 2 bikes can be reduced to one car, increases the safety of citizens etc etc)

all rallies, relegious processions should be done after working hours or in the outskirts

small things like a garbage van, standing in the middle of the road at 10am, a women sweeping with her trolley in main roads can be avoided (all of these should be done early in the morning)

why should traffic stop for politicians...they should travel like all others, if not let them travel by helicopters....

why do govt dig the road after new tar is laid and dont clean up the mess once it is over

the most important everyone can leave atleast 1 hr early to office so tht they have enough time to reach their destination

[DRC]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

Well, same goes for civic sense as well. Here we spit and throw garbage all over, but when we go out of India, we behave ourselves. Why does this happen? Do we need psycho analysis? What is this trait in us Indians and how can we overcome it?

You can read my earlier post again, that largely explains the behavior.

Lack of enforcement is the key. When you are abroad, you think of a 1000 dollors fine before spitting, here you will quote example of the other one who spit before you did and try to get away.

[sandeep108]

Originally Posted by DRC

You can read my earlier post again, that largely explains the behavior.

Lack of enforcement is the key. When you are abroad, you think of a 1000 dollors fine before spitting, here you will quote example of the other one who spit before you did and try to get away.

Lack of enforcement, right but that also is not the answer. If we do the equivalent and lay down fine 1000rs to jaywalker or person who litters, it simply will line more pockets rather than achieve anything.

Having suffered from years of poverty and suppressed wants, today there is no end to greediness, whether by politicians, policemen, or by all of us Indians. We now want to accumulate for 7 generations in one lifetime.

[kvish]

Yesterday, a traffic police constable was killed by a truck in Hosur road...
This is not the first incident where police themselves have succumbed to this mayhem.
Afterall, what can a poor constable do.. The problem is in the leadership which needs to set things right...

[anarchist]

The typical Bangalorean Driver falls among one of these categories

Truck Drivers: You usually don't get to see them directly because they sit somewhere at an altitude. You can however identify the cabin crew by a frantically waving hand on the non-driver side. This hand belongs to a crew-member called 'cleaner' and all scholastic efforts till date have failed to decipher the symbolic meaning of these waving. It is however Safe to assume that these waving mean 'stay away'. Fortunately the trucks are prohibited from the arterial roads. But you can see them racing each other at 30 kmph and 31 kmph on the ring road. They successfully block the whole width of the road. It is advised that you take them over from left (yes, the wrong side) for, they wont let you pass from the right side anyway. The other advice is to keep away from them.

BMTC Drivers: You can see them from a mile away from the distinguishing color and driving. It can be very dangerous and frustrating to follow a BMTC bus. The bus follows Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and at any instance you can not predict the speed AND the position correctly. One observation that might help the reader is that they always keep right between bus stops and move to left (well, almost) at bus stops. This is the apt opportunity for you to take the bus over and go stuck behind the next one. The drivers can be seen although mostly through the bus's rear view mirror. If you happen to see them directly through their window, be prepared to listen to advice (varies from motherly, fatherly to ultra indecent) for having taken them over in a dangerous fashion. While a normal bus can easily create a road block on any given road, there are special capacity joint-buses (called janti vaahana) which have an uncanny power of blocking up to 3 roads at a time at a junction.

Cab Drivers: Characterized by red eyes, irritable nature, unkempt facial hair, constant honking even at stationary object! They always try to go at 80 kmph, assume the urgency of an ambulance and expect everyone else has less important job. Most of them do not sleep for days together and some of them are trying to compete with David Blain for stretching human limits. The author personally knows few cab drivers who do not have a habitat. They just keep a pair of spare uniform in the cab, eat sleep in the cab and use public bathrooms. Driving style of these indicates that many of them were auto rickshaw driver earlier. However, they still seem to carry the self image of an auto rickshaw and try to squeeze a MUV into the 1 meter gap between any two objects.

Car Drivers: Characterized by creased foreheads. Having paid through their noses and fighting to pay the EMI, they are obsessive about their cars and want to make sure nobody bumps/scratches their car body. This sits on the mind perpetually and causes those creases on foreheads. Most pitiable class of drivers having the most to lose from the mistakes of other classes of drivers.

Auto Rickshaw Drivers: Having stood over years as undisputed symbol for rash driving, they are unfortunately losing grounds to cab drivers. (Unfortunat e because a rashly driven MUV is more dangerous than a rashly driven auto rickshaw). Auto rickshaws are the vehicles with most diverse speed ranges. They travel at speeds approaching zero when they have no passengers aboard and travel at speed of unto 3x10^8 m/s when a passenger is aboard. Analogous to the belief that "a cat can pass through any hole that is bigger than its skull" auto rickshaws can "pass through any gap that is wider than the headlight". They defy all laws of Physics. A typical auto drive sits with a calm and indifferent attitude of a formula-1 driver just before the race. Based on his age, he is a Rajkumar/Shankarnag/Darshan fan. He feels strongly towards these actors and towards Karnataka and Kannada. In a surprising observation, many auto drivers refuse 1.5 times the meter reading after 10 PM if you are exiting from Ranga Shankara. This is their humble way of commemorating their favorite star who made films like Auto-Raja.

Two Wheeler Drives: The class in the most advantageous position. They consist of a variety of sub-populations like office goers, salesmen, mothers dropping children to school, college students, neighborhood store owner transporting about 1 ton weight on a moped, whole families of 4-5 children going on an outing etc. They usually mind their own business and do not cause inconvenience to other types of vehicles. They use all possible space on and around the road, including footpaths, medians, drainages, staircases etc and thus enhance infrastructure utilization.

[DRC]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

Lack of enforcement, right but that also is not the answer. If we do the equivalent and lay down fine 1000rs to jaywalker or person who litters, it simply will line more pockets rather than achieve anything.

Having suffered from years of poverty and suppressed wants, today there is no end to greediness, whether by politicians, policemen, or by all of us Indians. We now want to accumulate for 7 generations in one lifetime.

Of course it does not address everything, but most of it. Even if it ends up lining more pockets, no one wants to do that often. Unofficial money flow wont be cheaper either when the penalty is quite high.

[sandeep108]

I agree, but with today's governance going off on complete tangents overall with little sense or logic (only vested interests at play), it is better off the babus/netas do not interfere too much.

Examples of absurd enforcement: on open roads in Mumbai with hardly any traffic, they put speed limit of 40 or 50 kmph and wait with radar guns to catch you 'violating the law'. Just before this, the traffic has bottlenecked because of taxis parked in no stopping zone, from which they are not going to get much. A realistic speed limit could be 60 - 70 kmph, since in the afternoon there is not much traffic and 80% of cars usually stick around 60-70. But then they will not get much fines. The traffic police create more chaos and blocks by arbitrarily closing usually allowed turns / junctions and no information either at the junction or in advance.

So the purpose of the traffic authority is not to ensure smooth movement of traffic, but to collect maximum fines - official/unofficial in shortest possible time. Now you want to give them more power / raise the fines? If I saw that there was some sense in what the traffic cops were doing, I would be all for your suggestion, DRC.

[black12rr]

Today - 12-oct-2005 ,10.30 am , the inner airport ring road , jammed from eijipur cross all the wya till airport road end fly road . grrrr took almost more than 30 minutes to cross ,where as earlier when clear will not take 2-3 minutes on full blast . Its getting worse every day .Man i never saw ring road jammed .And the airport flyover was supposed to slove this .

Adding to this , from eijipur cross procedding towards airport , they is U-turn ,it is very deadly and slow down here ,i see atleast one accident every week . that U -turn should be blocked .Earlier this U turn was infront of DELL building .

[ajitkommini]

Originally Posted by black12rr

Adding to this , from eijipur cross procedding towards airport , they is U-turn ,it is very deadly and slow down here ,i see atleast one accident every week . that U -turn should be blocked .Earlier this U turn was infront of DELL building .

These U-turns and gaps in the median are really pathetic. I see them most often misused by BPO cab drivers who, instead of lining up one behind the other to take the turn, spread themselves across the entire width of the carriageway leaving a narrow gap at the extreme left for the normal traffic to squeeze through. If I had my way I would close every gap and U-turn on this road!