[RX135]

Originally Posted by HammerHead

These stats are for someone who thinks picking car over bike is a plain excuse.
Note: taken from youthkiawaaz.com

I don't know who did that analysis and what's the sample size. Even if that is authentic one, what is that you are trying to prove? Does the chart indicate % of people responsible for accidents? OR, does it chart indicate % of people involved in accidents?

If Motorcyclist are more responsible for the accidents, it just means that they don't ride appropriately and hence, at fault. How does that make biking unsafe?

If that chart is supposed to show % of people involved in an accident, higher % of people in trucks are involved, though trucks are way bigger than a car.

[sajo]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Traffic management cannot do anything about the lack of space/roads. And also about the thousands more of cars getting on to our already clogged roads.

Actually, roads in many older European cities are comparable in width to ours. Atleast those in our big(ish) cities.
They can manage perfectly fine with better planning and discipline inspite of having many more vehicles out.
What we need is a robust , comfortable, convenient public transport for those who wish to commute (majority of people) and disciplined, well managed traffic for the remaining who want to "drive".

This is actually a wrong topic on a car forum.

[anilisanil]

Originally Posted by RX135

If Motorcyclist are more responsible for the accidents, it just means that they don't ride appropriately and hence, at fault. How does that make biking unsafe?

If that chart is supposed to show % of people involved in an accident, higher % of people in trucks are involved, though trucks are way bigger than a car.

Well, biking per se in isolation is as safe as it could be. But with other factors thrown, like those in India, it is a bit unsafe. You might have ridden without much incidents over the years, but you had probability with you. But in general with other factors thrown in (having to take wife too on the bike, long distances etc) car is a choice for me over the bike.

Intent of this post is to not to generalize, it applies to both pro-bike and pro-car. To each his own.

[coldice4u]

If I am correct, the intention of this thread is not to :

1) Discourage people from buying cars.
2) Discourage people from enjoying their drives.
3) Discourage people from driving altogether (long drives, important trips, drives just for heck of it etc).

Commuting alone increases the number of cars on the road & which in turn causes :

1) Increased congestion, further aggravating the other two causes.
2) Increases Fuel consumption as a whole.
3) Causes pollution.

Alternatives suggested so far:

1) Public transport.
2) Bike
3) Car pooling.
4) Teleportation.

It might be possible that none of the altenatives that have been suggested(teleportation included) so far might be viable for each & everybody. In such cases a person does not have an option but to take his car & that seems perfectly reasonable.

For people who make statements like "I pay taxes, I purchased the car,There are other ways of saving the world etc", I believe they deny that a problem exists or are not just ready to give up their car.

You cant always have a cake & eat it too.

[adidac369]

Single Person Commuting in a Car ? Good or Bad ?
Cannot be so simplistic as a "Good" or "Bad" - as we are finding out reading the posts of fellow members.

For those of you have no other alternative..well nothing can be done. But for those of us who do have a choice why not think about it?

Im sure we have read the ULCC (Ultra low-cost cars ) thread. And once that is a reality we will be seeing close to 1.2 Lakh new cars every month. - Now where are the guys who said I earned it, I have the money etc? If congestion is not an issue why is Metro so popular with car owners?

In Delhi, I know of well-off people who leave their 10-20 Lakh cars at home and take the Metro. Its faster, more economical and hey you can make a few friends. (Now dont start on this..pls) I also know of people who hire drivers and take their car everywhere (The roads are so much better there compared to Bangalore) And thats perfectly normal. As SupremeBaleno said..to each his own. But atleast spare a thought.

I think if we are to challenge anything its the "I don't give a damn attitude".

[Gooney]

Full fun! The thread reminds me of the ancient Greek joke - "Opinions are like holes [on the posterior, where the sun never shines]. Everybody has one and thinks everybody else's stink."

Anyway, I have a simple hypothetical situation for you guys. Imagine, if the government made a rule by which only even numbered (registration number) vehicles were allowed to ply on roads on even numbered dates (meaning, numbers ending in 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 can ply on August 2, 4, 6, ...,30) and odd numbers on odd days. If you were caught violating the rule, your vehicle will be impounded and you pay a fine of, say INR 3,000, to get your vehicle back.

Will you car-pool to office then? Oh yes, you will. Will I car-pool to office then? I'd hate to, but I will have no other choice.

Another situation. If fuel prices touch INR 327.45 per liter, will you cycle or car-pool to office? I know you know the answer.

You see, certain things (marked behavioral changes) need to be 'forced' upon us (blame those 46 chromosomes and the information they passed on since we were literally tree-hugging apes). Until then, we can keep having this intellectual wrestle.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by sajo

Actually, roads in many older European cities are comparable in width to ours. Atleast those in our big(ish) cities. They can manage perfectly fine with better planning and discipline inspite of having many more vehicles out.

Roads, their width etc is just part of the story. If assume overnight all the roads in our country were to double/triple in width, we will get to work/home quicker. But for how long ? Till we clog these roads with even more cars.

You are right about Europe - in Belgium where I worked for short intervals, we did most of the daily commute via buses, but the network is wide, buses are on time and there is a general awareness of common good - so it is not just those that cannot afford cars that use buses. Now switch to America, the roads are much wider/better, and almost everyone uses cars. In Atlanta where I stayed, one sight that I saw every morning was the huge jam of cars on the expressway leading to downtown Atlanta. The road is some 5lanes or more wide (just one direction) and all the lanes are clogged with cars - they are just stationary, seemingly not going anywhere. So roads can only do so much.

@anilisanil, your PM box is full. Unable to reply to your PM.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by adidac369

Single Person Commuting in a Car ? Good or Bad ?
Cannot be so simplistic as a "Good" or "Bad" - as we are finding out reading the posts of fellow members.

For those of you have no other alternative..well nothing can be done. But for those of us who do have a choice why not think about it?

Im sure we have read the ULCC (Ultra low-cost cars ) thread. And once that is a reality we will be seeing close to 1.2 Lakh new cars every month. - Now where are the guys who said I earned it, I have the money etc? If congestion is not an issue why is Metro so popular with car owners?

In Delhi, I know of well-off people who leave their 10-20 Lakh cars at home and take the Metro. Its faster, more economical and hey you can make a few friends. (Now dont start on this..pls) I also know of people who hire drivers and take their car everywhere (The roads are so much better there compared to Bangalore) And thats perfectly normal. As SupremeBaleno said..to each his own. But atleast spare a thought.

I think if we are to challenge anything its the "I don't give a damn attitude".

I loved the Delhi Metro the short while I was there. Almost never had to consider another mode of transport. I don't like driving in mad traffic (saves you from physical illnesses but gives you stress-related ones in return). Given the choice, I would love to give up my bike/car and commute by Metro.

And yes, you can make a few friends along the way. I sure did

[Captain Slow]

Originally Posted by coldice4u

Commuting alone increases the number of cars on the road & which in turn causes :

1) Increased congestion, further aggravating the other two causes.
2) Increases Fuel consumption as a whole.
3) Causes pollution.

I do agree with you on the first point. Increased vehicles on the road causes congestion. However the other points are baseless

This is what a developed country usually tells developing counties. Use less oil/switch to greener alternatives.

If you are worried about pollution and fuel consumption then let me tell you that our country is just a small fish in a large ocean.

figures maybe a little old but nothing much has changed.
Oil consumption of countries around the world

[HammerHead]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

The chart shows who is responsible for accidents, not that bikes are less safer than cars. Also, while being on a bike is indeed inherently more dangerous than cars, but that does not make cars death-proof.

Neither does Airbags or any other safety equipment makes a car death-proof. But we still opt for these safety options to increase our chance of being alive or escape without major injuries incase of an accident.

Originally Posted by RX135

If Motorcyclist are more responsible for the accidents, it just means that they don't ride appropriately and hence, at fault. How does that make biking unsafe?

Is it? Please care to share analysis if you have any which confirms your above claim.

The only purpose behind posting the analysis was to know whats the percentage of 'things' involved in an accident.

I will rather prefer public transport then going on a bike to office!!

[Recompose]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

Saving a few bucks is my primary motivation for car pooling. But, as a by product of car pooling, if we can reduce congestion on the road and save the environment by burning lesser fuel, I am more than happy to contribute.

For those who feel that the savings are negligible, let me give you an idea. I travel 15kms one way to office. If I travel alone in my car, my monthly fuel cost would be 4k and toll cost would be 1k. If 4 of us are car pooling, this fuel cost and toll cost gets divided by 4. Hence I can easily save 3.5k per month.

The resale value of your car would also be higher because it would have done lesser kms.

I agree with all your points Rohan. 3.5K per month is definitely significant, good on ya mate . When you bought the car, you didnt do so with the intention of car pooling, as you were prepared for the EMI, the fuel costs and maintenance. And now getting to shave 3.5K off that figure is astounding. You neednt worry about fuel price hikes of even 10% or so, because that you only affects you by a 125 bucks.

Even if someone can start car pooling with just one person, thats a 50% reduction in fuel costs. Days of Rs 36 for a liter of petrol

[noopster]

Lots of folks are commenting on the OP's intent. Well, it's clear from the title ofthe post: Single Person Commuting in a Car ? Good or Bad ?

From the tone of the content, the implication was that it *is* "bad". And from subsequent posts, it appears that everyone who's indulged in driving alone is supposed to feel guilt of some kind, towards "society" and "the environment".

Well, it's not. And I don't.

Give me an efficient, regular and clean mass rapid transit system and I'm more than happy to leave my car on home on weekdays. I didn't even own a car the 2 years I was in Singapore. Walk to the nearest MRT (train) or bus station, was my motto. And all the walking did me good too: was at my lowest weight in 10 years when I was there.

Hell, I even used to take the train when I was a student in Mumbai. Crowded sure but the local network in the metrop does its job keeping cars off the street. My dad must've driven to work like 5 times in his entire career: other days he took the 8:12 Fast.

If I were living in Delhi, I would take the Metro. I think.

The problem with mass rapid transit in our country is that most systems aren't any of those. Meaning they are not "mass" (connectivity for the planned Bangalore metro doesn't extend up to Electronics City, for example), they are not "rapid" (our trains run at 60 kmph and buses stay mired in thick traffic for ages), yes- but one thing they ensure is that you are "transit" most of the time

Using a bike is not even a suggestion I would dignify with a response. While there are those intrepid souls who venture out on bicycles even in our traffic (a guy from my office comes to mind) I would categorise them as foolhardy rather than brave. Riding a bicycle without the adequate infrastructure in place is suicidal.

My comment to the OP: your prescribed alternatives aren't good enough. And till you or someone else can come up with one, I for one will continue to drive to work. All I can promise is that I will intensify my efforts to pool, thereby at least knocking 1 or 2 cars off the road.

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by HammerHead

Neither does Airbags or any other safety equipment makes a car death-proof. But we still opt for these safety options to increase our chance of being alive or escape without major injuries incase of an accident.

Is it? Please care to share analysis if you have any which confirms your above claim.

The only purpose behind posting the analysis was to know whats the percentage of 'things' involved in an accident.

I will rather prefer public transport then going on a bike to office!!

Thank you for saying what I was thinking.

There seem to be those who think other's opinions are baseless excuses and verbose expostulation will make their own opinions seem right. Please, I believe I am entitled to think of my safety and decide upon my preferred mode of transport myself, and I give the same benefit to others without ridiculing their choices.

I don't think, I Know that riding a bike is more dangerous not only in Bangalore or Delhi or India, but anywhere in the world because of the simple reason that there are no crumple-zones, roll cages, seat belts, neck-restraints and airbags to protect the biker even in the event that s/he is not at fault.

A single person travelling by car is neither right nor wrong, it is just a choice. I travel to office by scooter though I have the option of traveling by car simply because it take less time. Bangalore's weather helps, though it is fast becoming as polluted as any other city. But this is again my choice.

One's responsibility towards going green and preserving the environment is part of life, and encompasses every aspect of it. How many of us check whether the wood used for the woodwork used in our flats/villas are sourced from sustainable forests? Did how much carbon-black was used in the tyre really influence your decision?

What's the capacity of the engine of your car? And how many are still riding 2 stroke motorcycles that belch out CO and other pollutants in vast quantities?

[asr245]

Mods: I think we will have rather more constructive discussion if we just change the title of this thread. From "Good or Bad ?" could probably be changed to "Avoidable or not?".

[narayan]

Most of us here are petrol heads. We buy cars for the commute but we also drive because we love to. So I doubt, how far its possible to leave that car home and take public transport or some other means ( assuming you have a good alternative )

I, personally, drive my car because I love to. I dont want to miss out on that and then at 80 yrs sit in a corner and crib on what all i could have done with all the money i saved !! I have a 11 yr old OHC and a new i10. But still, when we bought the i10, I gave that to the driver because i just can not see my OHC driven around carelessly.

i can afford the fuel bills so i dont car pool ( neither do i have a problem with ppl who do )

i cant take public transport/bike to work because i would not be able to reach work on time/in a presentable condition

i know fossil fuels are limited but hey - i want my share of thrills also.

as as someone rightly mentioned, saving petrol is not the only way to save nature/environment ! i for one, love the Chennai heat - so i hardly use the AC at home or in my car. even in public places if i see a fan/light on where no one is, i look for the switch and turn it off - so i am doing my bit ( i guess ! )


to each his own.