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Old 13th February 2020, 12:25   #31
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

My 3 rules would be:

1. Follow Lane discipline and use turn indicators extensively
2. No honking on city roads (Not sure why loud horns are needed)
3. Standardize Traffic signals (R/Y/G, Arrows, timer is not displayed)

But for our country with its population density, enforcing is going to be very difficult. All the excessive fines that we pay - how are they used to benefit us back?

What else contributes to our bad roads in the city?

1. Roads are patchy with potholes and sand/gravel everywhere. People swerve to avoid them or slip. No proper lighting on city roads
2. Flyovers are started but left half-way through. This causes choke points further increasing traffic (In Hyd, we have 7-8 such places in and around Madhapur/Gachibowli, where most of the offices are)
3. Educated office-goers on two-wheelers have become a menace - wrong direction driving, driving on footpaths, signal jumping etc. Police are busy trying to catch Commercial vehicles
4. Public Transport buses - These vehicles emit so much smoke, but there is no enforcement on them

Last edited by vb-saan : 13th February 2020 at 12:29. Reason: Line spacing
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Old 13th February 2020, 12:50   #32
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

May be an off topic - if yes, MODs please feel free to remove or move this post.

I feel the Insurance process should be made more convenient... for example, vehichle AA with insurer XX rear-ends another vehicle BB with insurer YY (who is not at fault), and both of them need to claim insurance - In current scenario there are 2 claims and YY ends up paying for mistake of AA / XX insurance company. whereas, there should be provision for recovery from XX to YY in case of mistake by AA and BB should not lose any NCB for AA's mistake. this is in practice in western countries and i don't see this being practiced in IN.

In addition, i have a radical (unpopular as well) thinking - why penalize for not wearing helmets? keep it optional - he/she is harming only themselves if they are not wearing it... whereas, over speeding, driving in the wrong direction and other offences which have high potential to harm others should be strictly prohibited and suitable punishment to be given. I am particularly not happy with the police being catching people primarily for Helmet less driving (IMHO it would be more than 50% of offences caught).

Another thing the Law enforcement is turning blind is on "signal jumps by public service buses & Autos" - as these drivers have strong unions traffic cops don't do anything. This should done with automated CCTV footage based fining system. it would work wonders to regulate the traffic. imagine, if alll the BMTC buses start following rules and come to stop at signals when they turn Yellow, the rest of the traffic will start following them and we will not have temp grid locks caused by them.
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Old 13th February 2020, 13:16   #33
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

Quote:
Originally Posted by BrakingBad View Post
In addition, i have a radical (unpopular as well) thinking - why penalize for not wearing helmets? keep it optional - he/she is harming only themselves if they are not wearing it
Hi Braking Bad,

This is a wrong idea, so thought to point you out. A biker looses his balance easily. A simple touch of car which might be not fatal at all can be causing death if the biker is not wearing helmet. Who gets penalized ? The car driver, not the biker. But who could avoid this situation ? the biker for sure.

So, its the responsibility of the biker to wear a helmet and he will be penalized if he does not.
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Old 13th February 2020, 13:45   #34
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

The three rules which don't cost anything:
  1. Right of way (very important in cities and residential lanes where signal is an overhead)
  2. Make all one way roads a two way for two wheelers alone. Idea is to encourage two wheelers which are super efficient in terms of road usage. Cars are the curse of any populous city.
  3. Make all two wheeler parkings free in all public places such as malls, schools, cenemas, government offices, markets, etc. There must be free two wheeler parking space - even long term, in all major junctions where people can leave and take public transport.
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Old 13th February 2020, 14:00   #35
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

Quote:
Originally Posted by livetodrive View Post
Hi Braking Bad,

This is a wrong idea, so thought to point you out. A biker looses his balance easily. A simple touch of car which might be not fatal at all can be causing death if the biker is not wearing helmet. Who gets penalized ? The car driver, not the biker. But who could avoid this situation ? the biker for sure.

So, its the responsibility of the biker to wear a helmet and he will be penalized if he does not.
Besides, government cannot leave the choice for some of the things which are important to the overall well being of the country to the decision of the individuals. For instance, you cannot marry or drink alcohol at the age of 10 even if you choose so or even if your parents agree.

The objective of any law (from what I watched in Harvard Justice Series) to maximize the sum total of happiness (of the people - in the long term). So, a government can make any law restricting your freedom as long as:
1. it is not against fundamental rights (basic rights of a natural being)
2. it is in the interest of the overall well being of the nation.
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Old 13th February 2020, 14:10   #36
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

Since I am a regular highway user, I get irritated when I have to pass slow moving vehicles(especially trucks and other commercial goods vehicles) on the extreme right lane which is meant for overtaking and fast moving vehicles. Since most errant drivers don't care about it, I think one way of stopping this can be by introducing regular patrolling on highways by law enforcing agencies and fining them on the spot. The patrolling can be the job of the jurisdictional authorities. Once this awareness is created, they should fall in line.
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Old 13th February 2020, 14:22   #37
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

1. No romancing on bike being driven on roads. No offense to any couples out there but some of them just get my blood boiling. Some couples on bike become so oblivious to the traffic around that they slow down the flow of traffic behind them especially on narrow roads of Bangalore and they don't move in a straight line and sway while riding. They hardly respond to the honks. Instead why can't these guys stop their bike somewhere and spend time together along the roadside.

2. Day dreaming/lost while driving. I've seen many of the driver's new to a particular road or searching for location driving dangerously and applying sudden brakes or turning/switching lanes without indication.
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Old 13th February 2020, 14:56   #38
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

1. No driving in the cycling lane just to avoid speed humps. Such an Act will definitely increase the number of cyclists, who presently avoid the highway for the sole reason of lack of safety.
2. Compulsory child seats for those under twelve. It makes me shameful to know that most people I know do not have the faintest idea what child seats even are.
3. A law to prohibit wearing headphones while driving. These mute out the sound of others' horns. Most people assume that if they can't hold a mobile phone in their hand while driving, it's okay to either use the handsfree or wear headphones. These two are not the same thing.

Though this may not apply to the Motor Vehicles Act, we need laws regarding skateboarding too. It's unclear whether it should be done on the footpaths, cycling lanes or on the open roads.

Of course, wearing seat belts when seated in the rear(which, thanks to Team-BHP, is a reflex for me now) is a given.
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Old 13th February 2020, 16:00   #39
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

1. Obligation on Local Corporation/Grampanchayat: Clearly mark roads, put up speed limit signs everywhere, lane markings with direction change marks, priority signs, basically all road signs. Reduce roadside advertising boards to increase visibility of road signs, Provide Signaled Zebra crossings. Scientifically calculated signal system for example timings for Amber to red should consider speed limit, braking distance, response time of human.

2. Obligation on Driving Licenses Holder: Compulsory Theory exam for all licenses holders in country. Where user will learn about all road symbols

3. Obligation to RTO authorities: Digital Chalan, Appeal possibility with quick resolve, general reforms to bring the way things are handled to bring some sanity
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Old 13th February 2020, 18:21   #40
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

Here are my 3 points:

1. Follow lane traffic rules strictly. Since these are not taught in most of our driving schools , place sign boards appropriately.

2.Kids/infants should be seated in the rear row. Mandate child seats depending on the vehicle type.

3. Different lines & colors on Indian roads are meant for some purpose. Follow these basic rules.
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Old 13th February 2020, 19:30   #41
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

My only suggestion is:

* Make driving licence issuing process THE toughest and most rigorous ever. Not a single person who has less skills should be allowed to drive/ride.

This could solve major part of the problem.
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Old 13th February 2020, 21:58   #42
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

Adding rules will not improve the traffic conditions. Needs awareness, respect to others, strict law enforcement,
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Old 13th February 2020, 23:47   #43
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

My 3 rules would be:
1. Fine for not using dim/dip headlights. Indian govt should come up with a rule; cars under certain price and cc should not have xenon headlights. There are some very annoying Baleno, Swift, drivers out there who think themselves as Mercedes and Audi with white lights.
2. Heavy and slow vehicles driving on fast lane.
And 2 slow trucks blocking lanes is a test for our patience. Uff!
3. Fine for rash bus drivers. They drive like a effing maniac. They want to overtake each and everyone, honk every single person. With the intention of overtaking, they put the oncoming vehicles down from the road.
Our Policemen can’t see this? Are they blind?
Instead they need RC, pollution certificate and drivers license from innocent car drivers. And one more thing I have noticed, they tend to stop vehicles from neighbouring states more.
4. One more rule;
Please get rid of annoying speed warning beeps from car. And put speed cameras on the road.
And strict speed limits on express ways. Cars like Mercedes BMW and Audi can comfortably cruise at 120-180kmph on such roads.
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Old 14th February 2020, 01:25   #44
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Re: What 3 rules would you want added to the Motor Vehicles Act?

Here are my top 3 recommendations, MV act or not:
1. Make drivers test a difficult procedure with theory tests and standardized driving tests. Also have minor and major faults to score the driver on tests.
2. A code for bicycles- adding new bike lanes, sharing the road, yielding etc.
3. Registration renewal systems- CVs should be forced to renew registration every 2 years and private vehicles every 4 years. There should be a proper fitness and emissions test during the time. The government should also make the procedure for tests and registration renewal easy. (It should not be a harassment for citizens)
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Old 14th February 2020, 07:49   #45
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I am from Bangalore, born here, raised in Chennai and travelled all over India and across. Bangalore has possible the worst and unruly of drivers with zero lane disciple or regards to traffic rules - all in the name of traffic. But does anyone even realise that half the traffic woes in Bangalore would be sorted automatically if each of us really follows the traffic rules to the T. The one big thing that would need to be added is immediate cancellation of licence of riders / drivers of vehicles in the wrong lane / opposite direction. They are one riding/ driving in the lane against laws and two are endangering the lives of other motorists. The RTO should authorise the cops to mandatorily cancel the insurance of such erring vehicles.
Chennai- lovely. I drove down from Bangalore to Chennai to have lunch at Annalakshmi and head back to Bangalore. I was shocked to see motorists stop at signals and not just squeeze through traffic and break signals. Culture shock!! A red light in Bangalore means go ahead, don't bother ; ridiculous.
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