[ghpk]

just be careful, and plan your Turn little earlier, this way you have more time to slowly come to a side where you want to turn.
sharp turns will always need perfect timing from you as well as the 2 wheeler rocket.

In my small town, you always get overtaken from left and I plan my turns a little earlier and keep a close eye on rear view mirrors.
2wheeler riders don't want to use their indicators here.

[pranavt]

Stop driving on public roads.

[alexpaul]

Rahul,

As pointed out correctly by ghpk u need to plan accordingly inorder to avoid stupid accidents while taking turns.
Some more inputs : You need to watch your rear view mirror for any crazy 2 wheelers tailgating you, indicate left signal say 300 meters before you turn left , check out for any 2wheelers on the left side & drive close to left most lane incase you know you gonna take left turn (Left side view mirror helps), dont leave space for bikers to squeeze in , and take left turn.
Have been doing this procedure while taking left turn from Kaloor Signal.

Dont take tension at the sight of two wheelers swarming around your vehicle.

Take care and Drive Safe

[SirAlec]

Try to use all three of the mirrors often. They are there for a reason. Set it so that there is maximum visibility.

[Shan2nu]

Overtaking from the left has bcom a sort of norm with most riders.

Today, i was driving down a narrow road, where this guy had stopped his scooter on the left and was talking on the phone. A biker behind me, overtakes from the left and tries to squeeze in between the stopped scooter and my car.

Luckily, i had already anticipated what he was upto and slowed down to let him pass through. If i had tried to block him, he would have definately hit the sccoter and then veered into the side of my car.

I have just given up on such bikers. I literally come to a crawl when i see accelelrating bikes in heavy traffic.

Shan2nu

[1self]

I have benefitted from using small convex blind spot mirrors on both my cars. That helps a lot, along with a LOUD horn & a little aggressive revving!

[aargee]

@Rahul - I see only one solution for you, try driving in Bangalore & Chennai traffic for sometime, then you'll learn the art of handling rashly driven, not only motorcycles, but also any vehicles on the road. Trust me Kochi is way too simple to handle.

Anyway, I meant the above seriously & no pun intended to show how things are worse in other city & consider yourself lucky with Ernakulam's traffic. Well, you need to start driving more to overcome the fear & that is all I can think of now. Its like, you face it or loose it. Good Luck.

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

Try to use all three of the mirrors often. They are there for a reason. Set it so that there is maximum visibility.

i second that. all three mirrors give you visibility to what's around you and you need to regularly cycle through the mirrors (like a pilot does for the six key gauges on an aircraft's instrument panel). keep doing this until it becomes second nature to you. remember, even if the fault is that of the smaller vehicle, the blame falls on the bigger vehicle.

also, unless you've thought through the repercussions of confrontation over an road incident, i would seriously recommend backing off from it and head your way. you never know the kind of people you're dealing with.

Originally Posted by aargee

@Rahul - I see only one solution for you, try driving in Bangalore & Chennai traffic for sometime, then you'll learn the art of handling rashly driven, not only motorcycles, but also any vehicles on the road. Trust me Kochi is way too simple to handle.

true. earlier i used to think if one can drive/ride in Thrissur (my hometown) one could drive/ride anywhere. after being in Bangalore for more than 12yrs, my perception has changed

[simplyself]

Senseless driving is not limited to 2-wheeler riders alone. Every one does that right from RTC buses to auto rickshaws to two-wheelers to 4-wheelers.

Two-wheeler riders squeezing in very little space between vehicles is common place. I bother about dent to my car more than what happens to the rider. From two-wheeler perspective, especially at signal stops, inching into the tight space is just a way to go a bit forward before the signal shifts to green. That is not rashness or negligence as they usually do not perceive any danger to body as all the vehicles are stationary and even if the bike is brushed against car, there wouldnt be much danger as it is usually done at pedestrian speeds. Of course, that kind of thing would be fatal if a bus is involved.

Think about the hard time the city bus drivers go through. They have to be wary of everything that is moving on the road.

[ananth_iy]

There have a bunch of idiots on 2-wheelers that keep knocking my mirrors. Each time I roll down the mirror and give them a piece of my mind. I think it is sheer lack of judgement of the space available.

As far as possible I ensure that no one is able to squeeze between me and the divider but alas there are always idiots on the other side and sometimes you just don't succeed.

The worst behaviour I have seen from a 2-wheeler, is when a guy tried to overtake a truck (in front of me) at a signal when both were turning right. This guy got on the inside of the truck and near got squashed between the truck and the police circle at the intersection. After that this guy was so idiotic that he overtook the truck and was cursing the truck driver for driving badly!!!! I felt so bad for the truck driver. Poor guys are on the road much more than we are and have to tolerate these complete, absolute idiots.

[agbenny]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

Try to use all three of the mirrors often. They are there for a reason. Set it so that there is maximum visibility.

I get angry with car drivers who fold both of their rear view mirrors. After hiring a driver, he said that he managed to drive just with the central rear view mirror, and never used the outside two. I was furious to hear that. Obviously he couldn't sustain with me due to my strict instructions on road rules. :-)

Originally Posted by 1self

I have benefitted from using small convex blind spot mirrors on both my cars. That helps a lot, along with a LOUD horn & a little aggressive revving!

I bought a pair in Singapore, but I do not know how to fix them myself, any help?

Thanks,

[dhall_gagan]

I follow a very strict policy when any Bike rider tries to squeeze himself from the smallest of the space available next to my car on red lights.

I simple open my door so that he comes to a standstill.
This way I save my mirror from getting smashed from that impatient idiot.

[arvind71181]

Happened some time back near central:

Me, my wife and couple of friends were going in my car at around 10 PM. One of my friend was driving. After crossing Chennai central, we chanced upon a traffic jam and slowly came to a halt.

About 10 seconds after coming to a halt, heard a huge sound and felt a jerk on the car. Turned back and saw a bike lying on the ground with a guy nearby not moving. The back door was jammed so I could not come out immediately. Meanwhile the usual mob gathered and helped the guy who had fallen to the side and moved the bike to the side as well. By this time, I manage to come out and survey the car and it had the following damages:

1. Broken rear windshield
2. Severely damaged boot
3. Completely damaged rear panels
4. Jammed rear doors
5. Torn Mudflaps.

It looked more like a truck had banged the car and not a bike. Thankfully, none of us in the car were injured. The bike guy though was not wearing a helmet . Hence he had a probable broken jaw and bleeding from his mouth as far as I could make out. He was taken to the hospital immediately.

To this day, I cannot understand how someone could cause such damage with a bike. The total expense came to around 29000. Claimed it through insurance (that is another story) and lost my NCB as well

[IronH4WK]

somebody say two-wheeler? here's one

[rohan_iitr]

^^ This is a common sight in Bangalore. The jump over the divider even with a female pillion rider.

Rohan