[Thad E Ginathom]

I think you are right about getting a good instructor. Personally, I think it takes more than that just to get to grips with physical car control --- and then comes road use. Of course, there will be members here who never had to think much about, for instance, changing gear, due to enthusiasm from an early age, but that is not the case for most.

I also think that here is an internet community of people who care more about driving than just getting a licence and getting on the road. World-wide, many (the majority?) stop thinking and learning about driving as soon as they get that magic paper.

I don't think there's any argument that the majority of road users in this country did not get sufficient education in driving --- whether than education was in actual driving lessons or whatever.

I've no idea how many lessons I took back in UK. My father taught me when I was 18; I took it up again about five years later, failed the test, and left it for enough years to forget a lot. I think something like ten to twenty hours of structured all-round driving education might be about right.

blissfulcarver... I have no idea if my Indian driving school paid a bribe, although I saw that the test everyone was getting was cursory and entirely insufficient. To the credit of the instructor, I can say that he had the intention of teaching people as well as he could, and would not even start on the road until he had given 45-minute theory talk, which covered a lot of good stuff for the new driver.

I think you are right about tightening up the entire system. The way things are now, they might as well be giving guns away.

.

[s_yajaman]

One thing I don't do is to horn behind a stalled car. The poor man or woman wants to get going as much as I do. Honking will simply prolong his/her agony and delay matters for all.

Yesterday I was waiting at the Chamrajpet/Bull Temple Road signal when the Santro in front stalled as the light turned green. I did not honk. Thankfully the person behind me did not honk as well, but just backed up and drove away. The driver in front was in a panic even without the honking and finally started. Before he drove he waved a thank you to me. Hopefully he will pass it on.

Srivathsa

[mooza]

Just this morning, the traffic cop at my neighbourhood junction was hollering at me to somehow squeeze into a main road which already was flowing choc a bloc with traffic (I was entering from a side street). If this is what we get from the traffic department, there can't be much hope.

As for the honking, the only way out here is to link the horn of every vehicle with its brakes. "Goodbye honking" guaranteed

[mkh]

Originally Posted by DKG

The use of horns

World over a horn has come to be used usually to express displeasure at other people's inappropriate road behaviour

Need I say anything on how its used here in India?

We need to create more awareness about these issues as even educated people seem to err on these accounts. Perhaps its just a case of most people not knowing how to behave on the road. Sadly there are many who behave in a discourteous manner despite knowing the effect of their behavior

I would like to share an experience on this with a FELLOW T-BHP GUY today morning:

I was coming to work on my usual route via OLD MADRAS ROAD.
For most people, you know that our roads have 3 lanes of traffic and at times the center lane is little empty ahead and we can take a overtake from left( in standing traffic) and come to the center lane.

Well for some reason( to avoid the usual cyclist) i had to move a little left while i was in the RIGHT MOST LANE and move towards the center lane. The center lane was a little empty- the next car ahead about 5 meters( thats the only space you get anyways in the morning on that route)

I hear INCESSANT HONKING from BEHIND and when i look, there is a GOLDEN FIAT LINEA trying to make its way and i guess on the right he is squuezed due to my move and on the left due to another Honda City. The GUY JUST KEPT HONKING LIKE CRAZY- for what? 5 METERS OF SPACE????

Finally the honda city guy moved ahead and our friend could move too. He gave me a DISGRUNTLED LOOK while passing by for such a SMALL ISSUE
Why am i highlighting this? I would hardly care for anyone else and shrug it off cause animals are aplenty on our roads- however:

I SAW A T-BHP STICKER ON THE NUMBER PLATE which was:
KA 53 N 6971

Now till another 2 kms, i was just behind this guy, my question to this friend:
WHAT DID YOU ACHIEVE BY SHOWING DISGUST FOR SUCH A TINY REASON?
I would like that guy to come forward and READ this
You left a fellow T-BHP member with a BAD FEELING about your RUDE BEHAVIOUR. Finally IT DID NOT MATTER as we were next to each other.
In fact at the SAPNA book Stall ( 80 feet road) - i was NEXT to you and looked at you to tell you what the heck, but you did not notice

MY MESSAGE TO ALL FELLOW MEMBERS:
Please try and be at your best behaviour and for ALL, i am sure this guy would not have reacted this way if i had my T-BHP Sticker too...( or maybe he would still!!!)

I just hope the guy reads this and understands and not tries to justify this behaviour at all by pointing fingers...i may have been wrong - but there was clearly not enough reason to just keep honking( 5 meters of space man!!!)

[jassi]

putting tbhp stickers on the car is a responsibility - you need to behave and lead by example and while I am sure I maybe in the wrong too at times, I think overall tbhpians are well behaved on roads :-)

Edit - i own a real earth santro and not a gold fiat linea, but if someone spotted me misbehaving, I would be glad if they reported it here, so that I can own up and apologize and correct my actions!!

[adits]

Originally Posted by blissfulcarver

Nope.. I think, as regards driving licenses, the trick is to coach the RTOs first, protect them from the driving school-mafia, and then make them issue licenses only to individuals who work hard and actually pass the test.... It all goes back to good old rule of law and fight-against-corruption sort of thing.. cleaning up the system is a long and painful process..
I propose, as the first step in this direction: Let all of us who have bribed RTOs(indirectly, through our driving schools) to get an easy driving license, surrender our licenses, apply for a new one, and get one through a legitimate, un-bribed test! Let us perfect our driving etiquette to such a level that even the most corrupt RTO can't refuse just because he hasn't received his packet! Are we all game?
The Father of our nation said, "Be the change that you want to see in the world". Shall we?

I agree but sometimes it is just a plain pain with the RTO people. This is OT but fits in well with how things at the RTO can cause a lot of pain.
1) The RTO in question (Wadala in Mumbai) is hardly marked and unless people go there, you will never know which 'block' is the RTO office. Things are made worse by the fact that there are a lot of trucks parked around that place
2) My dad had given his license for renewal and I had gone there to pick up the license after 20 days!!!
3) They gave me a license and I said , this is not the license, the name is different and showed the name on the receipt to the person at the counter.
4) The RTO officer looks at it and goes inside to search.
Me: Wait for 20 mins
RTO: We gave the license to someone else by mistake
Me: @#$#$#$#
RTO: Please fill a new form, with all details and come back after 20 days!!!
Me: No way!!!!!!!
and raised my voice to make a scene
RTO: Ok, fill up the form and I will make it in 20 mins but you still haveto pay the fee again (It is only around Rs 200 but still, why should I pay twice for their mistake?)

With people like this, how do you expect people to retain their senses?

[blackasta]

@blissfulcarver
I got my license through the valid path.

step 1:

Stand in a queue of 200 people, and answer 'oral test' (what is your name? where do you live?)

Step 2:
Get learners after a week and drive

Step 3:
Go for biometric test (fingerprint/sign/photo) and 'road test'
road test - drive inside a closed yard for 20 meters, take a u turn, come back to the same spot and stop.

tell me - is this a proper test? I participated in no corruption from my end except to pay a guy to pick up my learners/actual license as I could not skip office to stand in queues.
So what do I do - do I apply for a fresh license and demand that they take a 'proper' test?Its a peculiar situation that the whole system is flawed.

[sammyboy]

A friend of mine had an interesting experience. He was at the RTO to get his vehicle registered and overheard a conversation between a would be truck driver and the Inspector.

Inspector to the wanna be trucker (who was with an agent) - "So what are the essential documents you are required to have with you when you are driving your vehicle?"

Wannabe Trucker : "errr payslip, ration card, and license ...then after a pause and oh a helmet"

Inspector: " Idiot, have you ever driven any vehicle?"
Wannabe Trucker: "Yes Saar, 2 yrs experience of TVS XT"

Finally the inspector lost it, gave showered "choicest blessings" on the wannabe and then gave a couple of whacks to his agent. Then said that he would make sure, the agent or the guy arent even allowed near the RTO.

I am sure some other RTO officer might give the licence to kill to such ppl, atleast this inspector had his head screwed on right.

[johnniey]

I would like to share a traffic situation that I witness daily. My

apartment is next to a canal and oversee the cross-over bridge. Every

day I see a massive traffic jam occurring due to extremely poor road

sense in the drivers. Please see the pictures below:



In the pictures it can be see that the people driving on the wrong

side of the road are blocking the traffic and causing major chaos.

What infuriates me the most is that these are not illeterate drivers.

Most of them are well educated and working in some MNC. And these are same people who go to their offices and crib about the traffic

situation.

One wonders what forces these guys so show such basic instincts on

the road. If one could be a a little courteous and considerate towards other people..... (sigh)

[sandeep108]

India is great!!! Hopefully this will only last till the bridge is completed. But then that may take 10 years. India is great!!! All is well: you have the horn do you not? to make noise?

[mkh]

Originally Posted by mkh

I would like to share an experience on this with a FELLOW T-BHP GUY today morning:

I was coming to work on my usual route via OLD MADRAS ROAD.
For most people, you know that our roads have 3 lanes of traffic and at times the center lane is little empty ahead and we can take a overtake from left( in standing traffic) and come to the center lane.

Well for some reason( to avoid the usual cyclist) i had to move a little left while i was in the RIGHT MOST LANE and move towards the center lane. The center lane was a little empty- the next car ahead about 5 meters( thats the only space you get anyways in the morning on that route)

I hear INCESSANT HONKING from BEHIND and when i look, there is a GOLDEN FIAT LINEA trying to make its way and i guess on the right he is squuezed due to my move and on the left due to another Honda City. The GUY JUST KEPT HONKING LIKE CRAZY- for what? 5 METERS OF SPACE????

Finally the honda city guy moved ahead and our friend could move too. He gave me a DISGRUNTLED LOOK while passing by for such a SMALL ISSUE
Why am i highlighting this? I would hardly care for anyone else and shrug it off cause animals are aplenty on our roads- however:

I SAW A T-BHP STICKER ON THE NUMBER PLATE which was:
KA 53 N 6971

Now till another 2 kms, i was just behind this guy, my question to this friend:
WHAT DID YOU ACHIEVE BY SHOWING DISGUST FOR SUCH A TINY REASON?
I would like that guy to come forward and READ this
You left a fellow T-BHP member with a BAD FEELING about your RUDE BEHAVIOUR. Finally IT DID NOT MATTER as we were next to each other.
In fact at the SAPNA book Stall ( 80 feet road) - i was NEXT to you and looked at you to tell you what the heck, but you did not notice

MY MESSAGE TO ALL FELLOW MEMBERS:
Please try and be at your best behaviour and for ALL, i am sure this guy would not have reacted this way if i had my T-BHP Sticker too...( or maybe he would still!!!)

I just hope the guy reads this and understands and not tries to justify this behaviour at all by pointing fingers...i may have been wrong - but there was clearly not enough reason to just keep honking( 5 meters of space man!!!)

wonder if the guy who was in the car has read this?? If not- any better way to get him to read and come forward? Or was it some1 who just put the sticker and is not really a T-BHP guy at all!!!

[Fraz33r]

Originally Posted by mkh

wonder if the guy who was in the car has read this?? If not- any better way to get him to read and come forward? Or was it some1 who just put the sticker and is not really a T-BHP guy at all!!!

Do you really think such a person will really standup for his mistakes; unless until he is going to attend an emergency somewhere, and by the story read i dont think there was any kind of situation involved in this case, since he was available at the next block.

Its is a similar situation when a teacher asks 'Did you do it?' and the guilty will always remain silent..thats human tendency.

But the fact comes out that TBHP sticker is not just to show how proud you are being a member, but to actually show that you are a responsible driver.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

A friend of mine had an interesting experience. He was at the RTO to get his vehicle registered and overheard a conversation between a would be truck driver and the Inspector.

Inspector to the wanna be trucker (who was with an agent) - "So what are the essential documents you are required to have with you when you are driving your vehicle?"

Wannabe Trucker : "errr payslip, ration card, and license ...then after a pause and oh a helmet"

Inspector: " Idiot, have you ever driven any vehicle?"
Wannabe Trucker: "Yes Saar, 2 yrs experience of TVS XT"

Finally the inspector lost it, gave showered "choicest blessings" on the wannabe and then gave a couple of whacks to his agent. Then said that he would make sure, the agent or the guy arent even allowed near the RTO.

I am sure some other RTO officer might give the licence to kill to such ppl, atleast this inspector had his head screwed on right.

Reminds me about an incident that happened 5-6 years ago. I was sitting besides an "agent" near RTO to collect my renewed Uncle's driving license & this agent was busy arranging papers for all his clients who're scheduled for two wheeler road test.

So, this agent was distributing booklets containing road signs to all of them who had to appear for road test that morning. Here was a joker who was looking up & down the booklet & questioned the agent why this was being distributed. The "good" agent says that, if at all (mark it - if at all), the inspector asks any questions, you should prove that you have the ability to ride well. So this joker replies back asking, is it not enough that I know how to ride a two wheeler? Why do I need to know all these? Trust me, he meant that seriously!!!

[Thad E Ginathom]

I don't think team-bhp membership makes for a perfect driver. In fact, it is even possible that some car enthusiasts, who like to push their vehicles hard, do it without regard for good driving. I'm sure that a lot of the worst driving that I see is done by people who think that they are being really clever.

What is to be hoped, though, is that Team-BHP membership might indicate an open mind, and a willingness to learn about our mistakes and improve.

[shishir_bn]

Originally Posted by aargee

Reminds me about an incident that happened 5-6 years ago. I was sitting besides an "agent" near RTO to collect my renewed Uncle's driving license & this agent was busy arranging papers for all his clients who're scheduled for two wheeler road test.

So, this agent was distributing booklets containing road signs to all of them who had to appear for road test that morning. Here was a joker who was looking up & down the booklet & questioned the agent why this was being distributed. The "good" agent says that, if at all (mark it - if at all), the inspector asks any questions, you should prove that you have the ability to ride well. So this joker replies back asking, is it not enough that I know how to ride a two wheeler? Why do I need to know all these? Trust me, he meant that seriously!!!

I couldn't stop laughing by seeing this. Infact he is right in his terms.In many small towns people don't know the simple signals also.But when it is happening in big cities then they have to curb it.