[Sexy_Scorcher]

I commute daily to work and believe me , it's an ordeal to go through the stress of traffic indiscipline day after day.More so, as I have no choice but to drive through one of the worst-roads in the country(according to NDTV survey on 10 worst roads in Indian metros). I am talking about the "infamous" Bannerghatta Road in Bangalore.
Everyone seems to be rushing through the traffic, violating rules as if it's the "last race on earth" !! What are we rushing for or more importantly, is it worth it? It is important if we can improve the quality of life by showing a bit of apathy and care for people around us. I had this personally "enlightening" experience while driving to work. I saw this middle-aged woman trying desperately to cross the road but the vehicles were whizzing by without giving a thought to the woman's helplessness and the terror writ large on her face.A long line of vehicles were behind mine with some honking away non-stop. I slowed down to a stop and waved to the woman to cross. She looked at me helplessly and then gave a beaming smile with her lips forming the "Thank You". It made my day and I asked myself why am I in the race ? Showing a bit of compassion and patience while driving can make life more meaningful. Each of us can atleast give this much to the society, and believe me , it's nothing. Traffic cops are not the only people to be held accountable for indiscipline - it's the basic self-centred mentality of drivers/ vehicle owners, that is the root cause of traffic chaos and problems faced in big cities. Can we blame it on stress? No, definitely not.

[Jaggu]

COMPLETELY AGREE !! i call this the "am a banglorean" affect in my dictionary..

OT: saw a pile up bash today morning on inner ring road, koramanagla to indira nagar direction

2 matiz, zen, lancer, 800, bike etc parked seperate for about 100mts on the side.. and yes obviously our freiendly neigbhourhood rickshaw minus front wheel and bent in middle shape on the foot path..

lil patience and respect for others can keep this a better place and less painful with the moon crater roads which doesnt seem to have an end in sight..

peace
jaggu

[amitoj]

Hey Scorchy
Welcome to the forum.
While i appreciate your noble intentions, i should warn you that doing this can cause serious harm to the person crossing the road. I say this from experience. I once stopped to let a cyclist cross the road, only for him to get hit by a speeding motorcycle on my left side. Neither of them could see each other coz i was blocking their view :-(

[falcon]

Originally Posted by amitoj

I once stopped to let a cyclist cross the road, only for him to get hit by a speeding motorcycle on my left side. Neither of them could see each other coz i was blocking their view :-(

amitoj, this was an indeed an unfortunate incident... but its a one off case.
If each driver on the road decides to be a little more considerate to the others on the road, driving would be much better than what it is now...
Finally it all comes down to every single one of us... every individual can make a difference.

[goldie_malhotra]

Guys, this over-aggresiveness on part of drivers mainly seems to come from Delhi, I think. For a long time, I have seen drivers in Delhi, in spite of having decent roads, are more prone to drive rashly, overtake and cut sharp corners. It seems that everyone is venting out their frustrations at work or at home on the road.

And I must say, at times, I find myself behaving the same way too. Listening to music does seem to help out. Also, having some company in the passenger seat helps to talk away the time spent in those long jams instead of getting more frustrated all alone.

Am sure others would have their own ways of relaxing themselves while driving. Lets try to come up with a list of such things and spread the message across.

Cheers

[falcon]

Originally Posted by goldie_malhotra

Am sure others would have their own ways of relaxing themselves while driving. Lets try to come up with a list of such things and spread the message across.

I agree! I too am guilty of being a very aggressive driver sometimes...
Though, when thinking about it later on, I feel bad about not being more considerate at the time...

Music sure is one way of calming you down when driving... but the kind of music you listen too also matters.
For me, listen to something aggressive, and you can see the direct relation to it in my driving.
Listening to the radio, a talk show, or something less aggressive and it does have a much more soothing effect :-)

[Rtech]

Take this test. Try not to use your horn for 5 days. You will be amazed how relaxed it makes you.

Or it could have exactly the opposite effect on some people, but you will never know till you try

[Surprise]

If the travel time for a regular driver is 45 mins, just note the time you start from your residence & tell to yourself that you need to/can reach office in 1hr time. Hence no need to rush yourself, you can drive patiently following almost all the traffic rules/listenting to music & enjoying your drive. This will keep your drive & mind peaceful

[sbasak]

according to NDTV survey on 10 worst roads in Indian metros

Could you please tell us what are the 10 worst roads in Indian metros?


In Delhi, drivers often use abusive languages even during normal driving situations! Many times I've seen that drivers stop at signal, lower the windows in their AC cars, then say some **** words to some other driver, raise the windows and move away

[Sexy_Scorcher]

Yes, music is indeed the best option to de-stress while driving, especially when stuck in a traffic jam. However, I refuse to respond to my mobile and also prefer to talk less while driving within the city. In fact, I used to habitually curse and lose my cool while driving through the city traffic but found a way out of this which works most of the time for me now, except in exceptional circumstances!! Take a deep breath , count from 1 to 6 and just say to yourself -relax/focus.Believe me, but this small exercise has actually helped me focus on my driving rather than expending my energy at some traffic offender.

[Jaggu]

women! the solution is women!

option 1: drive through locales with loads of them (inexpensive option)
option 2: have a bomb shell in the passenger seat (expensive option)

yes i was noticing myself and could figure out if i use the mobile while driving (usually i put it in handsfree mode) two things happen.. one i loose concentration creating stress for other users, two i also loose temper faster if someone does a small mistake

[neoranjit]

Yes. True... But life wuld be a lot better if each driver on the road thinks like how we do. But there are cases we cant help. Like cab drivers.. who think they rule the road ditto wtih auto drivers.. teh worst of the lot. This is how it is in Chennai.

Sometimes pity them.. but they always seem to get on top of your head.
No matter how bad they drive, they never feel apologetic.

But all said and done.. I think Chennai traffic is a lot better than Bangalore. It takes ages to move in Bangalore. Also think Chennai roads are better than Bangalore .. Lets see what the others think !

[Conan]

Originally Posted by Rtech

Take this test. Try not to use your horn for 5 days. You will be amazed how relaxed it makes you.

Nice idea Rtech but it runs the risk of the driver ending up in hospital/Service station for repairs.

[shibujp]

Amitoj,

I agree with you. A couple of similar incidents on Zebra crossings where I had stopped you let people pass, only to have other cars zoom past my left, there by endangering the pedestrians, convinced me that some-times courtesy to pedestrians on Indian roads is not exactly conducive to their health. So now I stop only on double lane roads where I can block the other cars or on 4 lanes if I haven't got any other cars near by.

RTech methinks the horn is a vital safety device in India especially with pedestrians:-).

I think the hard part is to stick on with the courtesies even if you don't get it back in return. Every now and then I find myself right in the genre of other drivers:-D...but still trying...

Drive on,
Shibu.

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by Conan

Nice idea Rtech but it runs the risk of the driver ending up in hospital/Service station for repairs.

It's a try and not mandatory. You are traveling at a speed of 50 kmph and one guy/gal crosses the road unaware of your car, certainly you need horn to make them aware. In these conditions you cannot brake the car to stop it completely and allow the pedestrain to cross the road.

Minmizing the usage of horn is one way to restrict your speed.