[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by locusjag

Ahem. The Truecaller app lets you search random folks' phone numbers; you basically fish them out by name. (I am berating myself right now for sharing this unethical method).

Remember telephone directories? The idea of phone numbers not being generally available is fairly recent

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Remember telephone directories? The idea of phone numbers not being generally available is fairly recent

I'm too young to have seen telephone directories in use. That should explain why I oversaw those good old books! You're right, Trucaller is not a novel concept. I mean, the Terminator only had to look up Sarah Connor in the Yellow Pages at a phone booth in Terminator 1!

[germin]

Hello, Want to share an incident that happened with me today morning in Bangalore. I was on my way to work in JP Nagar in my car (not KA registered). Once I crossed Silk board junction, this young guy in his 3-wheeler (with 2 other people in the vehicle) started cutting into my lane. Till we reached the Udupi garden signal, he cut into my lane 3 times and I ignored him all this while. When I was crossing the Udupi garden signal I was building up pace and this guy did it again, he started merging into my lane from my left side. I honked and maintained my vehicle in my lane, but he did not stop and I ended up hitting and bending my ORVM on his vehicle, post which things went downhill pretty fast.

Once we crossed the signal, the auto driver became aggressive and cut my lane and stopped his auto in front of my car. I stopped behind him with enough gap for me to navigate in case I needed to. I didn’t want to get down and engage with them, but two guys got down from the auto and started abusing and asking me to get down and one of these guys hit my vehicle hood. That’s when I sensed that things might go out of hand here and took off. Unfortunately, there was some traffic due to a bus stop ahead and this guy caught up again and blocked my vehicle again. This time before they got down from the vehicle, I pushed my way out and floored the pedal in hope of losing him. I did notice in my rear-view mirror and didn’t spot the auto.

I slowed down a bit after 1.5km once I was getting close to my office and about 500meters from my office this guy shows up again charging from behind in his auto, this is when I got scared because he had followed me so far. He overtakes me and completely blocks my vehicle from the front in a narrow lane for the third time. Again, two guys got down and started hitting my vehicle windscreen, the driver side window and pulling the door handle abusing all the while. Fortunately, I was able to reverse my vehicle into an adjoining lane and get out of that place. I went into a couple of sub lanes and then parked my vehicle about a km away from that spot on a wider road with enough space ahead and behind me and close to the JP Nagar police station just in case they show up again. Luckily, they didn’t come back again, maybe I was able to lose them or they gave up on following me.

This entire episode shook me today. I had to drive really rash on crowded roads to get away from a bunch of people who wanted to get into a fight with me for no mistake of mine. There was no visible damage to their vehicle and still they followed me for so long. They were 3 people and I was alone, I get worried thinking what would have happened if I would have got down from the vehicle in the heat of the moment.

Lessons I learnt from this, don’t get involved with people on the road, let people cut into your lane if they are pushing too much. It is better to reach your destination a little late than getting into such worrying situations. Don’t roll down your windows or get down from your vehicle when people like I encountered today clearly want you to, other than some monetary loss you might end up having some physical damages too.

[bblost]

EXTREME TRIGGER WARNING

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdrSvURpCh4

Road rage never works out for anyone. You never know who is on the other side. The best fight is the one, which you completely avoided.

[ronford]

Originally Posted by bblost

[h3]EXTREME TRIGGER WARNING
[/H3


Road rage never works out for anyone. You never know who is on the other side. The best fight is the one, which you completely avoided.

Sad to see a life lost in this way but the truth is you never know what weapons a person is carrying. Considering it's the middle east, the suspect will be punished for sure but then it won't help the victim's family in any way. Road rage is very dangerous. I used to get worked up but now I just swear inside my car and let out my anger.

[kirans]

With all offices opening up and schools functioning, the situation in Bengaluru is getting back to the usual bad to poor. Badly behaved taxis cutting across lanes, pushing their way through with little to no concern is back. I really will miss the two years of peace and quiet on the roads with no taxis, and the traffic I say was very much well behaved. There will always be a few private car drivers who drive badly, but in general it is quite clear that the taxis are the main cause of the menace. Due to the nature of my work, I have been commuting through out the entire lock-down period, and it was bliss in the first few months, with birds chirping and smooth movement across the city. Comparing that to today, its so disheartening that I almost wish for another wave and for lockdowns. But the necessity of the moment is that there has to be some permanent solution to the driver misbehaviour, and harassment of other users of the public infrastructure. No one has right of way and the concept of yield has to be deeply set into the common public. Given the state of our roads, it is even more important to allow others to commute as comfortably as we might want to. Our generation is a lost cause, but for the sake of the sanity of the next generation, there has to be some long term solution for this. Cab drivers in general need enforced behavior training, as they usually come from rural areas, and bring along an attitude of hooliganism. They have little to lose, and thrive on confrontational behaviours, which seems to give them a perverse sense of macho-ism. Unless this is done at a deep level by all aggregators and maintained, it is just going to get worse over the years as living costs rise, incomes fall and hooliganism becomes the norm.

[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by germin

This entire episode shook me today. They were 3 people and I was alone, I get worried thinking what would have happened if I would have got down from the vehicle in the heat of the moment.

Lessons I learnt from this, don’t get involved with people on the road, let people cut into your lane if they are pushing too much. It is better to reach your destination a little late than getting into such worrying situations.

You handled it quite well and I can't imagine going through something like that.

If you don't have a dashcam already, please please get one. I don't understand why more drivers, especially the ones who do daily commute, shy away from getting a 15k worth of equipment that can potentially save their life from legal hassles.

Also, if you sense that things are going south, drive to the nearest police station. The dashcam video will further support your case.

But the bottom line is exactly what you said. Try to be the shy coward on roads. Let people overtake you, cut you off or do whatever they want. It's better to avoid confrontation than dealing with it and getting into some trouble.

[germin]

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

You handled it quite well and I can't imagine going through something like that.

If you don't have a dashcam already, please please get one. I don't understand why more drivers, especially the ones who do daily commute, shy away from getting a 15k worth of equipment that can potentially save their life from legal hassles.

Also, if you sense that things are going south, drive to the nearest police station. The dashcam video will further support your case.

Thank you for the suggestion, I had been thinking of getting a dashcam installed since this incident, will one installed in my vehicle really soon. Having a proof of the entire incident will be a massive help.

[ShreyG]

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

If you don't have a dashcam already, please please get one. I don't understand why more drivers, especially the ones who do daily commute, shy away from getting a 15k worth of equipment that can potentially save their life from legal hassles.
.

This is a suggestion I give to each and every person I know who owns a car.
Dashcams have become an absolute necessity in today's rash world where word of hooligans is more prevalent than that of tax paying office goers just because they can speak the language.
This is true not only for Bangalore but across the country. Policemen further side with the person with the smaller vehicle since its a nice little payday incase of a cash settlement. Public service is totally thrown into the wind.
Dashcams really help put a case forward since now the poor policeman does not have any other option but to help you else he is on his way to be a celebrity on social media.
I got a setup for dashcam under 10K from one of the local FnGs in Bangalore. Really worth it.

Originally Posted by kirans

I really will miss the two years of peace and quiet on the roads with no taxis, and the traffic I say was very much well behaved. .

Feel your pain. I have recently started commuting to Whitefield from HSR since my office opened up on a hybrid model. Gone are the days of a peaceful 30 mins drive. It takes a good 1 hour to get there and if a swear jar is kept in the car, I can pay for the fuel, back and forth. The last 2 years has spoilt us and getting back to apparently "normal" conditions is really taking its toll. I shudder to think what will happen once more offices open up in April on the ORR and the TTs are also back in the action. Should be a sight to behold with the metro construction taking up one lane, the bus lane on the other side and TTs merrily waiting to load in the remaining one lane.

[rkv_2401]

Originally Posted by bblost

EXTREME TRIGGER WARNING

Road rage never works out for anyone. You never know who is on the other side. The best fight is the one, which you completely avoided.

This is absolutely shocking. Thanks for the trigger warning. I get quite angry at other road users sometimes but have never even wanted to stop them to yell at them. I either try to convey my point respectfully (using the appropriate respectful designation, and definitely no swear words!) - I believe that good communication can resolve many arguments or even fights - or curse it out within my car and carry on.

I've been getting angrier and angrier on the roads recently with the surge in number of people brazenly driving the wrong way, cabs and even private cars squeezing into a gap at lights such that either you have to let them go or you both stop while you manoeuvre around him. This "game theory" logic really grinds my gears and makes it feel like instead of co-existing on roads and accidentally making mistakes (which everyone, including myself, do!), the other people really don't care about co-existing and would go out of their way to get the jump on the car in front, even if BOTH of them lose out. This kind of observed behavior is abrasive to my driving values and beliefs (i.e. we co-exist on the road and communicate to each other with blinkers, lights and car body language to all get home safely and, as much as possible, have a smooth journey) and I've found myself doing clearly defensive things like blocking gaps to prevent people from squeezing in and maybe scratching my car.

And today, I had an incident near Mylapore Tank, where the roads are kind of crowded and traffic was hectic. I realized I was heading the wrong way, put my blinkers on (there was no traffic immediately behind) and pulled over to the left behind where some cars were parked. Apparently that street isn't wide enough for two buses to pass parallel to each other, and some old man riding the bus decided to insult me because his bus had been forced to stop for some 4-5 seconds while I decided what to do (pull out to the right and pass the cars, or close my mirrors and squeeze further in left). I obviously did not intentionally hold traffic up - and in the end it turned out to be best to just squeeze slightly further in until all the traffic had passed, the bus did get slightly held up by those parked cars too - but I got so angry that I really thought about overtaking the bus I'd just let by, just to yell back at him at the next bus stop! What gives him the right to say hurtful things to a complete stranger, when he wasn't even driving the bus!? (Incidentally, I was going to wave my hand as an apology to the driver until this happened and it could be miscontrued) I was fuming right up until I opened this thread and read some of the posts.

I wanted to make this post because I've noticed people yell at each other a lot on our roads. When you call out another person on the road, particularly in swear words, you make an impersonal traffic mistake (as infuriating as it is, maybe the other person just doesn't know better!) personal. And this is a dangerous game to play, IMO.

Experienced road users know the score within the city they commute in, but this attitude of waving your hands out of your vehicle to swear at the person next to you may not be taken lightly in other cities or countries. I've both not taken offense to when people do it and gotten away with it myself (when the person noticed I was swearing, even though they couldn't hear me LOL!), but the next person may not.

This is an application of game theory I can get behind - "the best fight is the one is the one you completely avoid." Words to live by.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by rkv_2401

I've been getting angrier and angrier on the roads recently

I have been getting less and less angry! Whilst my wife lectured me on this from the start, it took its own time to develop in me. On thing she so truthfully said, many times is, "It's not your job to teach others how to drive, and they won't listen anyway." Not implying that this applies to you, of course.

I've learned from cab drivers too. Good, bad, whatever, they completely shut out the reactions of others. I mentioned this to a driver we had for a week (Chennai/Wayanad/Chennai) in February, and his response was that he could not possibly do the job if he didn't. And he is a good driver, who probably doesn't get shouted at very much.

Perfection is a long way away. I do still hit the horn sometimes. But very rarely shout. My outlet is remarks made quietly inside my car!

In an instance of no road rage: yesterday I came as close as I ever want to running into a person on the road. Thankfully I was taking a difficult right turn, so speed was super slow. My way was clear, I looked to left for a moment, looked back, and there he was, bonnet-touching close.

Maybe he should not have gone in front of me. As I didn't see where he came from, I give him the benefit of the doubt. We didn't speak. I think my face fully expressed my whole-hearted apology: he smiled and walked on. Things could have been different if either of us had wanted to make a big deal of it.

No lectures intended to anyone! I am a very imperfect person. But I do enjoy driving, and learning (it took over a decade) to keep my blood cool has increased my pleasure.

[rkv_2401]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I have been getting less and less angry! Whilst my wife lectured me on this from the start, it took its own time to develop in me. On thing she so truthfully said, many times is, "It's not your job to teach others how to drive, and they won't listen anyway." Not implying that this applies to you, of course.

Thanks for your reply. I've read your posts on this thread before, usually when I come here to find solace after a particularly frustrating day on the road. And haha, my dad has drilled in that "you are not a vigilante" lesson to me one day after I didn't budge from my lane and ended up scraping against an auto-rickshaw adamant on merging in front of me. Still can't help feeling good when I turn on my high-beams in response to someone else blinding me with theirs, though.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I've learned from cab drivers too. Good, bad, whatever, they completely shut out the reactions of others. I mentioned this to a driver we had for a week (Chennai/Wayanad/Chennai) in February, and his response was that he could not possibly do the job if he didn't. And he is a good driver, who probably doesn't get shouted at very much.

No lectures intended to anyone! I am a very imperfect person. But I do enjoy driving, and learning (it took over a decade) to keep my blood cool has increased my pleasure.

Your (and all the other posters') sharing about your experiences of getting less angry are actually quite helpful! Just the idea of being less stressed out after a commute makes it worthwhile for me to try these grounding practices and mottos. But it is getting more difficult these days - in addition to the traffic itself, driving on the horrible roads exacerbated by my Vento's stiff suspension (I guess you'd know, owning a Polo yourself!) subconsciously gets on my nerves. Hopefully I can shut all this out at some point and actually start enjoying my city drives again.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Thank you for your kind words.

Originally Posted by rkv_2401

... ... And haha, my dad has drilled in that "you are not a vigilante" lesson to me one day after I didn't budge from my lane and ended up scraping against an auto-rickshaw adamant on merging in front of me...

Oh yeah, that <Blush>.

Oncoming car in the middle of the road. Me well to the left of centre, and hey, I am not moving further left for him.

Right?

The sound of colliding and bending metal said Wrong! He was drunk. Fee for lesson learnt was, I think, about 13k.

[asmr]

Originally Posted by bblost

EXTREME TRIGGER WARNING

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=KdrSvURpCh4


Road rage never works out for anyone. You never know who is on the other side. The best fight is the one, which you completely avoided.

I am speechless, looking at the sheer senselessness & the viciousness of the person who is committing this horrific attack. One life ended, another life wasted in prison. Nobody wins, finally.

The person who walked out of the white car should also have thought just once more whether it was worth taking things to the next level, only, here the next level was losing his life over something as trivial as a ephemeral BP spike on the road due to another moron.

[SR-71]

Originally Posted by bblost

EXTREME TRIGGER WARNING

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=KdrSvURpCh4


Road rage never works out for anyone. You never know who is on the other side. The best fight is the one, which you completely avoided.

This particular incident that happened in Oman is not random road rage it seems. The 2 people involved apparently had a long running feud which eventually resulted in this unfortunate situation.

Having said that you are spot on when you say road rage never works. And random road rage have resulted in loss of life like one that happened last week in Bangalore between 2 bikers. The best thing to do when you run into a moron on road is to ignore and move on.