[anshu1101]

Of the above listed cities, I have lived in Hyderabad and Bangalore and have driven in the rest during short stays or road trips.

Very surprising results indeed! I found Kolkata to be absolutely horrible from a traffic sense point of view. People honk incessantly, are very impatient and drive aggressively with no regard for other road users. Just drive a day or two, and can be pretty sure of having a few close calls if not worse.

The private buses are the worst offenders - no regards for rules or traffic lights and they stop abruptly right in the middle of the road to pick up/drop passengers putting their lives as well as other road users at risk. Not to mention the competition among themselves for picking up passengers. I found it scary being a passenger.

[reignofchaos]

This survey is completely useless. I drive in Bangalore most of the times and I'm comfortable - I find most road users to be quasi reasonable as atleast they won't deliberately graze or crash onto you.

Kolkata on the other hand is significantly worse. Yes people stop at traffic signals but they completely lack civility and empathy on the road.

One look at the vehicles running in Kolkata and the war wounds they possess will tell you how bad the situation is. I personally shudder to drive over there.

[su1978]

Having been staying in Delhi/NCR for the past 26 years now and appreciate the findings of this survey by Ford. Was expecting similar survey from Maruti. But perhaps they are busy making coffins on four wheels. We will discuss about it another day. But the findings are very correct. In Delhi/NCR, the number of vehicles is actually huge. Add to that the fact the driving sense of people here. In Art of living course that i did some time back, we were told about the gods of different direction. For north, it was Ego and attitude. Delhi being in northern india, truly justifies this statement.

It is a widely known fact that commonsense is the most uncommon thing found amongst humans. This stands true for the drivers on delhi roads. Once they are behind a machine, even 1 % of leftover commonsense takes a backseat and Ego and arrogance starts showing on your face, playing on your mind, filling your heart and controlling your brain. Try overtaking a slow moving car in front who is driving in such a way that you cannot overtake either from right or left, you are sure to earn a murderous look from him. Different words like "Jaat", "Gurjar", "Republic of Gurjar", "Chaudhary", "Last warning and picture of a person with baseball bat in hand" etc dot the roads here. They are the cars where you may find few hooligans driving and drinking. They drive at their own pace. And one dares not stop them. The tone and accent of their language itself is very intimidating. The law enforcers themselves belong to the same tribe and most of them are from same village or have some distant relatives being married/settled in each others villages. If you try and complain, they are very reluctant and will say-"Ok-aap report likhaa jaao. Jab hoga tab hum aapko bula lenge." And that never happens. Many times, i have lodged complaint of the website of Haryana police but no action was taken.

Then there are rogue taxi drivers who care for nothing but just being on time and will drive like hell.

Also let us count on the fact that there are many illiterates who have become filthy rich overnight due to real estate boom in Delhi/NCR. From celebrating the birthday of their dogs to carjackings-they are doing it all. Folks who could not afford proper clothing and cycles have now bought Scorpios/Fortuner's/Endeavour and now they are owning KIA as well. what commonsense and road sense does one expect from them. Forget about Logic.

Compare that to Kolkatta/Chennai/Bangalore. Where there are more literate people and they will actually listen to logic, talk logic and speak logic. Obviously, the figures also speak so.

[bongSENse]

At the face of it, this report reminded me of some OB-HR theories and frameworks that we did in classroom. Nevertheless, a good effort at summarizing about driving styles and the worsening road conditions in India. I can't recollect a day where I was able to drive a few kms without muttering some good adjectives to all these elements on our roads.

Auto-rickshaws: What do you do when you were born to race but all you could manage is a rented Bajaj auto-rickshaw? Simple - You race on it as if you're riding a liter class motorcycle! With no formal licensing and easy access to unions, these are literally the 'road-kings' (many of the autos actually emblazon this in Kolkata) that have zero regard to traffic rules. You stop to argue with an erring driver and watch him gift a big scratch on your fender before the next signal!

Ola/Uber cabbies: Probably a good 'ol retiree trucker who's called it a day on the highways and has now come to haunt you by driving in the middle of the road slower than a snail. These are still the better breed when you compare them to the ones emigrating from villages to make a living in the big cities. Their motto: Overtake from the left, honk needlessly, never use the indicators, overspeed at the slightest opportunity, drowsy and erratic driving, the list goes on and on. Worst, the cops still catch us and acquiesce money for petty reasons like 'stop line violations' but will turn a blind eye to such antics. These cabbies are having the time of their life and could probably be bigger fans of 'Live to Drive' than us mere BHPians.

Buses: If only they had 500 bhp bulldozers, you'd never see them again. Racing on public roads, poking their noses through that gap on your left and forcing you to maneuver right, honking at your tail urging you to give them right of way, these are literally the bully-boys of Indian roads. So many lives are lost every year due to their rash driving and you hardly see any action for the better.

Motorcycles/scooters: These guys are literally playing video games on the road. Left-right-left-left-right-STOP!! I can probably simulate it on my keyboard just like playing Road-Rash. They have only one aim in life: To be the first one to start off when the signal turns green. The lesser said, the better it is!

And ofcourse, our 'thug-life' junta who are possessed by some unknown spirit to cross the road whenever they see a speeding vehicle approaching. Why not? Life is a race and you need to cross the road before that vehicle hits you!

[Neversaygbye]

A sample size of 1561 across 6 metros is hardly what I would call representative. At the most we can call the findings indicative.

I am really surprised at Delhi's low score - I have driven in Delhi extensively over the last 20 odd years including in October last year and can say that traffic and adherence to rules has improved dramatically ever since speed cams were put up all over the city. I lived in Delhi for 6 years in the noughties and it was a driver's worst nightmare then. That has improved by leaps and bounds in the last two to three years thanks to better enforcement.

Bangalore is probably the worst city I have driven in, in terms of adherence to traffic rules. Traffic there resembles Brownian motion in the best of times and the less said about two-wheelers the better. Absolutely hate driving there.

The second worst city that I have driven in is Calcutta, but it is a strange city when it comes to safe driving as the driving greatly varies by who is driving what. A major section of private car owners who self drive are law abiding and follow rules (which has got reflected in the survey results) but pedestrians, bikers, autorickshaws, taxis and buses (in that order) are in a league of their own when it comes to breaking traffic rules. Hence the traffic experience varies greatly by the road you're on - on some roads there are comparatively more self driven private cars than other types of traffic, and driving on those roads is an absolute pleasure. (Salt Lake, New Town, parts of central and south Calcutta). Rampant encroachment of road space by hawkers and vegetable vendors in many parts of the city also does not help drivers. One example is Dumdum Road which is rapidly degenerating into a full fledged market despite being an arterial road connecting a large part of Calcutta to the airport. It is a nightmare to drive on this road in the best of times. Hence while I can understand why Calcutta has scored the highest, I do not agree with the result as it does not capture at all the other factors that contribute to road safety. Calcutta would probably rank very close to the bottom if all the aspects were to be considered. However, having said that, I do find the quality of traffic management and enforcement by the Police much better in Calcutta as compared to other cities.

[Nalin1]

Originally Posted by Neversaygbye

Bangalore is probably the worst city I have driven in, in terms of adherence to traffic rules. Traffic there resembles Brownian motion in the best of times and the less said about two-wheelers the better. Absolutely hate driving there.

I am absolutely offended by your ridiculous statement !. You should have kept the sentiments of Bangaloreans in mind before passing such judgements!.

Bangalore is probably the worst traffic city?

It is THE worst by a country mile!. You only have to take one round of the city to come to that conclusion. Why waste time on needless surveys?

[Samfromindia]

Originally Posted by abhisheksircar

Kolkata is the best in road safety ? I had learnt actual driving in Kolkata where they say, if you managed to drive in Kolkata safely, you could drive in any city in the world.

I rarely saw vehicles without scratches. Owners don't bother repairing as well as they know it will come again.

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

This survey is completely useless. I drive in Bangalore most of the times and I'm comfortable - I find most road users to be quasi reasonable as atleast they won't deliberately graze or crash onto you.

Kolkata on the other hand is significantly worse. Yes people stop at traffic signals but they completely lack civility and empathy on the road.

One look at the vehicles running in Kolkata and the war wounds they possess will tell you how bad the situation is. I personally shudder to drive over there.

Well i have driven over 10yrs in Kolkata on both 2W & 4W & find it better than other cities i have been to mainly Mumbai / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad. I have been to Chennai but never with my car so cannot comment. Unlike what you guys mentioned, both my vehicles are without scratches and in mint condition. I think it depends on which part of the city you drive mostly. I stay at Rashbehari and the roads here are nice, well monitored & violators are fined on regular basis. Similarly i used to stay at Wagholi in Pune which is one of the less developed areas of the City. There there is a big chaos & lawlessness on the streets. I am sure proper Pune area will be a lot better. I am driving long term in Kolkata & Pune and things which stand out for Kolkata is:

1: Traffic Police is much active & violators are penalized on regular basis. Multiple cams are installed throughout city to fine violators for offenses ranging from red light jumping to over-speeding. On average i used to get a minimum of 3-4 cases for traffic mistakes per year.

On the other hand i never got booked for any offenses on my 2.5yr stay in Pune. While this is certainly is good for me, I found there is no provision for monitoring traffic offenses & penalizing violators in most part of the city. The only times i am stopped is for checking drunk driving near airport areas and in GOA.

2: Kolkata leads the way for implementing HSRP & centralized PUC. My 2014 car had HSRP while its still not implemented in MH. A standard number font is key for identifying violators caught on cam and prosecuting them.

3: Helmets are mandatory for 2W in Kolkata. You will be fined for not wearing them in major stops. You cannot even buy fuel in a petrol bunk if you don't wear one. No such rule in MH and most people do not wear them in their city commutes what I have seen.


Now each cities have their own benefits, but i preferer Kolkata a lot more, maybe because i grew up here familiar with everything around.

[ketan007]

I don't think these surveys are accurate. I have driven cars in major cities of Maharashtra and some parts of Karnataka. Road safety is a myth in India. In some parts of Mumbai, traffic is very disciplined. Pune is average on discipline. Basically, we have too many vehicles on roads and following rules is optional for most people.

Safety depends on how people behave on roads. Road rage incidents are very common, and even in rural areas too. I drive so defensively nowadays than in the earlier years of my driving.

[Turbohead]

Traffic behaviour in Chennai varies widely depending on the region. The guys who did the survey in Chennai haven't gone beyond the north of Central Railway station.The traffic and road madness there is absolute madness and chaos. The rest of the city is manageable and predictable to a large extent.

[Altocumulus]

The result is hilarious to say the least. I live and drive regularly in both Delhi and Kolkata (including driving between the 2 cities) and have also lived in Bangalore and Mumbai for extended period of time.

Kolkata has the worst traffic and I cringe every time I have to take the car out. 20km distance will take you 2 hours, has the worst roads (not portholes but only undulations ) and worst traffic. Most of the cars in Kolkata have hired drivers (3 out of 5) and they have no consideration for other cars on the road. What worsens the situation more are bikes, Autos, Ubers and Totos. Do the survey with them, then you will get the right picture. The only thing they follow is Red Light and Stop line because Kolkata is filled with traffic cameras. However what happens between consecutive red lights and in bye lanes is a different story altogether.

[HornNotOkPlease]

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

Well i have driven over 10yrs in Kolkata on both 2W & 4W & find it better than other cities i have been to mainly Mumbai / Pune / Bangalore / Hyderabad. I have been to Chennai but never with my car so cannot comment. Unlike what you guys mentioned, both my vehicles are without scratches and in mint condition. I think it depends on which part of the city you drive mostly. I stay at Rashbehari and the roads here are nice, well monitored & violators are fined on regular basis. Similarly i used to stay at Wagholi in Pune which is one of the less developed areas of the City. There there is a big chaos & lawlessness on the streets. I am sure proper Pune area will be a lot better. I am driving long term in Kolkata & Pune and things which stand out for Kolkata is:

I second that, compared to bangalore,mumbai,pune i find the traffic more organized and fast flowing in Kolkata which might be attributed due to lesser concentration of two wheelers and better public transport system. How ever there is a stark different in road manners between area managed by West Bengal police and areas managed by Kolkata police which can lead to conflicting views. I reside in area controlled by WB police and its a total chaos, the same busses who follow bus lanes and stops in designated stops due to fear of penalties in the Kolkata Police jurisdiction goes berserk when the roll over to WB Police jurisdiction area hogging whole, stopping where they feel like and what not.

[landcruiser123]

No surprises seeing where Bangalore is on the list. We have a 1000+ page thread on Team-BHP discussing about the traffic situation in Bangalore.

[buntee90]

I have lived in Delhi for 30 years and been Driving for more than a decade now. NCR is full of entitled drivers, who have way too much money and even greater arrogance; We can see cars piling up on both sides of a railway crossing without impunity leading to a deadlock and further chaos.

The further you are away from Delhi the more sensible drivers you meet.

Case in point: We see many errant cars bearing NCR registration numbers trying to cut queues in hill stations up north while other drivers are waiting patiently.

I haven’t been to other cities much but the sample size is way too small to make any judgement!

[hamhaj16]

No wonder, Tamilnadu has the best infrastructure in India. People most of them are upper middle class and middle class, they knows their limits and they're well protecting their vehicles.

[HR 16]

I live in a small city 100 km from Delhi in Haryana. And I can assure you the behavior and rule-following seen there is just way better than I am used to in my town. Even I can say the same for Gurgaon and some other cities in Haryana that I frequently visit, Delhi is so much easier to drive in compare to these places.
Even then I would agree that Delhi might be worse than all these other cities mentioned in the report. But by no means I would say that Delhi is at the bottom. For the short amount of time I have lived in Mumbai, I would say people there have a better road discipline and a little less aggression while driving than what I have seen in Delhi.
In my city, a 5-minute drive can leave you frustrated. People are so reckless that we have stopped taking out our newer car in the city and just use it for the highways and make do with our 12 years old Alto in the city.