[Vernafied]

I totally support the fine/penalty but it shouldn't be too exorbitant for not to serious offenders. In my 12 years of driving experience i just received 1 overspeeding ticket that too i was driving on 73KMPH road where speed limit was 70KMPH. Generally me and my father are very sedate driver and follow all traffic rules. But it just disturbed me getting 1000 ticket for overspeeding by 3KMPH that too on a under-construction 4 lane NH6 with very bad road conditions.
Thats life afterall. We have to be careful about rules and regulations.

[routefinder]

Hmm that's a tricky one for sure. On the one hand, you want rules enforced for safety, but those fines do seem a bit excessive.

The best thing is to just wait behind the line in those situations, even if people behind get impatient. Not worth the risk otherwise.

Anyway, good reminder for all of us to just be extra cautious around intersections! Better to add a few minutes to the drive than deal with a large penalty.

[Neversaygbye]

In Calcutta, the police typically don't harass private four-wheelers unless there is a blatant violation. (It's different for 2-wheelers though - they are pulled over all the time for checking their PUC and papers).

Sometimes, it is impossible to stop before the stop line thanks to bumper to bumper traffic and I have seen that cops in Cal typically take a lenient view. Also, it helps if you have a dashcam. There have been a couple of occasions where the light was green when I crossed the stop line but turned amber and then red by the time I crossed the intersection (because of congestion in front of me due to buses stopping to pick up passengers) and the police pulled me over. I told them that the signal was green till the time I was in the middle of the intersection and I could show it in the dashcam footage, and then they let me go. A dashcam has become a must these days for many reasons, and this is one of them.

[cherisam]

Got fined for this. Blue car. Close up photo shows the rear of the car so am assuming i should have stopped on top of the stop lettering but then what's the need for such a big gap before the zebra crossing?

[tilt]

Originally Posted by aadi2700

How is one supposed to deal with signals wherein no timer is given, as by the time you are bang on the stop line it’s too late to pause and the intersection may be clogged? (Have faced this conundrum a few times.

Well, if you can see (while you're still approaching the lights) that the intersection is clogged, stop BEFORE the stop line, even if the light is Green for you.

You are not supposed to be stationary in an intersection, period!

Originally Posted by Kanu_87

I have a question, why do we have signals (stop lights) at the far as well as the near (both) side of the intersection??

So that people close to the Stop line need not crane their necks too look up to see the lights; and that people far away cn see the lights too.

Originally Posted by SlowDough

My car has multiple fines like this. I understand your predicatement, because it is not easy to judge whether or not you will be able to cross an intersection. I would consider myself as still under training, and I still make this mistake sometimes. *SNIP*

Er... yes it is; and if you are unable to do this, then you have no business being in control of a vehicle. Yes, I saw that you mentioned you're still in training. Please make sure you complete your training before driving.

Cheers

[jomyboy]

I can't help but chuckle looking at the comments above. Being so righteous on Mumbai roads would mean:
A: Getting abuses all around from buswalas to rickshaw guys, heck even some traffic wardens would complain about you holding up the road.
B: Definitely some day someone gonna rear-end you badly, you can only pray its not a BEST bus or a garbage truck who are not desperate to clear the signal.
and most importantly C: You will never move an iota from morning till night at some of the intersections in the suburbs where people don't stop moving at all no matter what signal is on, they form a line like ants where it is almost impossible to get through, which is a skillset that you cannot hone unless you are ready to get feisty .

[SlowDough]

Originally Posted by tilt

Er... yes it is; and if you are unable to do this, then you have no business being in control of a vehicle. Yes, I saw that you mentioned you're still in training. Please make sure you complete your training before driving.

Cheers

Clarification: The training is what I am putting my own self through for the benefit of others. No one teaches good road discipline in India, at least not when I was getting my license made.

Context: The green light may say that I have 20 seconds to cross and the entire junction might be empty. Suddenly, a kid appears on a scooty out of nowhere from the right. Also, the stop line was drawn 50m before where it should have been, and I am already past it. Additionally, there's a big truck speeding up right behind me to cross the same junction, ready to crush me and the kid to death together. I am already vulnerable because like a good citizen of the road, I had actually slowed down proactively even before the kid came into the picture, but the truck had sped up at the same time. Now, tell me what you would do in this case to avoid a fine, or if avoiding a fine is going to be your highest priority?

These are some of the scenarios that I am training myself for. A fine in this case is actually one of the best case result.

I am on your side of the argument. But it isn't a black and white one.

[tilt]

Originally Posted by SlowDough

Clarification: The training is what I am putting my own self through for the benefit of others. No one teaches good road discipline in India, at least not when I was getting my license made.

Context: The green light may say that I have 20 seconds to cross and the entire junction might be empty. Suddenly, a kid appears on a scooty out of nowhere from the right. Also, the stop line was drawn 50m before where it should have been, and I am already past it. Additionally, there's a big truck speeding up right behind me to cross the same junction, ready to crush me and the kid to death together. I am already vulnerable because like a good citizen of the road, I had actually slowed down proactively even before the kid came into the picture, but the truck had sped up at the same time. Now, tell me what you would do in this case to avoid a fine, or if avoiding a fine is going to be your highest priority?

These are some of the scenarios that I am training myself for. A fine in this case is actually one of the best case result.

I am on your side of the argument. But it isn't a black and white one.

If the intersection were indeed empty; and you were indeed proactively slowing down and preparing to come to a stop, I cannot fault you at all.

If I could, I would try and find an "out" to slot into so that I can avoid being rear-ended by the truck. Ideally I would avoid getting myself into such a situation in the first place; and if I could not and did not, I would consider it a lack of driving skill on my part.

When I was in trucking school and in the process of getting a trucking licence, I was told by the instructors that there are no accidents, ever; and that every "crash" or "collision" that I got into (yes, crash and collision, never accident) is always my fault alone; because on the road, every collision is avoidable if I were sensible in my driving.

I know this sounds very idealistic and Utopian; and I am not saying I am the perfect driver; however, unfortunately, what I said is the answer.

Cheers

[SlowDough]

Originally Posted by tilt

every collision is avoidable if I were sensible in my driving.

I know this sounds very idealistic and Utopian; and I am not saying I am the perfect driver; however, unfortunately, what I said is the answer.

I follow this approach, but not without reminding myself that it is extremely idealistic and that I cannot control all situations. There is a simple example - Racing incidents in F1. You have to apply the principles in context. Sensibility cannot be taken for granted, can take years of observing and training, and can go against idealistic notions more often than not.

Because I have spent all my driving years observing like a fanatic, I follow it as a rule to brake while momentarily glancing at my rear view mirrors and stopping/slowing down on the left most edge of the road, if the junction is empty, so that I don't get rear ended by an eager-to-break-the-rules driver, especially on a highway. Now what do the idealistic rules of lane driving say in this context?

Also, we're going off topic. I can already hear the Mods chatting about it.

[HIGHWAY_PATROL]

Originally Posted by tilt

When I was in trucking school and in the process of getting a trucking licence, I was told by the instructors that there are no accidents, ever; and that every "crash" or "collision" that I got into (yes, crash and collision, never accident) is always my fault alone; because on the road, every collision is avoidable if I were sensible in my driving.

Cheers

Just to know, is that trucking school based in India?

I know you mean well for the safety of drivers in general, but there is a world of difference between traffic behaviour in a country like India and the developed nations.

As far as I have seen here, collisions do happen inspite of conscious safe driving, and it would be self-defeating to blame oneself for all the collisions.

I guess most of us install dashcams only to defend ourselves, that says a lot about the traffic behaviour in this part of the world.

[tilt]

Originally Posted by HIGHWAY_PATROL

Just to know, is that trucking school based in India?

*SNIP*

Canada

Typing something more here because TBHP says message too short. Well, enjoy.

Cheers