[mega5918]

Drive fast in a metro-city all that you can save is about 5-10 mins, we won’t make a million in 10mins, still I don’t understand why people drive really fast on narrow roads especially the auto’s and the call center cabs.
Few rules that can help us save our lil beauties from scars and dents.
1. Don’t honk 2 much, cause you might try and get a lil space for your car to squeeze in but the guy who just gave you lil space is a lil turned down by our behavior. He’ll make sure after a few minutes he’ll do what you just did to him.
2. If at all you see a car changing lanes and breaking very frequently rather than loosing patience, just maintain more distance may be 5-10ft depending on your driving experience.
3. When taking a left or a right turn if some on is trying to overtake you from wrong direction let him go, it doesn’t hurt, but you just saved yourself from getting into arguments and saved your lil beauty from getting a scar on her face.
4. Stay away from fast moving metro buses (BMTC-Bangalore and BEST-Mumbai).
5. Certain times you need to overtake people from left, I know from my experience you cannot just avoid this, but avoid doing this as much as possible. You cannot avoid overtaking from left on few of the roads like the HRBR-Ring Road-HSR-Ring Road in Bangalore which is all the time flooded with trucks on the right of the road.
6. If a senior citizen is crossing the road please do slow down and let them cross the road.
7. And last but not the least be patient in life, people with patience have achieved lots more in life.
No offense meant, this is just out of my 10 yrs driving experience, hope this helps the BHPn’s. Used to be a very rash driven when I started driving but now I’ve realized that lil patience will save you and others from getting injured.
Be a good driver first, so even if some on makes a mistake on the road we should be in a position to avoid any mishap.
Today morning on my way to office saw an accident just after SAP labs opposite to IonIdea near to ITPN in Bangalore, this was a crash between a SUMO and Qualis, the sumo guy was coming in the wrong direction in spite of a big divider about 10+ft wide and no exit path, sumo was badly damaged, his fault. Please post the pics if some 1 has taken, a lil patience by sumo driver would have saved both of them.

Thanks,
Mega

[chanapli]

6. If a senior citizen is crossing the road please do slow down and let them cross the road.

I would love to. But It is very difficult aviod other vehicles hitting me from back, so most of the time it is better to go with the traffic.

[sreenivass]

Originally Posted by chanapli

I would love to. But It is very difficult aviod other vehicles hitting me from back, so most of the time it is better to go with the traffic.

I do it all the time, Its fixed in my mind that there is no other way than to stop if a sr. citizen, child or disabled is crossing the road.

As far as the worry that some one might rear end you goes, I think it can happen even when a motor cyclist/ rash driver cuts across you and you have to brake suddenly.

[eddiedsouza]

Great post, Ajmat!
May I add:
* Undertakers - people who unnecessarily overtake on the left when there is more than enough space on the right.
* Right-lane hoggers - doing 45kph, usually heavy vehicles, and hogging the rightmost lane. Honking at these idiots does no good. Best treatment: undertake ;-), then get in front of them, and slow them to a halt. Get out, go back and give them a tongue-lashing.
* High-beam sh*ts - idiots who ALWAYS drive with their high beams on and have zero consideration for the people they're blinding. Especially those who tailgate you, trying to force you into letting them pass. My response: there is no way you, you ba*d, will get past me if I can help it. Sit and stew till you dip your beams and KEEP them dipped.
* 2-wheeler showoffs - they gun their bikes up to 2 feet of your rear bumper, then cut hard, pass you, and bank just as hard back in front of you, so their rear is now four feet from your front bumper.
* Overspeeders - even if you have your turn indicator on and have started turning, they always think they can blaze past you by kicking down on the gas. Had a close call with one of these idiots the other day - he skidded to a halt 3 feet from my right flank. Rolled down window to ask *** he thought he was doing, only to have him wave me on with a sheepish and apologetic grin.
* People who don't know that vehicles already on a roundabout/traffic circle have right of way, and shove their way in ahead of you. Especially two-wheelers, since if you hit them *you're* the one the mob beats up!


All the above are pet peeves of mine in Goan traffic; some of these may be alien to metropolitans and the like :-)

Ed.

[eddiedsouza]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

how to spot fools-
1.driving with both the rear view mirrors folded.
2.driving in high beam at 20kmph.
3.overtaking on turns.
4.driving with headrests removed,bacuse they are fitted to prevent the neck in a accident.

Hey, I removed the rear headrests in my WagonR, but I take major exception to being called a fool:
1. Most of the time, I'm the only person in the car. Rarely do I have people in the back seats.
2. In the WagonR, those darn headrests in the back block a good deal of the rear view - even in the RVM - but especially while I'm backing up. (I learnt to drive on an old Premier Padmini which didn't even have an inside RVM; to back up, I *had* to twist around, one arm along the seat, to see where I was going...)
3. Front headrests are definitely there, because those are frequently used...
4. When I *do* have long-distance (more than a couple km.) passengers in the back, I dig the headrests out of the boot and fit them to the back seats..

So, if you overtake me, you'd label me as a fool - but you'd be wrong!
Ed.

[sandeep108]

I do not think anshuman was talking about rear headrests anyway, ed.

[eddiedsouza]

Bad driver?
In Bombay at least, it's anybody with out of town plates.
(yes, we do have the best road sense in the country, though Goa has the best road manners).

A few of us "defensive" drivers here in Goa all totally agree that out-of-town plates means you need to watch those vehicles like a hawk! There have been just a few good drivers I've seen with o-o-t plates. For Goa, that means all MH, KA and KL plates (which are the most frequent visitors) are suspect. I didn't mention this in another of my posts because I didn;t want to offend people - but since you said it...

Strangely, this only goes for cars (i.e., 4-wheeled passenger vehicles). Trucks coming from out of Goa, especially MH and KA reg ones, display such courtesy it shocks me. When on my bike, waiting at the right rear corner of a truck to overtake, and that huge vehicle pulls over and graciously lets me pass.. Man! I take my left hand off and wave to the driver, saying "thanks!". Can't do that in the car, lest my right-hand wave be taken as some sort of "will stop now" signal or something, but I still feel grateful.
The trick to this is to be a little polite yourself, I've found. I just need to get within overtaking distance of the back of the truck, and wait. No high beams, no horn, nothing. And those drivers pull to the side of the road just as soon as they can, to let you pass... OTOH, impatient and rude tailgaters who gun it to within 3 feet of the truck's rear, and have high beams on and keep honking.. they're often kept waiting for kilometres, stewing in their own juices. Mind you, if I can persuade one of these idiots to let me pass him, I do my act and pretty soon the truck driver realizes there's a different guy behind him now.. and lets me pass too. Some of them even swing right back in, missing my rear by a few feet, so they can keep that rude ba*d bottled up behind them...

Now those truck drivers are what I call really good drivers!

However, I must disagree with your statement that Goa has the best road manners. Vehicles with local plates exhibit shocking asininity most of the times. In fact, many of the points other people have been complaining about are true of Goan drivers too. There are some drivers who are courteous as all get out, and there are those who are absolute a$$holes. Sadly, the mix is beginning to tilt toward the latter now, instead of the former

Ed.

[eddiedsouza]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

I do not think anshuman was talking about rear headrests anyway, ed.

Oh.. OK; he didn't specify any, though, so...
Ed.

[eddiedsouza]

Originally Posted by Speedometer

Also cars with dark films on the front windscreen also say a lot.

Hmm.. you have a point there.

Ok, this is probably aside from the thread subject, but lemme ask anyway:
On a lot of local cars in Goa, I find that the right headlamp beam is properly dipped, but the left-side one is blinding-high. Weirdly enough, I've seen out-of-town vehicles with exactly the reverse setup, which is worse, if anything.

Anyone have any idea what gives with these annoying h/l setups?

Ed.

[elf]

Originally Posted by eddiedsouza

... However, I must disagree with your statement that Goa has the best road manners. Vehicles with local plates exhibit shocking asininity most of the times. In fact, many of the points other people have been complaining about are true of Goan drivers too. ...

I don't doubt that for a minute, Ed. Morons exist everywhere, & most of the dreaded tourist taxi guys in your lovely state are the worst offenders of the lot.

But, to prove my point, here's my newest story...

Spent about 12 days in beautiful north Goa two weeks ago. Wifey & me hired a Honda Activa scooter, & proceeded to use it for our runabouts into Candolim / Baga / etc. Being a newbie scooter rider (my only experience is once a year for about 10 days for the past 3 years), I ride quite slowly & as courteously as possible.

One afternoon, we both were on our putt-puttee, riding along on the main Candolim / Calangute road, just before Lawande's Supermarket, heading south towards the Taj complex, & cruising along quite peacefully at around 25-30 kmh, watching places pass by like stupid wide-eyed tourists. After some time, wifey happened to turn back, & she saw this huuuuge lineup (at least 20 odd vehicles) right behind us, waiting to overtake. None of them had honked, flashed lights, jammed / attempted to overtake or abused us. And we were in the middle of the road like idiots. Needless to say, I pulled to the left, gave most of them a sheepish grin & apologised to those that I could.

If I had been in their place, I would have honked till the damn horn would've stopped working, run them off the road & then abused the rider for being a retarded fool.

[sreenivass]

Originally Posted by eddiedsouza

Hmm.. you have a point there.

Ok, this is probably aside from the thread subject, but lemme ask anyway:
On a lot of local cars in Goa, I find that the right headlamp beam is properly dipped, but the left-side one is blinding-high. Weirdly enough, I've seen out-of-town vehicles with exactly the reverse setup, which is worse, if anything.

Anyone have any idea what gives with these annoying h/l setups?

Ed.

This is what I am thinking about the rationale behind....
We drive on LHS, so probably the idea is that RHS head lights will be more annoying to oncming traffic than the LHS ones in full beam..........

[elf]

Originally Posted by eddiedsouza

... On a lot of local cars in Goa, I find that the right headlamp beam is properly dipped, but the left-side one is blinding-high. Weirdly enough, I've seen out-of-town vehicles with exactly the reverse setup, which is worse, if anything.

Anyone have any idea what gives with these annoying h/l setups? ...

Once again Ed, this is the decency & common sense of the drivers in Goa.

For most of our Indian road conditions, it makes sense to have the left beam higher than the right, to view idiot cyclists, cows, dogs, giraffes, elephants, brain-dead pedestrians, & other assorted zoo animals. The right beam is kept low to see the road surface & not to blind oncoming drivers.

Other than Goa, it's the other way around. This is so you can blind the ugly SOB that's coming from the opposite side with your right lamp, whilst the left one is for viewing the road surface & potholes.

[WasavaTyres]

Seems to me like most of this thread has deviating form the title to pinning the blame on what causes traffic hold ups and irregularities....ricks........cows.....lady drivers.....2 and 3 wheelers ..

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres

Seems to me like most of this thread has deviating form the title to pinning the blame on what causes traffic hold ups and irregularities....ricks........cows.....lady drivers.....2 and 3 wheelers ..

Tell me about it. Have been deleting the irrlevant ones but I can't kep up!

[esteem_lover]

Bad drivers :
1. The ones that hold a cellphone in one hand & the steering in the other
2. Starts moving before the signal turns to green & honks incessantly if his
way is blocked by another vehicle.