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-   -   Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-safety/3580-bad-drivers-how-do-you-spot-em-466.html)

Many of these tricks are tried by people who are NOT authorised to use any special signs on their number plates. In Karnataka I have seen many cars having a read band, on the top part of their number plates. Generally a red band indicates that it is the official vehicle - most likely a minister, or a senior civil servant. And the official designation would be written in the red band (in white colour). The "fake" people generally just keep the red band only. I know a chap who puts a green band on his vehicle number plate. It says "president fo xyz forum". This said forum is just like a club, with no powers at all.

Even when I am in the midst of the trucks at Thoppur Ghats all the while cursing/fuming, I would have had a hearty laugh if I saw this in person. lol:

Yes.That is normal.

I see this daily! He was too lazy to turn left drive 400 M and take a U-turn, come back 400 M to the T-Junction on the highway.

BTW, that is NH-24.

Thanks for pointing this out! I do NH-8 daily for office. Last night forgot that it was NH 24 and not NH 8.

All right - last evening in bad Bangalore rains traffic, a F1 biker tried something and achieved only because of my mercy.

While I'm already on extreme right of the road, hardly few inches off from the divider and a bus on my left with hardly a feet between the bus and me - a biker continuously tried to squeeze in between me & the bus. The bus is already squeezing me to the right and I was worried that this biker would be sandwiched by the bus. That is when I decided to give him space by almost scratching my own car onto the divider.

Swoosh goes the biker, happy that he saved a few extra seconds by risking his life.

Once more folks, members and non-members reading this - Please, please & please - do not risk your lives. Follow lane discipline, it won't cost huge.

Urgency, Impatience, Road rage.... have become the order of the day while driving in bangalore. I am afraid if one follows lane discipline or road rules, he/she will be at a total loss.

Another common sight - Stopped at a Zebra crossing for the pedestrians to pass. A biker squeezes between me and the divider and zooms past my stopped car which is already in the right side lane and an Indica which was no where near speeds up and zooms past on the left side. Intimidated pedestrians find shelter ahead of my car and luckily manages to escape the bike. They wait till all the busy motorists pass and then continue to cross the road. Almost every zebra crossing I stop at, I see this and makes me wonder, when will or rather will these things ever improve.

I saw a couple crossing the road, the wife slightly behind, and a biker drove between them without even slowing down. I wish something could be done about these rude, ignorant morons.

Another common site at least in Bangalore is that in a sharp corner, when you take a left turn with your indicators on, a biker or a cyclist takes the gap between the car and the edge of the foot path, many times knowing fully well that the gap is not enough.

Yeah have experienced it quite a number of times. More you are closure to the corner or trying to cover the gap; the more faster they will come. :Frustrati

My pet peeve - people taking right turns by cutting across lanes. This is incredibly widespread in Bangalore, and presumably other cities in India.

The wrong way of taking a right turn: Cut across opposing traffic lanes. You run the risk of having a head-on collision with people who are legally entitled to take a free left in these cases.

The correct way of taking a right turn: Turn right only after reaching the lane that you want to be in (i.e. the lane that you will be in after a successful turn).

-- I totally agree with you... wrongly cutting lanes is rampant in my city as well. I really really hate it when someone does this, especially auto rick guys and 2 wheelers.

-- Is there not a rule / law to stop this menace ?

-- I think the RTO's should encourage during leaners license and with bill boards highlighting this wrong / bad habit.

It gets worse. Where there is no median and no traffic light people do as shown in yellow, literally driving on the wrong side at the corner.

Where there is no median but has traffic light, they wait as shown in orange.

I wish I could do what this gentleman did, in the pest-infested Bangs-galore/Hump-a-looru/(officially known as Bengaluru/Bangalore) roads:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...type=2&theater

Of course, if I were to do it, it's a guaranteed way to get murdered in no time. There's no "Life-time Tax" to keep dreaming, so...

Even I stop when I see people waiting but once when I stopped on a pretty busy road since the pedestrians were signalling for vehicles to stop for them to cross, I saw at least 10+ vehicles passing me and not giving two hoots to the people crossing. That day my dad was riding shotgun with me and he told me "see it is a good gesture on your part to stop but still the morons on the road will not stop and hence you are actually putting the people crossing the road at the risk of being knocked down." So ever since I've been way more cautious while stopping to let people cross and also if I feel that the person behind me in the adjacent lane will not stop I just continue driving on!! Unfortunately India is not a place for the sensible & polite drivers.
P.S. I only stop if I see a zebra crossing and generally don't encourage jaywalkers.

I would say your father is very very correct. In fact, in countries (like in Europe) where drivers are more courteous, it is taught that you would be "in the wrong" (and hence culpable in case of a mishap) to give way like this without first determining that other motorists around you would also follow your suit.

Yes, India is not a place for courteous driving. This, and other threads, are peppered with instances where we have been courteous and people around us have cursed us for it.