[anvara]

Seems like the flu is everywhere.

Location: Chennai - Mount Road - Driving towards Gemini flyover just after Manyavar showroom around 1030 this morning.

Scene: Am following a decently driven i10 trying to take a U Turn just before the police station (Chennaiites will know).

The guy was using his indicators for close to 50 meters as a result of which I lifted off and gradually moved to the left preparing to stop in case the chap in front stops.

Am watching a chap on the right rear view mirror, on a Hero Honda Splendor who has not seen this indication and is right next to the divider. The i10 guy did not see this and started his turn and the bike chap was boxed in.

What he does next made my blood boil. Just as the i10 was completing the U Turn, the biker kicks the rear bumper which goes out of shape and proceeds on his way.

The i10 guy did not know what hit him and just kept going.

Really felt sorry for him.

What have we become?

[asingh1977]

Originally Posted by anvara

What have we become?

Some of the bad practices I have seen on the roads:

1. Moving autos graze past cars that are parked on crowded streets. They have this steel guard on the back wheels, and they scrape the bumpers of other cars. I saw a BMW being tortured to this.
2. Beggars slapping the windows (and that too quite hard) and asking for money. It is literally a hard "slam". Last week I jumped out of my skin, when a beggar did this.
3. Beggars asking for money, when refused: with a coin make a straight line on the outside door. The driver cannot see it.
4. The Iron-Man stare back when someone is corrected for his/her dangerous driving.
5. Honking people at speed breakers. Can we not allow people to take their time.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by asingh1977

2. Beggars slapping the windows (and that too quite hard) and asking for money. It is literally a hard "slam". Last week I jumped out of my skin, when a beggar did this.

The bangalore street vendors and beggars are worse - and they tend to knock on your car window much more often than the chennai beggars.

However this door slapping / knocking is a comparatively recent phenomenon in Chennai.

The most aggressive beggars at least in my part of South Chennai are roving bands of scrap collecting / scavenging people. These seem to be different families that travel together on a motorized rickshaw, with a couple of dogs following. They are the most aggressive beggars around.

Car - they'll knock at your window, scratch your paint with a nail or coin etc. Scratching I care a bit less because I picked a matte white car for exactly the reason that any car in chennai traffic will pick up a quota of scratches, so I will need to touch up / repaint some stuff at least once or twice a year.

If you're afoot two or three kids and a woman will typically surround you and clamour for alms.

Even if you are inclined to give charity, this sort of extremely pushy demand will put you into a very ungenerous mood.

[Kalesh]

I've had an experience with bikers when I used to drive my Spark. Close to my home on my way back from office, I'm supposed to take a right and I signal well in time. Now the biker follows all sides of the road where I come from, so obviously there is one tailing my right side. The funny part is that this guy would want to outrun me to the turn and would want to go straight. I feel really pity for such idiots and my poor car who has to put up with all this. Now I have habituated to double check when taking turn on any road...✌

[KiloAlpha]

Spotted today morning, in Koramangala 3rd Block in front of Raheja apartments - black Punto KA 05 MH 1592.

I don't expect an acknowledgement for this spotting. I guess you were pissed off that you could not tailgate that lady in a white A-Star and cut me off when merging into the main road; you simply HAD to get to my right and straddle the divider line to prove a point and get ahead? And create a small jam in the process? Bad boy!

[Rohan24]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

Spotted today morning, in Koramangala 3rd Block in front of Raheja apartments - black Punto KA 05 MH 1592.

The "I drive safe" sticker seems ironic here

[NPV]

Yesterday I was on the scooter heading to office when I saw a Goa registered Wagon R in front somewhere near Zuri on ITPL main road. It was being driven quite rashly and what caught my attention was a sticker on the hatch that said "STAY CLEAR" - very apt I would say seeing how the car was being driven
There was also this Skoda Octavia who was tailing my scooter closely just after the ABB junction - this on the short stretch where only 1 lane is usable and I was riding on that lane beside the median and the Octavia wanted me to move to the left lane that is in complete shambles so that he can overtake me. I gestured to him pointing at the road condition and asked him to be a little patient. Hardly 50m ahead there is a break in the median to allow the criss-crossing and he went to the other side. At the same point, the road has 2 usable lanes after the recent asphalting work so I moved to the left lane as well. Not even a minute or two of patient driving can be expected on our streets now

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

I guess you were pissed off that you could not tailgate that lady in a white A-Star and cut me off when merging into the main road; you simply HAD to get to my right and straddle the divider line to prove a point and get ahead? And create a small jam in the process? Bad boy!

And he has a "I Drive Safe" sticker!

[IronH4WK]

Preaching to the common man to follow rules - the Police should follow rules FIRST! Spotted this Tiger (that's what they call the shitty contraption going around confiscating bikes) - KA-07-4424 - driving on the wrong side of the road to cross a signal (Koramangala Forum) this afternoon.





There was an inspector sitting inside the cab of the vehicle busy on his phone while the driver was performing this stunt!

(I'll see if I can pull the video from my dashcam.)

[Kalesh]

I was following an Etios today, Delhi registration in Maharashtra. The car was completely covered in dust like coming out of a construction neighborhood after 15 days in parking. The rear glass was completely covered and to top that, the driver had both the OVRMs closed. Danger on wheels!

[dark.knight]

Another prime example of being a bad driver in Bangalore - unwarranted use of high-beams at night. I agree that this village we are living in has little if not zero street lighting, after all this village also has scant power supply and this is one of the ways in which power can be saved. BUT driving on high-beams at night on the darkest of roads is not a solution to this problem, by doing so one is only causing great inconvenience and increasing the risk multi-fold to an ethical driver like me who prefers to drive on normal beams, only so that others are spared of the same trouble that he goes through.

Why do we need high beams in smaller city roads anyway? Anybody with basic road manners know that a long throw of light is required only in highways where the speeds are higher. In city traffic at well under 50kmph and that too in the narrow roads of localities, using high-beam makes one the perfectly obnoxious, malicious driver which India is only famous for.

[arch_hornet]

I'm sure this has been covered by someone in the 534 pages of this thread, but I thought I'd share it anyway.

People - cars and bikes alike - who simply take the turn from smaller roads to merge onto the main road traffic WITHOUT glancing - forget stopping or even slowing down - even once to see if any incoming traffic is there or not! They simply keep the pace and join - that too sometimes not at the leftmost lane, but right in the thick of things. These kinds are really annoying to say the least!

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by anvara

What he does next made my blood boil. Just as the i10 was completing the U Turn, the biker kicks the rear bumper which goes out of shape and proceeds on his way.

Saw a bike with a 'POLICE' sticker do this.

This purposeful destruction of property really makes my blood boil.

Even otherwise, bikers seem to be losing it recently. Some touches happen by mistake, but I am slowly beginning to lose my cool.
Recently been using the red Liva as the daily drive, and the two times I have used a particular route while leaving from office - bikers have ended up nudging the car both times.
Maybe it is because the car seems 'cheap', or maybe because they're careless, or maybe both. But I am starting to get seriously annoyed with this, and I can see myself losing my cool when this happens next.

They're amongst the most poorly behaved guys on the roads (forget cabbies, buses, trucks), and expect everyone to heed way to them.
God forbid something should happen, they're also the first people to lose their cool and get aggressive.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by anvara

Sthe biker kicks the rear bumper which goes out of shape and proceeds on his way.

reminded of these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRHAe3Zvb0g

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

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

reminded of these:

Looks like you're on a roll today. Hilarious video.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

reminded of these:

Hahaha. Made my day. Being a two wheeler rider myself, I can see why we have a bad name. But, you can identify a non-idiot biker. Just check if he's wearing a riding jacket. In most parts, it's so hot that only the better riders will wear it.