[pavi]

Witnessed this at a traffic signal yesterday. The car sticker says ARMY, I hope the driver was not an army man, else how can someone be so stupid and indisciplined. Or else he would have thought he was participating in a ‘surgical strike’ which made him cross the ‘boundary’.

https://youtu.be/BUSm5T39xbg

[swissknife]

I have been seeing such instances fairly regularly at the bridge near Kasi theatre, Chennai. Two wheeler riders seem to be saving a lot of time riding on the "median" from both sides. I wonder what they would do if two of them decide to "climb" on to the median and ride towards each other. The slope that has been provided at the start of the median "helps" such riders to get on and off.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by swissknife

I have been seeing such instances fairly regularly at the bridge near Kasi theatre, Chennai. Two wheeler riders seem to be saving a lot of time riding on the "median" ... ... .

Good grief, I haven't seen that yet and wouldn't have thought it possible

The first on-median head-on collision is probably only days away!

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by sparky@home

I was a witness to this crazy lady who suddenly decided to cut in front of an I10, who was in the process of overtaking the two wheeler. The car was going very slow, so much so that he could stop without an incident.

Holy Crap! That is ridiculous. She probably wouldn't be dead as the car was slow, but you never know what happens in these situations. Just one second of carelessness would have been doom for her.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

And she just rode off, of course. Can't help wondering if she even noticed she just almost killed herself.

Yelling "who gave you a license you $W^$@^" tends to get an outraged reaction. One chap who did this yelled back at me that he was a driver with ten years experience.

[NPV]

Witnessed a scary scene today - was in my friend's car on rightmost lane waiting for green light to turn right onto Siddapura road towards Jayanagar. There was a Dzire next to our car also waiting to turn right. Suddenly we heard loud voices, shouting and giggling and saw 3 young boys (looked just out of school say 16-17 years old) riding an Activa scooter (none with helmets of course!). The Activa whizzed right in between our car and the Dzire, hitting the ORVM of the Dzire and just then light turned green, so we thought the scooter will turn right. At this moment, some of the cars and scooters started turning right and the Activa went to the left in front of cars that were turning and they headed straight onto Hosur road. Once past the junction, the boy riding the scooter lost control and hit another scooter and all of them fell down. Luckily no vehicles behind them, but the boys reacted quickly and tried to flee on their scooter. Two of them sat quickly and started moving and the third boy tried to jump onto the seat, lost balance and feel face flat on the road. The other two just looked him and zoomed off and the boy got up quickly and ran into the cross road nearby leaving the other scooter rider dazed. He just watched all the drama, got up slowly and ambled away on his scooter as if nothing had happened all over in a few seconds even before we made the right turn.

We're past redemption, I really don't have any hope that our people will change for good, very sad indeed!

[BenjiRoss]

At the 7 second mark, you can see this family of 3 on 1 bike entering the main road / bridge quite unsteadily. At the 25 second mark, you can see the child standing on the bike seat as the bike merrily bumps along! Dangerous family!!
I do understand that for many families, a bike is the most affordable means of transport. But isn't it worth investing in helmets and also ensuring that some safety precautions are followed when on a bike.
That kid could have easily fallen on the bumpy stretch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5jaP2pokwo

A few other bad drivers I found on my dash-cam.

The usual highway trucker driving on the wrong side:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_FK3EzDRbg

The usual bus on the wrong side of the highway:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pix5hhtseEE

The usual Kallada scania bus bulldozing its way through the highway and almost pushing a car away

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

The usual big vehicles almost boxing you in. I could have anticipated it better in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk5jFKWbwyg

And the usual hasty driver trying to save a few seconds by barging into the fast lane:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KNns-43Y6U

[ssmanipal]

I almost agree with all of you. Like I have made it vocal in the past. All the ethics, disciplines and road manners start at a very young age and starts at home. Unless the person has a OCD for correction and willpower he/she shall believe whatever they think they know is right. I can't tolerate most ignorant drivers who have no clue of many aspects of driving and road etiquette. Everyday we learn on the road. There is nobody who's an absolute omega. I moved out of Bangalore for the reasons of traffic and everyday ordeal. I absolutely hate Bangalore traffic and manners. Not that it is better here(Manipal-Udupi) but the density of population and vehicles is still within the threshold. If I had a wish I would certainly ask for a skill to convince anyone and everyone the merits and flaws of life. Starting with road.

My apologies if the topic is off topic or you might consider this a rant. I do hope we can see a civilized community in this lifetime at-least.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by ssmanipal

I moved out of Bangalore for the reasons of traffic and everyday ordeal. I absolutely hate Bangalore traffic and manners.

I hate traffic and cities as well. Hurrah to you for moving out of Bangalore. I'm curious, if you don't mind revealing minus any sensitive details such as your new employer's name in Manipal - how does one successfully leave the big cities? Is there a trick, such as targeting small regional companies with presence in a desired place such as this?

What wouldn't I give to move permanently to Manipal... But how?

Not that it is better here(Manipal-Udupi) but the density of population and vehicles is still within the threshold.

Back in 2009-2011 when I was in TAPMI (Manipal), the entire Manipal/Udupi belt was heavenly. I hear that commercialization has begun with tourists thronging the beaches... Do check out the Manipal/Udupi Team-BHP get-together threads. We have some distinguished members in that region and do meet with the group whenever there's a meet.


And yes - overall, bad driving sense is the bane of our times. It is a sad reality we have to live with. I wish we could have roving police patrol which fines bad drivers on the spot as it is done elsewhere.

[ssmanipal]

The trick is I'm an entrepreneur. My folks are into business and so am I. I move to cash in on a trend or opportunity. Bangalore has great food scene. And the non humid weather is a plus. I still have vested interest in Bangalore, but moved my address and natural habitat to my native. That is manipal.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Good grief, I haven't seen that yet and wouldn't have thought it possible

The first on-median head-on collision is probably only days away!

Riding Two wheelers gives you some advantages:
Excellent maneuverability with little effort
Little to hinder your peripheral vision unlike A pillars in cars
With just a twitch of your muscle, you can change the angle of inclination and make a turn scraping your foot rest on the tarmac

All the above factors assume that you have the skills and the intelligence to use them to your advantage. Unfortunately, 95 % of the riders you see on the road never use any skill and exhibit death wish. And the moment there is a pillion rider it turns into chaos.

[swissknife]

This is not a one off occurrence. This is near the Nandambakkam police station, adjoining the Chennai Trade Center. Riders ride on the pavement, on the wrong side of the road, without a helmet and right under the noses of the the law enforcement.

[marsbhp]

Riding on the wrong side of the road: Check
Riding on the pavement: Check
Riding without a helmet: Check
Riding without mirrors on the bike: Check

All boxes ticked.

Originally Posted by swissknife

This is not a one off occurrence. This is near the Nandambakkam police station, adjoining the Chennai Trade Center. Riders ride on the pavement, on the wrong side of the road, without a helmet and right under the noses of the the law enforcement.

[paragsachania]

You can be a bad driver even when not driving on anything called "Roads". Call that obsession (others do elsewhere so I should do it too) or plain stupidity, the driver of this vehicle qualifies for a Bad Driver.

https://youtu.be/bhDYB-VZ2CA

What happened to the car? The news anchor is heard saying it was recovered later by a tractor once the waves settled.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by BenjiRoss

At the 7 second mark, you can see this family of 3 on 1 bike entering the main road / bridge quite unsteadily. At the 25 second mark, you can see the child standing on the bike seat as the bike merrily bumps along! Dangerous family!! ... ... ...

In the newspaper, today, a comment about the court insisting on bike passengers wearing helmets. Effectiveness illustrated by a photo of a family of six, all helmetless. Further to the newspaper comment, I noticed that one little girl was standing on the bike. No security at all.

Originally Posted by ssmanipal

I almost agree with all of you. Like I have made it vocal in the past. All the ethics, disciplines and road manners start at a very young age and starts at home. ... ... ...

Very much so. They start as a babe in arms on the bike, and continue as a toddler standing on the scooter footboard. This is literally a whole life's lesson in doing stuff wrong. How can anyone be expected to know better?

Originally Posted by Prowler

Riding Two wheelers gives you some advantages ...

Oh so many advantages! In most of the world's cities, the biker will be home and will have made and eaten his dinner before the car driver gets there. And it will have cost a tiny fraction of the fuel. The urban biker is all about not getting held up in the traffic. Assuming, as you say, that

...have the skills and the intelligence to use them to your advantage. Unfortunately, 95 % of the riders you see on the road never use any skill and exhibit death wish.

And, with 70% of the traffic being on two wheels (not certain of that, but think I saw it for Chennai, they spend as much time holding each other up, or being the guy that holds everyone else up. Advantages diminished.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

You can be a bad driver even when not driving on anything called "Roads". Call that obsession (others do elsewhere so I should do it too) or plain stupidity, the driver of this vehicle qualifies for a Bad Driver.

How does anyone so ignorant get behind the wheel of a car? Has he never even walked on a beach? Does he not know about soft sand, which can trap a car even when dry? Did he never paddle in the water? Perhaps he doesn't even know... that it is wet!

And plainly, he has no idea how corrosive sea water is.