[Keeleri_Achu]

I don't know whether this is the appropriate thread for this kind of a post. It's more of a 'B/Mad administration' than a Bad drivers post. Mods, please move it, if there is a different thread for such stuff.

Just came across a video from Trivandrum. Now, I've seen traffic being routed through a single track when maintenance/construction is ongoing. But to have it redirected in such a manner, with an open track right next to it, is unthinkable. Who in their right state of mind would do something like this?. And to have sign boards and Police on duty trying to regulate the traffic flow means that this issue have been going on for a while and won't be solved anytime soon.

Can anyone from Trivandrum shed some light on this? Since media always over hype the issue, it is always better to ask fellow BHPians to know the complete picture. Is the next U-turn so far away that Police/NHAI is recommending such a solution? If it is such an important detour, how on earth did they miss it in the first place? And if it is a temporary fix, why would they let those carts/ small shops set up camp there?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lW01EDwJN8

[binand]

Originally Posted by Keeleri_Achu

Is the next U-turn so far away that Police/NHAI is recommending such a solution?

I had visited Trivandrum in October last year for a vacation, and had passed through this junction several times - you can't avoid it if you want to visit Kovalam beach, a major tourist attraction here.

https://goo.gl/maps/bnEH8bDQKyDqxPPY9

The main dual carriageway road is NH 66's Trivandrum bypass. The road that branches off to north is the one that takes you to the CBD area of Trivandrum city. Approximately 1 km further along the NH there is another junction with all the paraphernalia - signals, countdown timers, marked zebra crossings etc.; a right turn here also merges with this road. The extra distance involved is about half a km.

[Keeleri_Achu]

Originally Posted by binand

Approximately 1 km further along the NH there is another junction with all the paraphernalia - signals, countdown timers, marked zebra crossings etc.; a right turn here also merges with this road. The extra distance involved is about half a km.

So people are asked to travel approximately 600m, in the fast lane of the opposite track, of a National Highway, just to save 200 or 300m from the proper route? Is that correct? If this is not a ticking time bomb, I don't know what is. It is as if people driving on the opposite lane on their own isn't bad enough that the NHAI and Police want to publicly endorse it. This reminds me of the classic malayalam proverb, "Manushyanu braanthu pidichal changalakkidam, changalakku braanthu pidichal enthu cheyyum", which roughly translates to : People can be chained up if they go mad, but what can we do if the chain gets mad.

Incredible India indeed .

Distance you've to travel in the opposite direction.


Distance you've to cover if you take the short cut.


Distance if you take the proper route.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Keeleri_Achu

So people are asked to travel approximately 600m, in the fast lane of the opposite track, of a National Highway, just to save 200 or 300m from the proper route? Is that correct?

Not to mention, the fact that half the carriageway is occupied by people going the other way means that only one lane available for those going the right way - and the traffic density is high enough to warrant 2 or even 3 lanes. This results in huge pile-ups in the vicinity.

[rakirank]

Do we now need to be schooled by our elders on basic civic sense?

https://twitter.com/i/status/1230788753645424640

Quote from twitter "This aunty from Pune is an inspiration to many. Well done Ma'am.
Shame on Bikers who ride on footpaths. It's sad to see senior citizens have to do the job what traffic police is supposed to do in our country."


Shared by Anand Mahindra.
https://auto.ndtv.com/news/anand-mah...-lateststories

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by rakirank

Do we now need to be schooled by our elders on basic civic sense?

If only they had schooled their children!

It's never too late to start.

[nagr22]

How do you save 5 mins of travel time by wasting 5 mins of hundreds of people? Well this school bus driver has an answer!



This happened yesterday at Hoodi junction, Bangalore . For those of you don't know, this is a one way and many people routinely violate it to save a few mins eventhough the correct route is a wide almost 6 lane road which can easily handle the traffic if everyone cruises in the same direction.
This bus driver dude decides it's not worth his time to travel 1km in the correct side and starts coming against traffic and at the same time the signal for us mere mortals turn green and we all happen to impede his path. Meanwhile few more dudes on two wheels who where behind him now overtake the school bus dude without realising that there are us mortals coming in the correct lane. The resul:, gridlock, verbal fights and more two wheeled dudes line up behind the school bus so that he can't even back up now. All those dudes whose time is worth in gold now first request us mortals to adjust and give way, followed by threats and justification that everyone does this blah blah blah and finally some of us mortals had to give way to these dudes so that they can now go make trillions of dollars in GDP with their saved time! In all, no time saved for the dudes and 5 mins wasted for hundreds of people! My blood was boiling because the vehicle that started this menace had school children! What are we teaching our next generation?? Aren't parents of these schools worried about safety of their children??

Seriously guys, can we have a thread to brainstorm about how to stop people from driving against traffic? Or do we already have one?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by nagr22

This happened yesterday at Hoodi junction, Bangalore

You should not fret over it. The school bus driver has diligently followed the most critical rule : Headlights on. This supersedes every other rule in the MV Act.

Today, it has become a norm to enter from the wrong side and drive around so casually with your lights on.

Thorough gentlemen are those drivers who not only have their headlights on but also turn on Hazards as an extra precaution. We must admire this community that is growing at a rapid pace all over.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by nagr22

Seriously guys, can we have a thread to brainstorm about how to stop people from driving against traffic? Or do we already have one?

Let's think now. How many Indians pay taxes in order to understand any responsibility? If you are paying something to use the roads or any public property you have that sense. Until that part is mandated you cannot expect any improvement in any behaviors. In developed countries almost everybody pay taxes, India that way is very flexible and forgiving, leading to allow such nonsense.

[nagr22]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Let's think now. How many Indians pay taxes in order to understand any responsibility? If you are paying something to use the roads or any public property you have that sense. Until that part is mandated you cannot expect any improvement in any behaviors.

This is only partly true. In Bangalore you can see even the so called 'educated' folks driving their expensive Dukes and Himalayans merrily against a one-way road with their blinding high beams on The problem with our people is they feel entitled to use the public spaces in whichever way they want. Once everyone starts paying their taxes, this sense of entitlement will only grow and people might start doing even more crazy stuff!

What fascinates me is that the majority of these violators in Bangalore are actually well educated folk who have most likely travelled abroad for 'onsite' assignments and have driven in those countries or admire about their roads or traffic discipline etc but as soon as they get on a vehicle here, all hell breaks loose! The reason, this is India who will catch me?

Education will not solve this menace. Enforcement will. We should have a system where every violator is punished every single time either through fines or through gruesome accidents (which will happen once the percentage of these wrong side drivers increase).

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by nagr22

Education will not solve this menace. Enforcement will. We should have a system where every violator is punished every single time either through fines or through gruesome accidents (which will happen once the percentage of these wrong side drivers increase).

That way you will need one cop per person to enforce. It is sheep mentality seen here. If one goes the wrong way a bunch of idiots will follow. If you see a man in uniform you will behave properly else just do what you want. Partly agree with your thought of enforcement but it is not always practical considering the density of population. And most importantly the fine amounts are peanuts and can easily be skipped. The movement to increase those amounts too was not a logical solution since there are escape paths there too.
Coming back to developed countries if there is an offence against you, it reflects in all your daily routine including increased car insurance, phone charges, background check issues if necessary etc. for lifetime. Surely we do have all laws in place but who follows them and do they really affect anything to even get a feeling "What I am doing or have done is wrong".
The worst part and a huge contrast: In developed countries human life is "most" valued and same this is "least" valued in our country. What will happen to a person who causes a gruesome accident? At worst he will be hanged but what does that change? People will read the news, forget and continue to take wrong paths.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Let's think now. How many Indians pay taxes in order to understand any responsibility? If you are paying something to use the roads or any public property you have that sense. Until that part is mandated you cannot expect any improvement in any behaviors. In developed countries almost everybody pay taxes, India that way is very flexible and forgiving, leading to allow such nonsense.

Originally Posted by nagr22

... ... ... Once everyone starts paying their taxes, this sense of entitlement will only grow and people might start doing even more crazy stuff!

1. We do pay taxes. In general, I'd guess many of us car-owning Team-Bhpians are income-tax payers, itself a small elite economic group. Even those that don't are still paying tax on their purchases, even their car if bought new.

2. Many countries have an annual road-using tax for vehicles. India has a tax, but it usually paid as lifetime tax, so after buying the new car and paying this tax, we forget about it.

But I agree with nagr22: more overt payment for roads etc, it going to lead to more entitlement. (And also, not better roads, as those who pay tolls for not-new-any-longer roads can attest)

Paying for mistakes is another matter.

[saisree]

Originally Posted by nagr22

Education will not solve this menace. Enforcement will. We should have a system where every violator is punished every single time either through fines or through gruesome accidents (which will happen once the percentage of these wrong side drivers increase).

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

That way you will need one cop per person to enforce. It is sheep mentality seen here.
.

No need to station a cop. Traffic department should put a Fastag reader and deduct the fine immediately for wrong directions, signal jumping and more. Cross the line you will be scanned and deducted should be the motto.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by saisree

No need to station a cop. Traffic department should put a Fastag reader and deduct the fine immediately for wrong directions, signal jumping and more. Cross the line you will be scanned and deducted should be the motto.

Idea is good but who will recharge the fast tag? If I am to be fined through my fastag I will not charge it and will take care of things if caught next time
In my opinion the license should be revoked (again, law is there saying first mistake some fine, second mistake more fine and ultimately license revocation, who follows that seriously?) with huge penalty to resume. And are there measures to check if a person is driving without valid license? (cops do check randomly over weekends but not enough considering the population this seems impossible). Also I do not know how a caught person is really treated?

[BenjiRoss]

I started transferring files from my dash cam to my laptop and youtube. Here are some rash drivers from trips in the last couple of months. I'll add more later.
1. Drive to Yelagiri. Truck overtakes and pushes a biker off the road and comes straight at me.

https://youtu.be/q1cqxjTJazk

2. On the drive back, the usual bus overtaking me in a hurry.

https://youtu.be/AekqIynnBsw

3. And back in Vellore, an autorickshaw practices the Melbourne hook turn to perfection as he overtakes from left and turns right across me.

https://youtu.be/1zT7Z4UJWWg

More later.