[NPV]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

Mind you the folks who do this are all well educated folks who do this, and not folks like cab drivers etc.

These kind of rash drivers (the so called well educated types) are all over the place. There was such a guy in a new generation Dzire who overtook me from the shoulder (I was on left most lane) and then tried to overtake a truck in front, again on the shoulder .
As he was passing me from the left, we made eye contact and I gestured to him asking what he was upto, he just turned away and focused on overtaking the truck!

[dass]

On my recent drive to Mumbai, saw something which I had not seen before. Lot of Wagon R and M800 cars, white board, had a placard with police written on it and placed on the dashboard. These guys were probably the worst drivers I saw on an otherwise disciplined drivers I encountered on that drive. What was more frustrating that I was patiently waiting at almost all the Red signals and these guys just honk at you continuously until you give them way.
What is with these private cars having POLICE boards? are they driven by policemen or is that placed to pass through tolls without having to pay?

[Kumar R]

Originally Posted by dass

What is with these private cars having POLICE boards? are they driven by policemen or is that placed to pass through tolls without having to pay?

I am sure these are private vehicles belonging to serving / retired policemen and their families. They can serve many useful functions I daresay -- immunity from no-parking zones, no toll, intimidation, entry into restricted areas, even an occasional salute from a harassed traffic cop.

From what I see around me, we seem to be headed towards a sticker-raj. "Police", "Army" and "Press" seem to be the prevailing favorites in Kolkata. Going by the numbers one could be forgiven for thinking that half the motoring population were cops, soldiers or journos.

At one time I used to see a lot of 'Advocate' stickers, now not so much. Instead I notice a deluge of the 'doctor' sticker - a Caduceus in a box outlined in red. By this token there seems to be a good market for starting 'Engineer' and 'CA' stickers also.

In my years in Mumbai I used to see a lot of Shiv Sena / NCP stickers. In Kolkata this trend has not caught on....yet.

All this is, of course, not counting stickers on government / military vehicles or club/ association/residential complex stickers which function as proof of vehicle identity.

At home none of our cars have any stickers and in today's context I feel 'naked' driving on our roads. To overcome this feeling of inadequacy I now look out for other vehicles without any stickers which makes for a good pastime in slow moving (or no-moving) traffic.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by dass

What is with these private cars having POLICE boards? are they driven by policemen or is that placed to pass through tolls without having to pay?

It is just not to avoid paying tolls. These stickers were there much before tolled highways became popular. These are indications for other people on the road, and it is for getting undue privileges or from getting stopped. And all these would be on private vehicles.
Police: The rider/owner of the vehicle is a police officer. Request to other police officers on the road, why trouble me? You help me, I help you .
Army: The rider/owner of the vehicle is a solider. Appeal to patriotism; and subsequent relaxation of rules. There was a belief that Army officers cannot be charge sheeted (or fined) for traffic offences.
Lawyer's symbol: Don't mess with me, I will see you in court.
Doctor's symbol: Appeal to the general respect which doctor's still command; and subsequent relaxation of rules.

Lot of Wagon R and M800 cars, white board, had a placard with police written on it and placed on the dashboard.

Could be civilan vehicles or cabs which are taken by the police for some special purpose. I have seen police taking over other vehicles (mainly state govt. vehicles, or tourist vehicles) during elections etc. This is for the additional patrolling, ferrying of police personnel etc. etc.

Originally Posted by Kumar R

In my years in Mumbai I used to see a lot of Shiv Sena / NCP stickers.

In Tamil Nadu you can see lots of vehicles with the party flag (of AIADMK and DMK) criss-crossing the roads. The aggression of these vehicles would depend on which party is ruling the state at that point of time. I have not seen this very much in Kerala and Karnataka. During my last trip to Punjab, I noticed another strange thing. Many vehicles had "sirens" fixed on it. Yes, I mean that siren which has the long wailing sound. Each time I heard it, I thought it was a VIP cavalcade going on. But I could not find a police vehicle or at least a vehicle with a top light.

[raghu.t.k]

The stickers/flag/photos issue is something that needs to be controlled. I have seen many cars in Hyd which just have a red band on the lic plate, to mimic the govt vehicles which which have the same red band and then mentioning something on them. The one thing, I have noticed mainly in Tamil Nadu is the culture of Photos along with the flags. A photo of their leader facing outside, as if the whole world has to see it!! Of late this trend has extended to the 2 wheeler crowd as well, where the wind shield or the front portion of the scooter would have a large image of their leaders. Then there is this crowd, which plays with the words liket have a red letter "Polite" on the back, or another one seen recently on OMR was oorkaval (which mean Home Guard in Tamil)written in Tamil with the Kaval (Which means Police in Tamil) being prominent and Bold

To an extent, I think the doctors should be allowed, provided they do a social cause of attending to emergencies on the road, or need to rush for one. None of the others should be allowed to have any stickers, flags, beacons (with all colors like red, blue, and even orange). Even the offical ones should be checked annually for the need of having one.

Originally Posted by sachinpk

....
....
In Tamil Nadu you can see lots of vehicles with the party flag (of AIADMK and DMK) criss-crossing the roads. The aggression of these vehicles would depend on which party is ruling the state at that point of time. I have not seen this very much in Kerala and Karnataka. During my last trip to Punjab, I noticed another strange thing. Many vehicles had "sirens" fixed on it. Yes, I mean that siren which has the long wailing sound. Each time I heard it, I thought it was a VIP cavalcade going on. But I could not find a police vehicle or at least a vehicle with a top light.

I disagree on the highlighted part, since these days all you need is a flag, dosent matter if its the ruling, opposition, religious sect, or anything. One of my friends picked this up at one of the toll booth on omr, as to why they allow the party vehicle without toll, and his answer was "you to fix a flag, and I shall let you through". That is the extent to which this culture has got rooted in TN!! The flaunting of power (again doesnt matter which one) seems to be the norm. God save this country!!

[Guite]

A friend who works in the armed forces was recently stopped for a traffic violation. The cop immediately wrote the challan and then checked my friend's ID card. The cop then told him the challan would not have been issued had he mentioned his identity immediately. The cop also advised him to write "Armed Force" on his vehicle for future 'convenience'. So official or not, there is an understanding.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by Guite

A friend who works in the armed forces was recently stopped for a traffic violation. The cop immediately wrote the challan and then checked my friend's ID card. The cop then told him the challan would not have been issued had he mentioned his identity immediately.

Looks like the cop had some respect for the soldier. My experience in Kerala was different. I had seen a local police SI levying a fine of Rs.100/- (spot fine) for a soldier who was driving (a civil vehicle) without wearing a seat belt. The soldier did state his profession, but the SI did not budge.

I checked this up with a relative who is a serving officer. What he said was that spot fines etc. needs to get paid up. But a police officer cannot arrest a soldier and put him up at a police station lock up. When it comes to charging a soldier, it had to be done through a military unit. So in the case I mentioned the police SI would have to lodge a complaint with the soldier's CO if he had refused to pay the spot fine. For civilians, it would be a "check report", which would have to be settled at the magistrate court.

When military vehicles are involved in an accident, the military drivers are generally handed over to the Military Police. In Air Force, the Provost and Liaison Unit of takes custody of the air-men. And then they are produced at the civilian court (since the other vehicles and victims may be civilians) for the trial. For much more serious cases like murder, rape etc. if soldiers are involved the MP, NP, and IAFP would make the arrests etc., but the accused are immediately handed over to the local civil Police (who are better qualified to investigate such crimes).

[Kumar R]

Since luxury cars are a relatively rarity in Kolkata I was at first pleased to spot a BMW on a nice flyover at Lake Gardens this afternoon. At the traffic junction at the end he seemed to have no use for the road markings as this picture shows. The only person who was happy was the hyundai driver to my left who was a bit nervous at having gone over the stop sign at a time when Kolkata police seem to be stepping up on traffic violations.

[NPV]

This guy in the Omni tried his best to squeeze into the traffic that had stopped at the signal so that he could make an illegal turn into Outer Ring Road from Mahadevapura.
He finally gave up and made his way back onto the correct side, for once someone failed to break a traffic rule

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by raghu.t.k

I have seen many cars in Hyd which just have a red band on the lic plate, to mimic the govt vehicles which which have the same red band and then mentioning something on them.

Due to the recent crack down on all the government owned cars, you won't find a single car in Hyderabad which has a red sticker on the license plates. If any car is found in voilation of the law, the drivers are responsible for paying the challan amount.

[Auswechseln]

Originally Posted by dass

On my recent drive to Mumbai, saw something which I had not seen before. Lot of Wagon R and M800 cars, white board, had a placard with police written on it and placed on the dashboard............
...............What is with these private cars having POLICE boards? are they driven by policemen or is that placed to pass through tolls without having to pay?

You took the words right out of my mouth.

I have observed three such cars (White board with Police/Government of India stickers) in Bangalore.

The cars were unlike any government cars that I have seen. There were Nano, battered Santro (This was the one with Government of India stickers. Had two youngsters smoking) and an Etios.

Co-incidentally, all were TN registered. I think these cars have those stickers temporarily to evade the hunt for non-KA vehicles in Bangalore.

[Gokrish]

Originally Posted by Auswechseln

You took the words right out of my mouth.

I have observed three such cars (White board with Police/Government of India stickers) in Bangalore.

The cars were unlike any government cars that I have seen. There were Nano, battered Santro (This was the one with Government of India stickers. Had two youngsters smoking) and an Etios.

Co-incidentally, all were TN registered. I think these cars have those stickers temporarily to evade the hunt for non-KA vehicles in Bangalore.

I have seen these cars passing through the Tolls without paying the fee! These stickers might be used to gain pecuniary benefits like these!

[ashwin.terminat]

I usually consider T-BHPians to be the good Samaritans on the road. But a few days ago, I saw a car with T-BHP sticker and 3 people in it.

Forget drinking and driving, these chaps were drinking while driving!

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

I usually consider T-BHPians to be the good Samaritans on the road. ...................
Forget drinking and driving, these chaps were drinking while driving!

If I get it right T-BHP stickers are available can be purchased by all. And with those punch lines like "Live to Drive" etc., even the most heavy drunkard may have purchased one .

[motomaverick]

After a long time (I guess a week, bike effect ) I took the car to work today and had my BP shooting up. This happened on the Lower Agaram Road, near Infant Jesus church, after taking the right going towards Richmond road, there was a ambulance some 5 cars behind wanting a way through, so I put the left indicator and moved to the side. For people who know this road, its a narrow 2 lane road and if 1 car stops to the side there is hardly any space left, however, the moronic Innova behind me started honking like crazy urging me to keep going or to give him way, finally a few 100 yards ahead I found some space to let him squeeze through. This guy should have also stopped to the left side to give way to the ambulance but no he went ahead.

I remembered the video that was doing the rounds in FB about people not giving way to ambulance. This fellow was the classic example.

The only silver lining was that the cars behind this moron stopped to the left side giving way to the ambulance.