[ajaypjayaraj]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

These hooligans give all bikers a bad name. Just a quick skim through any Indian two wheeler forum will give you numerous examples of people who own very powerful bikes, and handle them with the appropriate responsibility.

Fact! Not just in case of bikes. A convoy of cars too with responsible drivers and powerful cars could get a bad name because of a couple of amateur drivers being part of the convoy.. speaking from experience! Hate those idiots who earn the wrong title for the good lot too.

[harry10]

No offence to any owners but I have observed many Fortuner drivers bully the other cars. Maybe it's the size of the car which makes them feel superior and eligible for right of way all the time.

This incident happened today. There is a side Lane on Friends colony red light on Mathura Road which many people take to avoid the jam on red light including me. There was a Merc in front of me who was taking the turn on that side Lane and at one time only one car can manage that turn. There comes a Fortuner at speed with no regards to my car or the Merc and cuts in sharply in front of it. Maybe sixth sense or I am used to of such Morons coming from nowhere I already had my foot on the brake. Merc driver was stunned, he braked hard and swerved to avoid the collision with Fortuner but still he rammed in the side wall and damaged his side bumper. Fortuner guy just took off. I barely missed the Merc by inches. With no fault of his he has to suffer the damage caused by that Moron and I barely escaped myself. I wish I had a dash cam to capture the incident.

[raghu.t.k]

Originally Posted by satan's_valet

Absolutely not. I love the bike so much that I am thinking of getting one early next year.

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

My statement above was more generic.
True, it's the bikers who bring a bad name to these bikes. And to be honest, most of the superbikes on B'lore's streets are handled by newbies who just got a big sum of money from a new IT job change and suddenly got passionate about superbikes.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Hate the rider, not the bike.

These hooligans give all bikers a bad name. Just a quick skim through any Indian two wheeler forum will give you numerous examples of people who own very powerful bikes, and handle them with the appropriate responsibility.

Precisely its the people. The rider on the KTM was not wearing a helmet and was sporting a colorful canvas shoe while doing all this. And I have no hatred for the machine. Infact I love raw power and powerful machines, but they need to realise that with more power comes more responsiblity, and not rash driving/riding. I dont take my Classic 500 more than 5-10 kms from home, and only rarely to office (which is around 30kms) because of this crowd. I thought the bullet / enfield crowd was more responsible, unfortunately today even that myth was broken, when I see a guy on bullet doing a similar stunt, though not to that extent, he was also weaving in and out of traffic.

The other trend I have started noticing is that of "Saar nothing happend" or "Saar its only plastic, and can be pulled out" when they come and knock your vehicle. 2 days back, while waiting at Navalur signal, one of the IT buses decides to squeese through the left lane, which on its own is normal these day. Then once he is level, decides to move right without looking at his rearview mirror. In the process he broke the Left rear view mirror hood. When I stopped him, he very innocently answered that he was trying to cut right and did not see the car (he seriously need to check his eyesight if he cant see a SX4). Then one of the passers by pointed to the hood, and he immediatly took it and pressed it back stating that nothing is broken, and it had only fallen down, ane why am I making a big fuss about it Since it was late and it seemed ok, I let him go. Only later in the evening, I realised that all the plastic clasps ( not sure of the tech word, its the plastic bits that lock on to the othe part) were broken and was holding up due 2 of them still intact. Now I have put a cellotape to ensure it does not fall off!!

And today a scooty kissed the rear bumper, and on asking him, he casually mentions why are you upset, nothing has happend, I did not do it intentionally.

[satan's_valet]

Originally Posted by raghu.t.k

And today a scooty kissed the rear bumper, and on asking him, he casually mentions why are you upset, nothing has happend, I did not do it intentionally.

Exactly. The "Nothing Happened" and the "Chalta Hai" attitude is so prevalent among us, that we refuse the acknowledge and own up our mistakes. When someone puts up their hand in apology, it is expected of us to acknowledge it and drop the issue altogether, even if we have to bear the brunt of their mistake.

P.S. - I think we should be grateful that some people at least apologize.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by satan's_valet

Exactly. The "Nothing Happened" and the "Chalta Hai" attitude is so prevalent among us

And if at all some damage happens 'Toh kya hua? Insurance claim karo!'.

[raghu.t.k]

Originally Posted by satan's_valet

Exactly. The "Nothing Happened" and the "Chalta Hai" attitude is so prevalent among us, that we refuse the acknowledge and own up our mistakes. When someone puts up their hand in apology, it is expected of us to acknowledge it and drop the issue altogether, even if we have to bear the brunt of their mistake.

P.S. - I think we should be grateful that some people at least apologize.

They think its enough if they just say sorry, and it removes all damages. An apology needs to be earnest and sincere, in which case, I tend to accept it that it was indeed a mistake.

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

And if at all some damage happens 'Toh kya hua? Insurance claim karo!'.

Yeah, I have heard mostly from the cab drivers who put a "I have no money" look, and then suggest that it could be claimed as insurance.

Looks like Im not alone fuming on how our road sense/discipline is degrading by the day!! A Car which was dent free for nearly 7 years has 1 dent on rear bumper (after pulling the plastic out), 1 broken rear view mirror hood, and few kisses on the rear bumper in the last 3 months that I have been taking the SX4 on 100 feet road and OMR at chennai. Mostly I have been using my AStar for my office commute since we moved out of the city office to Navalur for the last 2-3 years.

[arun_josie]

This was on the NICE Road - Hosur Road exit. Due to traffic few morons taking the wrong side,

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

I have a newfound hatred towards all these superbikes (Suzukis, Yamahas, Hondas, KTMs) and cruiser (REs, Harleys, Triumphs) owners.

These are the ones who have Epic Ego Problems.

And when you somehow manage to overtake these slow moving pigs, it hurts their ego. Then they somehow manage to speed up and come alongside and then have violent handle shakes and not able to control the bikes.
I get so scared when I look at one of these samples.

I am sorry to hear that you have developed a new hatred towards all the super bikes owners and their epic ego problems. I ride a KTM 390 since over a year now and I have been through this at the receiving end, a number of times.
when I ride, I follow this practice. I maintain a speed of 65-70 Kmph on a clear stretch of road (fortunately in Goa we are able to keep decent speeds as the traffic much lighter compared to Metros) So if any vehicle is slower than 65-70 Kmph, I naturally overtake them and if some one is above 65-70 Kmph that vehicle naturally overtakes me and I give way. This arrangement sees that most of the time unwittingly I am ahead of the pack as most of the vehicles do about 45-55 Kmph speed. So on the outset it appears to everyone on the road that I am speeding where as in reality I am slightly faster than the slow moving pack because my bike allows me to do so.

The problem lies here. I see regularly that a gear less scooter or a 100 cc commuter bike rider or a car driver sees it as a challenge and suddenly you see the fast approaching vehicle from behind and then the gear less scooter or the 100 cc biker zooms past at full throttle probably the engine giving it's very last ounce of power or the car driver taking some extreme risks just to overtake me so as to prove a point and all this while I am just riding at my pace.

I don't necessarily believe that every rider on a fast bike has an epic ego or is a pig. Riding rash and negligently endangering other road users is definitely wrong but that happens with any rider / driver of any vehicle irrespective of it's power.

[Shortsell]

It pains to report that my Vento Tsi has been scrapped at the rearend. A cab driver was so impatient to take my parking space that he couldnt wait for me to completely vacate the parking area and he decided to rush in.

Very next day, VW alandur driver scrapped the other side. . They have agreed to make it good though. But it hurts to see a well maintained car get bruised often.

Also we are expecting!! yay!! and that brings me to my question. I have been advised to drive slowly to protect the precious cargo. I ensure that I drive on the left most lane, but im constantly honked at, hands waved at etc etc. Why would you honk at a guy driving on the left? He can't move to the footpath you see. Any suggestions on how to deal with this?



On an aside, with due respect and apologies to the minority (and its an endangered species level minority), the worst offenders on the roads seem to be the two wheelers, inlcuding the ladies dirving their scooties.

1- Lanes don't exist for them. They overtake from left and right. Sometimes there are a few of them overtaking from my left and right at the same time and I have no where to go

2- They honk louldy when overtaking from the left as if asking me to watch out for them while they break a law.

3- They ride on footpaths, inconveniencing everybody.

[Kumar R]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

This was on the NICE Road - Hosur Road exit. Due to traffic few morons taking the wrong side,

I expect auto-rickshaws to do this, occasionally a too-clever-by-half taxi driver....but an Audi !?? This is a very common problem in Kolkata as the roads are mostly narrow but thankfully as yet I mostly see only autos trying these tricks.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by Kumar R

I expect auto-rickshaws to do this, occasionally a too-clever-by-half taxi driver....but an Audi !?? This is a very common problem in Kolkata as the roads are mostly narrow but thankfully as yet I mostly see only autos trying these tricks.

Auto-rickshaws are not allowed in this road, hence they are missing.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

This was on the NICE Road - Hosur Road exit. Due to traffic few morons taking the wrong side,

Oh man what are they thinking? or they were not i guess The chaos they would cause is just alarming. The most simple law of the road is to drive on the correct side of the road and people making mincemeat of that is a shame.

[Kumar R]

I just witnessed a careless accident few moments ago. Here is how it happened.

Returning home after running some errands I was turning right off Gariahat Road into our neighborhood (small lane -- like the Vasant Kunj colony roads) when a grey Honda city overtook me on the turn at high speed to get into the colony before me, missing my Maruti 800 by a whisker. I was cursing him under my breath when I noticed the car had a HR-26 plate - a real rarity in Kolkata. Wondering to myself whether it would be a good idea to walk over to him at a small bottleneck ahead and remind him that he should not drive as though he's in the wide roads of Gurgaon/Delhi, I banished this thought on grounds that perhaps I am unfairly stereotyping HR drivers. As it happened, at that precise moment he tried to squeeze past an oncoming ambassador and a cycle rickshaw and before my eyes I saw his rear bumper get caught in the rickshaw's wheel well and half of it ripping off in a silent explosion. Anyway with that half ripped-off bumper dragging on the road the driver ploughed on relentlessly until I could follow him no longer. I was too stunned / surprised to take photos and anyway was behind the wheel myself.

[Kumar R]

So today - a day full of unfortunate stereotypes - I go out shopping in the afternoon and on my way back there's a brand new blue Honda Brio (plastic seat covers still on) in front of me that abruptly brakes for no reason on the Dhakuria flyover that I narrowly avoided rear ending. Snapped into a cautious mode I noticde the Brio driving erratically and that's when I see that the driver is a lady who is talking on her cell phone by balancing it in the crook of her neck while using her right hand to smoke.

I was infuriated; I honked a few times to get her attention on the IRVM and then made a cell phone gesture with my hand followed by a "Keep Eyes on the road" tactical hand signal (the common stuff they show in commando movies). She got the message but I spent a few more harrowing minutes behind her till I left the road.

Here's a photo taken moments before I signaled to her to stop using the phone. You can see her in the right ORVM. The traffic is temporarily stalled due to a red light at the end of the flyover.



Thad, SS-T -- many thanks for our old debate on rear-ending. If nothing else I now generally keep an extra bit of room for just these sort of occurrences.

Mods, please merge this post with my previous one above if appropriate.

[virgopal]

Moderators: Hope I have posted this information in the right thread.
I read an useful article "Real Rules for the Road" in The Hindu dt 19 Oct 14.
Page link:http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open...gn=WidgetPromo
For the information of fellow TBHPians.
Thanks