[lonetraveller89]

Originally Posted by BLACNWYTE

Now I don't know if this belongs in the bad drivers thread but this surely is one inconsiderate family.

This is a real uptight situation. But what if they had actually had enough balance in their Fastag and the toll operator just pulled up the usual 'tag not reading, sir' scam? In that case, all the honking and the line piling up behind the EcoSport would work in favour for the toll operator. They know that most drivers wouldn't have the patience or the time to pull up to the side and start a shouting match with the toll guys. Getting through the Paliyekkara toll queue (uneventfully) itself takes a ridiculously long time.

But I definitely agree that the driver shouldn't have paid the cash only to then proceed to stall the line, inconveniencing everyone else. But if he was truly wronged and just decided to drive away to avoid the hassle, then I'm afraid such scam tactics will only continue to flourish. If it was the EcoSport driver today, it'll be you or me tomorrow.

[saisree]

Originally Posted by BLACNWYTE

One thing I noticed was that people waiting behind me, even though honked a lot, didn't lose their patience and do something rash which pleasantly surprised me.

A bit of positivity in this special thread. Love to hear that common sense and a bit of humanity is still prevailing.

That guy is sure a BAAAD DRIVER

[deathwalkr]

Ah, the lets make others life a misery to get our way people! Amazing levels of patience by you and others behind you, i must say. Though am sure that a lot of steering wheels would have been damaged with the head banging on it!

And the bridge incident was hilarious. I suspect a little bit of alcohol might be involved. One of those "hold my beer" moments.

[BLACNWYTE]

Originally Posted by lonetraveller89

This is a real uptight situation. But what if they had actually had enough balance in their Fastag and the toll operator just pulled up the usual 'tag not reading, sir' scam?
If it was the EcoSport driver today, it'll be you or me tomorrow.

I too had recently read the thread about fastag scams, that's why I was being considerate. However, in this case I don't suspect scam. The cars before the Ecosport passed through without any issues and I also got scanned as soon as I approached the boom. The Ecosport tag was not being read at the boom or by the handheld scanner. I was told by the elderly man that the tag was purchased 3 days ago and maybe it was not activated? (I'm not sure, experts can weigh in).

Originally Posted by saisree

A bit of positivity in this special thread. Love to hear that common sense and a bit of humanity is still prevailing.

Even I was quite surprised as it was morning and with office time traffic.

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Amazing levels of patience by you and others behind you, i must say. Though am sure that a lot of steering wheels would have been damaged with the head banging on it!
.

Thank you, sir. And yes, I guess by the way some honking sounded from the rear, I guess people were standing on it .

[TheHelix0202]

Hello BHPians, an incident that occurred earlier this morning (~ 10:55 AM) had me shaking slightly for a while afterwards. I initially thought of creating a new thread about it, but since I saw this one I figured I might as well post here.

I'm currently enrolled in the Indiranagar branch of Maruti's driving school - Bimal, to be precise. Today was my sixth lesson and I'm quite happy to announce that I'm a fairly competent learner, if I may blow my own trumpet - a big thanks to this community for it too. I wish the same could be said about the quality of instruction at MDS though, but that's a story for another rainy day.

So here are a few crude MS Paint sketches of the initial setup leading to the situation - ErrantDriver.docx

I was driving a petrol Ignis; a MT (obviously) - highlighted in blue. The Innova in question was a 2011 Grey Mica Metallic - highlighted in grey. I think, from the attached images, the first part of the offence is clear enough.

I don't have the time or necessary skills to sketch out the whole occurrence (nor do I have photographic / videographic evidence as I was behind the wheel as a newbie) on MS Paint, so please bear with my narrative. I will type it out in points to make it a wee bit easier to read.

1) It was a narrow road with limited visibility that I was entering, so I was doing crawl speeds in 1st gear. Slowed to a near-halt, checked my blind spots, left and right, deemed it clear and proceeded to turn the wheel to the left.

The instructor was just telling me about how I could align my shoulder with the headlamp of the Baleno on the left while turning when my unfortunate ears received the full-on strength of an aftermarket trumpet horn - the kind that shreds your ear drums - through the completely open driver's side window.

2) I glanced quickly over my shoulder and spotted an Innova slowing to a halt from many yards away. Since I was already half way into the turn and had right of way, I pardoned the apparent error on the other driver's side and proceeded to finish my turn: only to receive another earful of that ill gotten sound, this time for a full 3 seconds. Needless to say I was peeved by this inconsiderate behaviour of the "guy".

3) I corrected the steering and proceeded to enter another T-junction leading into a wider road (10 feet away) cautiously at crawl speeds when my ears cried for the third time today. Another sharp, drawn out honk. I glared into my rear view mirror and spotted this lady with a manic look in her eye.

My instructor asked me to make a left turn, I signaled my intention, checked both ways, turned left and accelerated enough to shift up into 2nd gear.

4) I checked my IRVM once more and saw that the lady had stopped in the middle of this new road, perpendicular to the direction of flow of traffic. She was apparently asking for directions from some guy on a bicycle. I went some 50 feet with the instructor looking into his mirror all the while - I thought nothing of it - and then suddenly, he asked me to stop the car in the middle of the road. I glanced into my mirror and brought the car to a complete stop, pressing the clutch and brake, shifting down into neutral.

The lady had turned in our direction and once more, she was bearing down upon on my tail. I could sense where this was going now.

5) The instructor asked me to pull up the handbrake, release the clutch at biting point, release the handbrake and pull away a couple feet then perform this rigmarole again. Once. Twice. Then he asked me to drive on slowly.

I could sense where this was heading

The lady again leant on her horn, flashing her high beams this time. I was instructed to move ahead slowly without panicking and that's exactly what I did. "We will go slowly, why rush?!" I heard the guy chuckle in the seat next to mine.

The next two hundred feet or so were covered this way with the Innova honking behind us, much to the startled glances of passers-by.

6) At the next T-junction leading onto an even more wider road (yet not a main road - it was all a residential area) I was asked to turn left. I did, but as I was turning the corner and slight uphill gradient, I realized that the Innova wasn't directly behind on my right anymore but on my left! Thinking she'd cut me across from the left, I completed the turn, slowed down slightly and moved to the right.

Instead, she mirrored me and moved onto the right side of my Ignis and proceeded to try and cut me across. Being the non confrontational and well read (thanks again, TBHP!) teenager that I was, I'd have let the moron go, but my instructor asked me to step on the gas.

Things get slightly hazy in memory here on. There could have been a possible tree / bikes / slight pothole on the left, a few metres away - the area was under shade - so it's tough to recall which it was, exactly.

My rational mind questioned his instruction for a fraction of a second but only until it was awoken by the roar of the 2.5D intercooler monster somewhere behind and beside me.

I gripped the steering harder and pressured the A pedal more. The Ignis kicked to life, its tiny but peppy heart churning out enough power to get me out of a possible sticky spot; or get me INTO one.

My instructor held onto the wheel suddenly, keeping it straight for the next few seconds. He let go and I slowed down, anticipating the fool behind to complete her reckless overtake. She did.

She stopped a few feet ahead and so did I. She then beckoned over another dude on the road. I feared trouble.

But she merely asked for directions, turned onto another arterial road on the right and vanished. My stop was somewhere straight up ahead, and I went about my way shaken, with the instructor telling me all the way to "have a cool head" on the road.

Luckily for the crazy lady and I myself, there were no other vehicles on the road and there was a general lull about the morning air.

Like I already said, I don't have any sort of actual evidence to raise a ticket with Bangalore police on social media (I don't use Twitter either). Only eye witness testimony. The best I could do given these facts is to spread the word among the community.

And lastly, PB 13 Y 8919, I hope you made it home in one piece today.

[Ice]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Hello BHPians, an incident that occurred earlier this morning (~ 10:55 AM) had me shaking slightly for a while afterwards. I initially thought of creating a new thread about it, but since I saw this one I figured I might as well post here.

.

Oh, this Innova is famous. I was driving to work one morning(pre-COVID), on Double Road in Indira Nagar. This lady kept trying to overtake on the left on this mostly narrow road. I drive a Fortuner, and there is no way for her to get around me on this road without me slowing down to let her through. Her horn (blaring continuously) was interfering with my podcast time, so I slowed down and let her pass. She then overtook the car in front of me on the left, clipping a veggie vendor's cart with her sideview mirror.

From Double Road, I take a left on Old Madras Road, and then a right at the fork towards Ulsoor. I saw her again, at the center of high drama. She had overtaken a bus on the left and rammed into the tail of a stationary Tata Ace that was being unloaded. Uncaring about the liquids now leaking from the car, she backed up and tried to make a getaway. The bus blocked her, and the driver of the Tata Ace, who had chosen an opportune moment to oversee the unloading action on the sidewalk, reached into her car and removed the ignition key. She was yelling out loud for the cops, at only a slightly lower volume than the horn which had met its demise a few moments earlier.

Same wild eyes, same rash driving, same penchant for overtaking on the left. I'm quite sad the car was fixed but her driving etiquette wasn't.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

I'm currently enrolled in the Indiranagar branch of Maruti's driving school - Bimal, to be precise...

Your instructor should never have told you to play those games. You have a whole driving life ahead of you in which you can choose to get bad habits

Even though I am several decades old enough to know better, I sometimes do this thing I call passive-aggressive braking to tailgaters etc. Essentially, brake slowly and gently, to a stop. The person behind is too close to simply overtake and is stuck.

But here's what we should all do, whether in our teens or our sixties... let those people get away ahead of you, because it is much safer to see them speeding into the distance than it is to have them behind.

Originally Posted by Ice

Oh, this Innova is famous. ...She had overtaken a bus on the left and rammed into the tail of a stationary Tata Ace that was being unloaded.

Glad for the karma, but it is sad that someone else has to suffer. It doesn't sound like she's going to be open to the lessons, though. And she can probably afford her repairs.

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Your instructor should never have told you to play those games. You have a whole driving life ahead of you in which you can choose to get bad habits

Even though I am several decades old enough to know better, I sometimes do this thing I call passive-aggressive braking to tailgaters etc. Essentially, brake slowly and gently, to a stop. The person behind is too close to simply overtake and is stuck.

But here's what we should all do, whether in our teens or our sixties... let those people get away ahead of you, because it is much safer to see them speeding into the distance than it is to have them behind.

Totally agree, the issue is that these "instructors" are just brushing off their bad driving tips onto unsuspecting newbies, myself included. Though I'm aware of some of their tricks myself, the same cannot be said about other beginners enrolled in this centre. In fact, I had this one instructor yesterday who yanked the steering wheel to the left / right without warning on 2 or 3 different occasions for no good reason, giving me quite a scare. I have about 10 classes left and I am quite sick and tired of their "teaching" already. I will log my experiences after I get my permanent license!

[srvm]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Hello BHPians, an incident that occurred earlier this morning (~ 10:55 AM) had me shaking slightly for a while afterwards. I initially thought of creating a new thread about it, but since I saw this one I figured I might as well post here.
....
......

What a harrowing experience as a learner! Did your vehicle display the prominent ''L" symbol indicating that you are a learner? If yes, then the actions of that lady are deplorable and deserve condemnation.

On the other hand, please don't learn such bad tactics from your instructor. As Thad sir says, follow this simple policy to stay peaceful - KIF (Keep Idiots in Front). I follow it religiously and have managed to keep my sanity intact over the last 5 years of driving in Bangalore.

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by srvm

What a harrowing experience as a learner! Did your vehicle display the prominent ''L" symbol indicating that you are a learner? If yes, then the actions of that lady are deplorable and deserve condemnation.

On the other hand, please don't learn such bad tactics from your instructor. As Thad sir says, follow this simple policy to stay peaceful - KIF (Keep Idiots in Front). I follow it religiously and have managed to keep my sanity intact over the last 5 years of driving in Bangalore.

Yes, it had a cone like this :

And yes again, I know better than that

[airbus]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

I could sense where this was heading

I would suggest better we try to avoid engaging with such impatient drivers and let them overtake and go. You will have peace of mind for sure.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Like I already said, I don't have any sort of actual evidence to raise a ticket with Bangalore police on social media (I don't use Twitter either). Only eye witness testimony. The best I could do given these facts is to spread the word among the community.

And lastly, PB 13 Y 8919, I hope you made it home in one piece today.

Welcome to the dark side of driving in Bangalore (or perhaps in India). Only way out is to learn fast and...... drive
When you will buy a car of your own, it is a good idea to get a dashcam installed as well. There may not be a need to raise a complaint but in case the other person tries to show off, just threaten him/her that you have a footage of what happened and enough to file a police complaint. That is enough to make that person cool down in most cases. Just a suggestion.

[RoadMonkey]

Hello BHPians, today I want to share my experience as much as I want to vent. Today, for the first time since I've been driving (~50k kms done), I experienced Road (internal) rage. In order to cool off, I decided to take a branch road with less traffic and played soothing music. My dad always taught me to never get angry on the road - it can be fatal.

Story time: Since I've just bought a new Polo, I only ever need an excuse to take it out to drive. Unfortunately, the place where I live is situated right on Delhi-Chd road. This road isn't exactly known for its mild mannered traffic. During a short drive of around ~30-40kms, I experienced at least 3 very close incidents and numerous other ones which just make you question the sanity of drivers involved, including your own. I don't even remember them all, there were so many of them!

Incident 1: While on another highway which eventually merges to NH44, I was doing cruising speeds of ~80-90 as there was little to no traffic and a certain i10 with blacked our windows cut in front of me from an intersection without any hint, indication, or slowing down. I had to instant brake and do a swerve to save us both.

Incident 2: Two wheelers! Some of them seem to have no regard for their own life. In absence of public transport, the number of two wheelers on the highway has increased and one has to drive extremely carefully around them. Yet, they don't care even a little and try to squeeze in between two fast moving 4 wheelers, sometimes even between two lorries! One such person tried squeezing in between me and a lorry, and had I not panic braked - he would have hit the front fender of my car.

Incident 3: I make it a point to never cross the legal limit but apparently that's too slow for most of the drivers on this road. Vehicles start tailgating and honking. One such incident prompted me to pick up the pace a little, just at that moment, an empty lorry that was going too fast already decided to cut me off at a meter's gap at max. There's a certain competitive sense on this road, where drivers want to force the other driver to back down.

There's general aggressiveness on this road - people constantly cut you off and often at high speeds, with little gap. There's no lane following, some of the road being under construction means the space is cramped but that doesn't seem to affect anyone. Driving on this road is not good for my health and I will soon be looking to relocate. Things seem pretty calm back home in my state.

The two wheeler aggressiveness is a double edged sword. Should anything happen to them, regardless of whose mistake it is, you're (the four wheeler) going to be held as the culprit. I already have bought a dashcam for the car, my micro SD card is in transit. It cannot get here soon enough.

[GrandTourer]

What an idiotic instructor that is. You should definitely file a complaint with the driving school and send a mail to Maruti once your remaining lessons are over and you have your license in hand. Not before that or they might start playing fowl.

Originally Posted by Ice

Oh, this Innova is famous.

The fact that she's known for rash driving in an area with such a high density of vehicles, says a lot about her driving habits. I hope to not encounter her the next time I'm in Indira Nagar.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

But here's what we should all do, whether in our teens or our sixties... let those people get away ahead of you, because it is much safer to see them speeding into the distance than it is to have them behind.

Words to live (or drive) by. In the city, I'm more worried about what's happening in my RVM than in front. Because I know I'll bring my car to a halt with my reflexes if anything untoward happens in front. But I'm not so sure about the idiot behind me who is so close I can't even see their grille in my mirror. I usually indicate and get out of their way. One less thing to worry about.

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Hello BHPians, an incident that occurred earlier this morning (~ 10:55 AM) had me shaking slightly for a while afterwards. I initially thought of creating a new thread about it, but since I saw this one I figured I might as well post here.

Keep your cool as you did this time. It goes a long way in enjoying your drives. A piece of advice for Bangalore driving: do not engage with cabbies whatsoever. If there's an incident, be polite and let the insurance take care of things. Cops will invariably side with them (they are doing honest day's work and apparently car owners don't). And they generally have the support of other cabbies plying around. Not saying all of them are like that, but why take a chance.

Anyway... Hope you get your license soon and many happy miles to you.

[PrasannaDhana]

This is just one of the many stupid incidents we have to come across, every single day. No time to shout sense into this fool nor to block the way till he reverses. It was peak hour and we all had to get to work.

https://youtu.be/IeP7uco_ou8