Team-BHP - Driving Guide : Rules, Tips, Etiquette & Common Mistakes To Avoid

Today morning at the Sagar Hospital intersection on Bannerghatta road, I was made to look like a fool! It was green for me and the traffic was moving slowly. By the time my car was half across the white line, it turned orange and by the time I was half across the zebra crossing it turned red. Of course, the traffic from the other side barged in as soon as the light turned orange, but there I was stranded half across the zebra crossing!
I was hoping that no TBHPian takes my photo and posts it on the Bad Drivers thread!! :D
But jokes apart, what could I do? The light was orange for barely 2 seconds!

Quote:

Originally Posted by laxmanrk (Post 2353722)

In India, we take our fellow driver on the road for granted. This attitude needs to change and we need to understand that the road belongs to all.
The fellow commuter could be in as much an urgency to reach his destination as you!

+1 to that,
I wish people would realise that by honking the vehicle in front is not going to disappear or make way. No one enjoys waiting in traffic and is as anxious to move ahead as anyone else. I dont understand the point of incessant honking /end rant

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitoj (Post 2354334)

I'm confused here - shouldn't you have stopped the moment the light turned orange? I thought in the sequence green-orange-red you have to stop the moment it turns orange, unless you are already into the intersection - the orange part is there just to give you some margin so you can finish the intersection.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitoj (Post 2354334)

But jokes apart, what could I do? The light was orange for barely 2 seconds!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vina (Post 2354453)

@vina this is correct; we are supposed to stop as soon as the light turns orange. My guess is that the momentum would have taken amitoj halfway across the zebra line (amitoj: feel free to correct me!)
Isnt there a timer at signals to verify when it is going to change?

The problem these days with the timer is that the traffic on the other side has already shot off by the time our signal has barely turned orange :Frustrati

You are correct selfdrive. Had i stomped on the brakes the moment light turned orange, 3 bikers would have rear ended me!! Orange means slow down and stop when approaching, not stop at that very moment.

There was no timer at the signal either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vina (Post 2354453)

the orange part is there just to give you some margin so you can finish the intersection.

Read my post. I had crossed the white line when it turned orange. So, the light should have stayed orange for long enough for me to cross the intersection. But within 2 seconds it turned red.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitoj (Post 2354484)

Read my post. I had crossed the white line when it turned orange. So, the light should have stayed orange for long enough for me to cross the intersection. But within 2 seconds it turned red.

Surprisingly, there are a large number of intersections in Bangalore where the signal turns green for a couple of seconds and then no Orange, directly red!:Frustrati

And yes, these are intersections without timers!

Also early mornings around say 6 or 7 a.m., the signals are not functional! It's the case I think even during the night after around 11.30 p.m. or so. I always thought the signals were automated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitoj (Post 2354484)

...

Read my post. I had crossed the white line when it turned orange. So, the light should have stayed orange for long enough for me to cross the intersection. But within 2 seconds it turned red.

Sir, please don't get angry with me, I am a new driver and was just trying to clarify. I have seen people trying to clear intersections after the light turns orange and my friends have conflicting opinions about legality of such a maneuver - I thought this would be a good opportunity to find out (whether you did it or not).

Also your post wasn't particularly clear:

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitoj (Post 2354334)

Today morning at the Sagar Hospital intersection on Bannerghatta road, I was made to look like a fool! It was green for me and the traffic was moving slowly. By the time my car was half across the white line, it turned orange and by the time I was half across the zebra crossing it turned red. Of course, the traffic from the other side barged in as soon as the light turned orange, but there I was stranded half across the zebra crossing! ...

You wrote you were still at the white line when it turned orange and you were still at the zebra when it turned red. I don't know about you, but given my driving skills I would have stopped right at the point where the lights turned orange, especially if the traffic was moving at a slow speed (meaning no hope of clearing the intersection on an orange signal).

Also if the traffic was anyway slow, how could you have been rear ended by the motorcycle guys (I mean they can hit you even when you are not moving, but where was the additional rick coming from in your situation)?

Quote:

Originally Posted by vina (Post 2354831)

Quote:

Originally Posted by vina (Post 2354831)

Also your post wasn't particularly clear:

You wrote you were still at the white line when it turned orange and you were still at the zebra when it turned red.

That's why i asked you to read my post. I wrote that i was half way across the white line when the light turned orange. Being AT the white line means not having started crossing it yet. I also wrote that the light was orange for merely 2 seconds. Consider the distance between the white line and zebra crossing. Hopefully that will clear the confusion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vina (Post 2354831)

I don't know about you, but given my driving skills I would have stopped right at the point where the lights turned orange, especially if the traffic was moving at a slow speed (meaning no hope of clearing the intersection on an orange signal).

Even at 20 kmph, you require some distance to bring your car to a halt. Stopping RIGHT AT THE POINT is not possible. There will always be some distance traveled before your car comes to a halt, which is what happened with me too.

You can stop RIGHT AT THE POINT by slamming your brakes. However, that would be a very unsafe thing to do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vina (Post 2354831)

Also if the traffic was anyway slow, how could you have been rear ended by the motorcycle guys (I mean they can hit you even when you are not moving, but where was the additional rick coming from in your situation)?

How could i have been rear ended by a motorcycle? Because the braking distance of an average motorcycle is greater than my braking distance.
And steadily braking is any day safer than sudden braking when the light turns orange, even if it takes you beyond the zebra crossing. Since you are a new driver, please make a serious note of this!

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitoj (Post 2355014)

I was actually looking around for a cop to complain about the short orange interval! lol: stupid:

Did you expect that it would've changed things? Rant on Bangalore traffic is a separate thread, and I have posted couple of times on that! :)

If you commute regularly in the Sarjapur Rd to Silkboard route in the evenings, you'll find out how pathetic the timings are for signals to change at a 4-point crossing. I usually proceed 10 metres at every green signal in a long queue of cars (at times stretching 300 ms approx) and end up spending about 45 mins at that signal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitoj (Post 2354989)

No no am not angry or anything. Sorry if thats what it came across as.

As for what to do when the light turns orange, the answer is simple. If you are reaching the intersection and the light turns orange, you should steadily come to a stop. If you are beyond the point where you can stop safely when the light turns orange, then you should cross.

But my question is what to do when the light is orange for merely 2 seconds and you have started crossing the intersection before it turned orange!

That's why i asked you to read my post. I wrote that i was half way across the white line when the light turned orange. Being AT the white line means not having started crossing it yet. I also wrote that the light was orange for merely 2 seconds. Consider the distance between the white line and zebra crossing. Hopefully that will clear the confusion.

Even at 20 kmph, you require some distance to bring your car to a halt. Stopping RIGHT AT THE POINT is not possible. There will always be some distance traveled before your car comes to a halt, which is what happened with me too.

You can stop RIGHT AT THE POINT by slamming your brakes. However, that would be a very unsafe thing to do.

How could i have been rear ended by a motorcycle? Because the braking distance of an average motorcycle is greater than my braking distance.
And steadily braking is any day safer than sudden braking when the light turns orange, even if it takes you beyond the zebra crossing. Since you are a new driver, please make a serious note of this!

I didn't know your speed was nearly 20kmph, here is Hyderabad on some of the intersection that is fast (not slow). And in Ghaziabad, on the main city road that is fast. :uncontrol

sorry for the confusion.

One question OT - if one does get rear ended and there is some damage what should one do?

Quote:

Originally Posted by vina (Post 2355191)

One question OT - if one does get rear ended and there is some damage what should one do?

Curse your stars and move on. That's what i would do at least. Just not worth it to get down and start pinning the blame.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tats07 (Post 2355046)

If you commute regularly in the Sarjapur Rd to Silkboard route in the evenings, you'll find out how pathetic the timings are for signals to change at a 4-point crossing.

My wife is a regular on that route and so, at least second hand i know the state there. What's funny is that it is actually called Silkboard Flyover!! Flyover!! What a laugh!

Cheers
Amitoj

Quote:

Originally Posted by vina (Post 2355191)

One question OT - if one does get rear ended and there is some damage what should one do?

Then its the mistake of the vehicle who rear ended you. If there is damage, and if the person is sane enough, you can talk to him and ask for compensation. Unfortunately, such sane persons are very less on the roads and you should curse your bad luck and move on.

This happened a year ago - my car was once rear ended by an activa and an auto-rickshaw simultaneously when a fool in-front of me braked hard to get into a service lane. By the time I could get out of my car, the auto had vanished and the activa guy started blaming me for the mistake. A big crowd gathered and everyone started blaming me! When I told em that the person who rear ends is at fault, they started laughing at me as if I cracked a big joke. I somehow managed to get out from that place with a small dent on the boot door and a broken tail light :Frustrati