[Revvhead]

Preamble: I usually consider myself not the really preachy type, although there's a self righteous streak in there somewhere. So this one is a little of the beaten track....



This Morning as the 61st anniversary of our indendence dawner upon us,
i also wished for Indepence from other idiots on the road.
The morning was decorated with a whole bunch of our fellow citizens ignoring traffic lights as is their merry wont as i cursed them all under my breath.


And So I figured,
the one thing thats common between all of us in this forum,
Is the amount that all of use Moan, groan & B!tch about traffic
and the standard of driving by all road users other than us.

We blame ( and justifiably so ) all the authorities, The RTO, the traffic Cops and the like
for the poor enforcement of the rules.

A Wise man said, ' Be the change you wish to see '.
And what better day than today, to advocate that advice.

So, after much preaching i shall get on with my proposal.

What will it require?
Ha, well nothing comes easy.
So it will require Sacrifice , Application, a Smile and above all Patience.
I would have said common sense, but thats too much too ask for these days

But, i'm a prracticl man, and thats too much to ask for all the time,
so my suggestion is that you engage in the excercise that i am about to propose
occasionally, till one gets used to it.

So, after much preaching i shall get on with my proposal.

What can we do change the state of traffic on an individual basis??
Well obviously, all follow the law and all that, but naturally we all do when we are driving and everone else is an idiot. So we really dont need to improve on ourselves.

So where to next. Improve the other guy I say.

here's what i actually do.

when i'm in a taxi or an Auto, I insist that the guy follows the traffic lights 7 doesnt go down one ways ( in the wrong direction) else i just say that i'll get off now thanks, or say i wont pay full fare.
When he objects, I tell him that , that what he's doing is endangering my safety, and i see no reason to pay him for that. If he has a dispute we can either follow the rules, Or , head to the cops to settle it.
That usually settles the situation.

I also insist that My driver follows the law. Stops at the light and Not 5 metres ahead of it etc etc.

I have a small delivery place.
My delivery rider has to wear a helmet & I ask them to follow the rules. ( Do they break them.. probably, But i enforce it when i'm riding with him, hoping that message will sink in.

Honestly, i've just decided to be a bit more patient .And i used to be a good role model for road rage!!

I know that there are times when were frustrated or in a blazing hurry or the like.
But what i'm suggesting that we try out stuff like this occasionally. the more you do it. i fell teh more people you will reach out to. Well thats my hope anyway.

Coz what i'm really saddened by, is the sight of a well dressed, well educated person, at a traffic light scouting to see it they can spot a cop, else its time to jump the light.

Have i broken lights - yeah i have. But honestly half by mistake and half just when the lights are changing. I really dont get the mentality of a person, who wants to break every light on his route.

what i'm hoping for is some of us can influence the way taxis & auto drive when we are in them. We cant influence them otherwise.. and who knows. it may just be the start.

To a more pleasant drive tomorrow.
Jai Hind!

[team suzuki]

Nice way to improve driving in india wish there were another million people like you, our country would have surely changed in the driving point of view our roads would have also celebrated freedom from the morons who break rules,as you said making auto,taxi...etc drivers aware is a great way to improve driving the other main people who have to be aware is today's youngsters who take breaking the law as a proud act,driving in our country has become so bad that the one who follows the rules sometimes gets troubled by other rash drivers,what should we do when we come across such rash drivers? WISH ALL BHPIANS A HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY



Note from the Team-BHP Support : Please take the time to use proper punctuation as per Team-BHP rules. Thanks.

[Sam Kapasi]

A Wise man said, ' Be the change you wish to see '.

That wise man would be M.K. Gandhi.

And I see a valuable point in all you are saying. When we are so easy to lash out at "idiot" drivers, we should spend a moment to consider our own driving styles and lack of consideration towards others who probably think we're idiotic.

"Let him who has not sinned be the first one to cast the stone" said another wise man. J.G. Christ, methinks.

[abhijitaparadh]

OT :
Sam, is J.G. Christ same as Jesus Christ? If yes, what does the G stand for?

No offense meant.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by abhijitaparadh

OT :
Sam, is J.G. Christ same as Jesus Christ? If yes, what does the G stand for?

No offense meant.

None taken. It was tongue in cheek anyways.

In India it is common to have your papa's initials in your name na?

[Revvhead]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

That wise man would be M.K. Gandhi.

And I see a valuable point in all you are saying. When we are so easy to lash out at "idiot" drivers, we should spend a moment to consider our own driving styles and lack of consideration towards others who probably think we're idiotic.

"Let him who has not sinned be the first one to cast the stone" said another wise man. J.G. Christ, methinks.

Heh Heh. yes it would. Thats why i picked the wuote for the day Sam-O.
Plus I wanted to see who would be the first Smarty pants to point it out :P

[phamilyman]

For a second I thought you had bought a helicopter

jk, valid points

[Path_Finder]

Originally Posted by Revvhead

when i'm in a taxi or an Auto, I insist that the guy follows the traffic lights 7 doesnt go down one ways ( in the wrong direction)

Jai Hind!

When in auto/taxi and they break the obvious rules, I also admonish them. Those guys have the justification - say breaking a one-way is for my benifit... and so. But this is one minimum area where all can contribute to better driving sense.

While on this topic, I would wish all call center employees do the same with their cab pick-up drivers - that would make Bangalore roads much better and safer.

[Revvhead]

Quite rightly said Pathfinder.
That’s exactly the kind of stuff that I hope more of us put into practice.
And as I say, even if one can’t do it all the time, doing it occasionally will slowly help bring these guys around.

The other thing that I have observed is, the moment we sit in any one else's vehicle, esp public transport, we simply decide to absolve ourselves of all responsibility of all their actions.
We sit back quietly and let them run Light, take funny turns, go down No entry’s, Justifying it to ourselves by saying, the driver did it not me. Yet as a paying passenger, you have the right to determine how the guy ferries you.

You don’t have to fight necessarily, but one can always politely request the guy to toe the line.

And with friends, even though it’s a bit of backseat driving, one can occasionally gently suggest that they could do better by respecting a few rules

Cheerio

[Revvhead]

C'mon. Seriously! Is that all the response one can garner on a forum for at attempt at improving the traffic situation.

Either the thread has been missed - fair enough

Or worse, the apathy shown here is equivalent to the apathy on the roads

[phamilyman]

or some people actually realize that farting in thin air doesn't help the traffic situation.

/or maybe like faeries, rant threads actually culminate in world peace/change et al?

[Revvhead]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

or some people actually realize that farting in thin air doesn't help the traffic situation.

/or maybe like faeries, rant threads actually culminate in world peace/change et al?

Which is why the opening post suggests that instead of farting in thin air.... that we try and do a little bit ourselves. I doesnt ask you to change the world, just to try to attempt to improve the way the driver of your private/public transport conducts himself on the road if and when the opportunity arises.

And,if you consider the above posts a rant in any form, as opposed to the level of trash that floats around the web, i just would have to say that you have been fortunate to have led such a shielded existence... Possibly living with Fairys eh? ;P

[phamilyman]

That is not my point.

With due regard, My point is that there's nothing new in what you said. its basic road decency and we're all aware of it. There's hardly anything that'll come out of junta reading this thread.

We are all well aware of what it means to be a responsible road citizen. Just that we are all busy/rushing to do anything about it.

[Revvhead]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

That is not my point.

We are all well aware of what it means to be a responsible road citizen. Just that we are all busy/rushing to do anything about it.

I agree, there's not very much new in what i said.

and my point is exactly that. in our mad busy lives where we are rushing about maybe we could just VERY OCCASIONALLY take the time to tweak somethinng here or there.. rather than us ( and this is not aimed at you personally in any way ) be completely apathetic about it.

I dont claim to take care all the time, far from it.
But every once in a while maybe.

The original idea being that maybe a few drops could form a puddle, rather than just accepting doom and living with it. Shoot me for being vaguely idealist

Plus its just so much more fun correcting others...maybe they could join in just for that kick

[sammyboy0]

Maybe we could all take anger management classes!
It would be no surprise to all of us here, that road rage is almost always a human failing.
So, taking the cue from the gentleman who started this, revhead, I believe, we could and should work on this.
Methinks too.