[ss212]

Around 10:30pm last night i was walking on a narrow road with no functioning street lamps. There was no pavement. One had to walk on the road. The road itself was in terrible shape. I doubt one would be able to drive at any double digit speeds there. Since it was so dark, i switched on the flash light in my cellphone. A little while later, i saw a truck coming at a very slow pace from the other end. It's high beams were on and they blinded me. I struggled to make out anything ahead of me. I flashed my cellphone torch towards the truck and switched it on and off twice. I absolutely didn't expect him to take any action but he switched to low beams. I wasn't expecting this at all. As the truck crossed me, i looked back to check if he switched to low beams for any vehicle that was behind me. And there wasn't any! He instantly changed to high beams when he crossed me.

I just didn't expect this behavior from him. I don't know if i am the only one but i've never had any vehicle switch to low beams for me when i was on foot. Might not be a big deal but i sure was impressed.

[TorqueyTechie]

Nice thread!! Would like to add couple of my experiences.

1. This was in Jan 2009 when we friends had went to Pondicherry. The place is known for beaches which is calm and also can take the car till the beach and we had found one such place closer to where we stayed. So we went at around 11 in the night and were enjoying the beach and the cool breeze. One of our friend joined us from Chennai and we went and picked him from the bus stop and came. After coming back when my friend was parking the car, he missed and the rear tires went inside the sand. The harder we tried to get the car out the harder it sank in. We were stuck there trying to get the car out and it was already 3 in the morning. Suddenly out of nowhere we saw a Qualis coming in with 3-4 people. They came and saw our predicament and without even asking came in tried to get the car out. When they couldn't, they went out and came back in 15 mins getting a rope from somewhere. They tied the rope to tow hook of the cars and pulled the car out of the sand. Then they left us to enjoy the beach after giving all of us a big hug and a even bigger smile.

Amazing thing was next day morning when we went we saw a family whose car was stuck in the sand at the same place and this time we all helped them by simply lifting the car. (it was a Maruti 800).

2. This happened way back in 2004 during my engineering days. We had just finished our practical exams and had learned that a new local author book had been released for one of our subjects. So me and my friend started to go to a book store and get books for all of us. I was driving my pulsar and he was riding pillion with me. We were going at around 50 kph. There was a mechanic shop and a kid who was around 15-16 years of age just took a bike and did a u turn without even turning and seeing. I was coming behind and even though I tried to avoid the accident I just could not and went and banged into his bike. He fell along with the bike and my friend also fell . I for one was dragged along with my bike towards the oncoming traffic with a bus stomping on his brakes hard to avoid me. Luckily somehow escaped with small bruisers and a broken finger with my helmet taking the brunt of my fall. Bike too didn't have much damage except a broken indicator and the big dent on my crash guard. Police had come down and had caught that kid and they were asking me to go to police station and file a complaint against the mechanic shop as well as the kid. The kid was already crying. I simply went and told the police that I didn't want to file a complaint and went to the kid scolded him for driving a bike even though he is not supposed and left the place.

[SmartCat]

My cousin had parked his car in a street (no parking space at home) in front of his home and had gone out of station for a couple of days. When he came back, he saw this -



The authorities had put a nice coat of fresh tar on the road. Since my cousin's car was parked there, they put the asphalt around the car!

[Hart-BEAT]

This another snippet from my trip with my wife to Goa in Feb 2014. We were visiting Fort Tiracol (also known as Terekhol). It used to be a small military fort, then a hotel, which shut shop later. It is situated in Northen goa, around 50-60 Km from Panjim. By the time we reached there, the long drive coupled with all the fluids I have consumed made me desperate to attend a natures call. However, I could'nt locate a public restroom at the abandoned property and hence was forced to 'improvise'. A convenient bush on a slightly raised ground was located outside the fort and I let loose a stream behind it to my heartfelt relief. Just by the time I was done, a group of 3-4 member foreigners showed up. My wife who has missed my 'relieving formality' behind the bushes as she was busy clicking snaps of the fort and the adjoining sea beach, took notice of me just as I was zipping up. Noticing my act and the foreign group nearby, she gave me a tongue lashing: 'Acts such as yours malign our country's image in front of foreigners. You should be ashamed'. In my defence, would have it been good for our country's image if I had wetted my pants? Nevertheless, I took the berating and moved on.

After we had finished our visit, wifey waited at the Fort's doorway while I went to get my car from the parking. Just as I started and moved the car, from the corner of my eyes, I saw some hurried movement in my right ORVM. It was a person very near to the car who has appeared from nowhere. While it was creepy, I kept driving the 20-30 mts distance towards the fort gateway and I saw my wife's face red with embarrassment. I turned my head in the direction to see what she was looking at. And then I saw; behind the cover of my parked car, 3 guys were squatting and 'relieving' themselves . I had missed seeing them as I boarded and drove away, thereby taking away their 'screen' and exposing them to broad view!!! But the best part was seeing their faces.....it was the same group of 3-4 foreigners who stumbled upon me earlier!!! When wifey boarded the vehicle, I sure had the loudest and the last laugh!! Who has maligned our country's image now, huh??

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by smartcat

The authorities had put a nice coat of fresh tar on the road. Since my cousin's car was parked there, they put the asphalt around the car!

Wouldn't it be easier for them to call the cops and get the car towed?

[jinojohnt]

Last week, when I was driving sedately in Trivandrum City (4 laned with divider) at around 9:00 P.M, I flashed my head lights at an Autorickshaw in the right lane for overtaking (I was not in a mood for the horn). To my astonishment, the auto driver used his left indicator and changed to the left lane. First I thought he's going to stop. But as I watched in my rear-view, he put the right indicator and changed back to the right lane after I overtook him.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Wouldn't it be easier for them to call the cops and get the car towed?

Actually what they did was the easier thing to do - what you say would have been the appropriate one!!

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Wouldn't it be easier for them to call the cops and get the car towed?

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Actually what they did was the easier thing to do - what you say would have been the appropriate one!!

They slapped him with a fine for Rs. 100 though.

[DevilsDoggie]

Sharing an incident from 2012.

Normally, I am used to driving without honking and tend to keep patience with pedestrians. One fine day, I was out in my car and driving in a crowded market area, where people walk in the middle of the road (footpaths are occupied by vendors). There was a lady walking in front of my car, and I decided not to honk at her and wait until she gave me space to go ahead. Suddenly, the lady noticed my car behind her and jumped to the side. As I slowly moved ahead, she banged her hand on my window. I opened the window to check if everything is ok. As soon as the window was open, she shouted at me "Horn kyu nahi mara!" (why didn't you honk!) . I was stunned and had no words. I just closed the window and honked for her pleasure.

Sometimes, following good driving etiquette is not rewarded with kindness, I suppose.


Cheers!

[jayded]

Originally Posted by DevilsDoggie

Sharing an incident from 2012.
As soon as the window was open, she shouted at me "Horn kyu nahi mara!" (why didn't you honk!) . I was stunned and had no words. I just closed the window and honked for her pleasure.

Sometimes, following good driving etiquette is not rewarded with kindness, I suppose.

Cheers!

Thanks for sharing this. I am a firm believer that the "no honking" good manners do not work in a country like India. I've faced this "why couldn't you honk?" question a lot of times. In India, it's always a car owners duty to let the others know of their presence since a million things will use the same lane as ours. Some good manners are best left back at the foreign countries when one returns to India. I've not been in a foreign country, but I am sure honking serves different purposes in India and elsewhere. And to be honest, I strongly believe, in India, not using the horn, is far more dangerous than using it diligently. Using it and sitting on the horn pad is a different issue though!

[DevilsDoggie]

Originally Posted by jayded

Thanks for sharing this.

It's true, that in India one cannot get away without honking. I did learn it from a few experiences like these. Also, my family/siblings always advice me to honk while I am behind the wheel

PS - I used to drive a motorbike during my college days in Mumbai, which did not have a functioning horn (never bothered to get it fixed). So, I have this habit of driving without honking since a long time. It is not something that I learnt abroad. :-)

[deepak2579]

Hi All,

This is my first post on this forum!!!

Encountered a weird incident/situation around 4 years back. I was coming home to Thane via the EEH from office at around 9 pm in the night on my Discover. I was in the middle lane and the heavy duty trucks had started claiming back their territory from us poor retail drivers.

Upon crossing the flyover at the Navi Mumbai exit towards Mulund, there were a couple of cars in front of me, when all of a sudden, both the cars started swerving wildly as if to avoid hitting someone or something.
We were all at a good speed of approx. 60-70 kmph and what do I see, an old man, with a walking stick in hand and a jhola on his shoulders is on his own "Dandi march" walking towards us BANG on the middle lane of the EEH.
It was a nerve-wracking experience for me. Fortunately, none of us were tail-gating each other and I was more than 30 metres away when I spotted him. However, it was very dangerous for me to suddenly swerve away from him and change lanes.

We were a couple of bikers who stopped at the side of the highway and were pondering on what to do, when, suddenly, we both bike riders made eye contact with each other and decided to do something about it.

We both jumped into the oncoming traffic (on hindsight and if I had some more time to think, I would not have done it, but, I guess, the adrenaline was still kicking in), caught the old guy's hand and got him to safety.
The whole sequence of events is a blur in my memory, but, it always comes back to me whenever I witness anything similar. Reading all these posts on this thread has rekindled the same and I thought of sharing it.

The sequence of events post hauling the old man to safety is tragically comic and is off-topic, but the ending was all happy (hopefully as I didnt see him walking again on that stretch again) :-)

Moral of the story - Never Tail-gate under any circumstances, who knows you may save someone's or your own life....

[shreyasnb]

I was returning home from kalyan in the night around 10.30. I was approaching a junction at ulhasnagar. A car was honking for me to give way and I did the same. The car overtook me from the left and went ahead.

Now there was a biker with a lady in pillion in front of me. The car, probably a wagonR overtook the bike and kept left to further overtake a autoriksha. The biker followed suit and went behind the wagonR just to realise that the car braked since it didnt have enough space to go ahead. The biker to breaks hard and falls right in front of me. I stand on my brakes and come to a halt.

Now here comes the funny part. I get down from the car and start inspecting the car for any damage. For a few moment I couldnt see anything. Then I realised I had fog on my specs. I remove them, clean them and continue with my inspection I was shocked that there was only an inch of gap between my car and the bike. I helped the guy pick up his bike and sat back into the car and my sister was laughing at me. On asking the reason she says I should have first helped the lady who fell near the divider instead of checking the car. Realising my mistake I offered help to them and they refused. Well, we moved on.

[ranjish]

I was travelling last weekend to Shimoga from Bangalore. Somewhere in between, I saw that there is an elephant blocking vehicles and the mahout was instructing it to collect money from them. I did not realize this until it stopped my car and started banging on the windshield. Mahout was showing signal to me and asking to give money.

We got a bit terrified with this and was initially thinking of paying money. But then I suddenly decided to quickly drive it past the elephant. There was gap between elephant and one side of road and I quickly drove away.
Not sure how people are coming up with all kind of different ways of looting money.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by ranjish

...We got a bit terrified with this and was initially thinking of paying money. But then I suddenly decided to quickly drive it past the elephant. There was gap between elephant and one side of road and I quickly drove away.
Not sure how people are coming up with all kind of different ways of looting money.

Wouldn't have it been safer to capture a video of this activity & give 100 a call regarding this issue? Had you brushed the elephant (by chance), God knows what you may have ended up with. An injured / frightened elephant can be really destructive.