[libranof1987]

Yes, all those videos where motorists stop/halt traffic to help animals cross roads are cute and funny. But do note that if an accident occurs while you're at it, you could be held guilty of negligence/causing harm.

The jury unanimously ruled that Emma Czornobaj was guilty of criminal negligence and dangerous driving causing death. At her sentencing in December 2014, Justice Éliane Perreault explained, “She knowingly engaged in risk taking that she should have foreseen would put other drivers’ lives in danger.”

https://www.rd.com/article/driver-ducks-fatal-crash/

[Eddy]

Not exactly "on the road", but a related heartwarming experience.

I am currently sitting at the Delhi aiport, slated to fly to Hyderabad. The flight has got delayed by two hours. So out of courtesy, I called the cab driver who was to pick me up at the Hyd airport informing him of the delay.

That guy was so so happy that I called. He said people never do that, and thanked me profusely for calling. Appraently, he was missing his child's school activity coz the pickup time clashed, and he can now attend. He must've thanked me 10 times in a one minute call. Felt good.

Also, writing here to remind people to inform when in a similar situation. It can really make someone's day.

[rkw]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Also, writing here to remind people to inform when in a similar situation. It can really make someone's day.

Appreciate your gesture. Many times, we take others time for granted. I also follow the practice of keeping the person informed in such cases.

[nikhilarni]

While I was back in Pune between 2013 to 2016, I had a fixed cab for my many airport runs.

He was very punctual, never missed no matter the time of the day or night.

I recall, I would call and inform if flights were delayed and stuff.

The first time I called, was to actually confirm if he would still be around ( since my flight was delayed). But when he mentioned that the delay allowed him to do another quick run in and around the airport, I realized that I had to be more cognizant of his time. And that every free minute he had, he could earn for his family.

After that, I made sure to, at the very least, text him my ETA or notify if delayed.

On a pleasant note, he loved the fruit juices / cans that were served on the flight, which I would get and give him on the way back. Maybe he gave it to his kid, I don't know.

Looking back, probably the silliest thing for me to do, but it just lit up his face when I would give him, that little drink or packet of snacks.

[One]

Originally Posted by Eddy

I am currently sitting at the Delhi airport, slated to fly to Hyderabad.

Also, writing here to remind people to inform when in a similar situation. It can really make someone's day.

We probably crossed each other that day!

Went to the washroom at T3, and got a tired Namaste from the attendant there. While exiting, looked into his eyes and said a genuine "Thank you". Saw his eyes light up - the next person entering, received an energetic and warm Namaste from him.

I wonder if the chain is still carrying forward...

[anjan_c2007]

A funny tete-a-tete of bikers with a trucker near Nashik. The truck has a musical horn that plays the "nagin" tune, a musical horn propagating Indian culture going by Sh Gadkari's lexicon. Young bikers overtaking and moving with the truck were amused with the musical sound. They simply halted the truck for a while, parked their bikes on the kerb, but used the full road to dance to their might. The trucker cooperated by blowing the "nagin" horn.

https://youtu.be/ulI8bQNtBWg

[barcalad]

This has to be among one of my favourite threads on the forum. I make it a point to read through it whenever I can.

Sharing an incident that happened a few days back.

Now, I drive a non-NCR (BR) registration plate vehicle whilst living in NCR. It's never caused me any issue because I follow the law of the road to the T. On a recent trip to Mukteshwar (350 kms from my door), I happened to drive my car on proper hill roads. I was mad excited and eager for this since I've learnt to drive in the hills (Darjeeling) and honed my skills in the most adverse of conditions. Driving in the hills is my nirvana. So, during this trip, sometime after crossing Bhatelia en route to Nathuakhan, I was behind a taxi Tata Sumo. It bore UK registration - of Haldwani RTO, if I am not wrong. It was driving normally and when I got my space, he promptly stuck out his hand to indicate he would let me overtake a tad bit ahead. No worries, I thought, and drove behind him with a safe buffer.

A few hundred meters later, where the road straightened out (for a change), he gave me generous space to overtake and as I did, I honked a short toot to thank him. Now this, I have learnt, is a part of hill driving manners - it is followed in many parts of the world too. Always thank drivers who are considerate with a short honk, especially those who let you drive uphill and let you overtake in a tight space.

He responded to my honk with a honk of his own (as if to say Welcome) and I proceeded onwards. A couple of kilometers later, we stopped for some pahadi tea and maggi, as is the custom. The Tata Sumo guy (a local, clearly) caught up a couple of minutes later and he too stopped at the same shop to let his passengers take a short break. After he checked out my car in and out, he came to me and asked if I am from the area. I responded in negative and asked him why did he ask me that. He said he didn't expect a "Bihar ka gaadi" to do what I did and drive that sedately, given the reputation NCR and other state vehicles have in the Kumaon hills that are serene and quaint. It was at that point that I switched to Nepali (as I know Nepali fluently) and his expression changed!

Over the next few minutes, he told me how his ancestors migrated to Uttarakhand from Nepal and how they got into the taxi industry. Asked me about my travel plans and gave me his contact details to contact him if I ever needed help in the hills. Bade his goodbye with a "Pheri Bhetnu Hai" which translates into "Let's meet again".

Needless to say, this definitely was one of the highlights of my trip, much to the bewilderment of my non-petrolhead friends.

[Sanidhya mukund]

Spotted something funny and dangerous.

Electric three wheeler gets discharged. Enterprising and helpful Tata Ace CNG picks it up, but it itself isn’t much larger than the 3 wheeler. This thing was tilting like crazy when turning. A Tata Ace in itself isn’t the last word when it comes to stability. Can’t imagine how difficult it would have been to keep it from tipping over with an auto on board.

Interestingly, just as I was saying that the driver will be fined heftily if the cops see it, this Ace carrying an auto was stopped by the police. An accident averted hopefully.

[thanixravindran]

Just read about this incident about tree cutting for NH widening in Kerala and saw the video in youtube

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xIhCwmJb2lk?feature=share

It may be common but seeing in a video is heart wrenching... I read that now 5 more trees are spared due to birds living in it and WhatsApp group is created for monitoring and protection. I am not against development but we should have a humane way to carry it out.

Not sure which thread to post, so please move as appropriate.

[chaitanyakrish]

I posted my experience on Twitter as well and also sharing here for our forum.

I Had to travel in an auto today as I will not take car to a place where there's no parking. I don't like to park on the roads. The auto driver was a middle aged man, probably in his 40s-50s.

Surprisingly he was driving very well and following all road rules like

1. Stopping at signals
2. yielding and giving way at intersections
3. Very relaxed and no stress
4. Maintaining lane and not driving like a snake.

I got curious and asked him, is he new to Bangalore and asked him to tell about himself. He said he came to Bangalore 20 years ago and used to work in a garments company for 2 years and has been driving auto for 18 years. He has 2 kids,one is studying CA (he used to do wrong calculations in garments business,so he thought someone should know accounts well). His son is studying BTech and in 4th year and already got campus placement. I appreciated him for driving carefully. He said,if he makes any mistake,it impacts his family,so he doesn't want to.

I asked hm,how can he be so relaxed with chaotic traffic around(autos are not soundproof, and they get all the traffic noise). He said,both of his kids are studying well,even with his income from auto,he's satisfied with his life,so no stress.

I folded my hands and thanked him for the life lesson. As Dr. Abdul Kalam said in the European parliament, "Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is harmony in the house; when there is harmony in the house, there is order in the nation; when there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world."

This Auto guy just demonstrated with his way of life.

Finally, when I reached home, I paid him 100 rupees and he returned 50 rupees change and said, this is enough for this distance !!

[sameer_vwagner]

A broken car can make you good friends!!

I prefer taking my friends car for random drives when am in Leh. He owns a lovely Maruti-800. This happened when i was returning from Lamayuru.

I came across a Xylo that had steam coming from under the hood. Looks like the driver totally ignored checking the engine bay before he started the drive. A couple was stranded along with him.

Approached the car and spoke to the driver when i overheard the wife talking to her husband in Marathi. She was asking him to check with me if i can offer them ride back to Leh in case i was headed there. I offered them a ride back to the guest house after helping the driver to a local garage. The couple was staying in the same guest house where i was put up.

The father of the girl called me up and invited me over for dinner when i visited Pune after returning from Leh. He & his wife thanked me multiple times for what i did. We have stayed in touch ever since and have also done a few couple drives around Mumbai and Pune.

PS: Adding a pic of the Maruti-800 that's my companion in Leh and the one that rescued the couple.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Yes, all those videos where motorists stop/halt traffic to help animals cross roads are cute and funny. But do note that if an accident occurs while you're at it, you could be held guilty of negligence/causing harm.

Not heartwarming but a heartwrenching experience

I was driving through some interior roads between Trissur and Ernakulam. Suddenly spotted a couple of two-wheelers blocking the road, lights on, and one young man stopping the traffic. He was shouting that a snake was crossing the road and I felt nice seeing them being considerate of the creature. But that was short-lived. His friend who had gone inside a nearby house came back with two sticks and they immediately beat the poor thing to death.

On questioning, I got a reply that you car owners are not affected but a poisonous snake is a threat to us poor folks. The house owner who was also now outside chipped in asking them to put the snake in my car since I am so much in love with it

It was not my car and didn't have a dashcam. Otherwise, I could have at least shamed the idiots by making the video public.

[MiJo]

This happened a while ago, when i still had my first car, a gen1 i10. I had a bottle of water in my cupholder that we had purchased on a road trip a few days prior. Now this bottle got left out in the car, and hence no one drank from it. So, it just sat there for a couple of weeks. I usually take out such bottles and empty the contents in the windshield washer rather than throwing out filtered water just like that. But this bottle just kept sitting there for some frivolous reason or the other.

Now, one day as i was heading to office, there was this usual broken patch of half constructed (or half abandoned?) road. I was crawling along this bumpy road, when I saw this young girl. She was neatly dressed in formals. Hair properly done up etc etc. All in all, a good image, save for the GIANT splotch of mud that was covering her left foot, sandals etc. The poor girl probably stepped into a wet puddle or something (it was raining on and off) She was struggling to wipe it off with the other foot but was predictably failing at it. She was looking around haplessly to see if she could find something to help her out of this situation.

And just like that I found the perfect use for the aforementioned bottle of water!

I will never forget the look of gratitude on her face

[raghukodali]

A few years back, while driving to work in Bangalore, I saw an elderly couple with a rural and agricultural background (I assumed from their dress and the car was not Bangalore registered) ) driving an Alto.

The thing which I cannot forget is that both of them were buckled up and his driving was impeccable (lane change indicators, proper hand signals, defensive and considerate driving).

They definitely have put many city and younger folk to shame.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Kill it! Kill it!

Seems to be the common response to snakes. We don't get many here, but I have had to strongly and heavily forbid the killing of even tiny baby snakes by domestic staff and helpers.

A respecting-inducing fear I can understand, and indeed join. Whilst I talked once to a guy was used to meeting cobras outside his farm house, I am not, and do not know how to behave with such creatures. Except not to kill them.