[matchvan]

Greetings,
Sharing my experience with fellow members.
I was returning from my work at almost 2 AM in the morning.
I had travelled by train for 8 hours and was driving on my 2 wheeler back home from the station.
I saw a couple in early 50's by the roadside with a punctured Kwid.
I stopped and asked if they needed help.
This was in the city limits and a few vehicles were passing by as well.
The person told he's got the spare tire and a jack but he didn't have the rod to lift the jack.
When I was sifting through my bikes' toolkit, a police patrol vehicle passed by.
They never bothered to stop or ask what we were doing so late at night!
I Found a screw driver and with great difficulty lifted the jack and changed the tire.
They thanked me profusely and i left with a sense of happiness that I was of help to a fellow human.
It must have been heartwarming for them and I hope they would help a fellow human when in need.
Drive Safe.

[condor]

Came across this on Linked-in (Posted by Rahul S):

Hats off to the lady ! Wishing her the best, and may she always be safe !

Last day, when my friend booked an Uber for me, this lady came to pick me up. After the ride started, I noticed a kid sleeping in the front seat. I could not resist asking :

Mam, is that your daughter?
(Yes, sir, my daughter and she is on vacation now; hence I am working and babysitting together )
I was inquisitive, hence wanted to know more.

Her name is Nandini, and she drives for Uber in Bangalore. She wanted to be an entrepreneur, and she started a food truck a few years back with all her savings. But then covid hit, and she lost all the money invested. Post that, she started driving for Uber. She works 12 hours a day and tells me she doesn’t mind working more if she has to. She wanted to save money and rebuild everything she had lost.
When the trip ended, I asked if I could take a pic with her and post her story online. She asked me why!
I said: “Mam, you have a very inspiring story; while many people get disheartened after a failure, you are a fighter and continue the fight till you win. I want to share your story with others. That is the least I could do.”
She smiled and agreed to this pic.

Update - Uber country head Prabhjeet Singh has reached out to me and has offered support and appreciation to her. Also I will soon convey all your wishes and offers to Nandini.

Update 2- Spoke to Nandini. She was already aware about the social media reaction and was very happy. I told her how thousands were offering her support and has shared this post link along with the some of the DMs with her.

[kiran_aithal]

Originally Posted by chaitanyakrish

..... 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.

Indeed a rarity, esp Auto folks following rules. Hats off to him

Originally Posted by chaitanyakrish

...... he returned 50 rupees change and said, this is enough for this distance !!

Was this ride per the meter?

[chaitanyakrish]

Originally Posted by kiran_aithal

Was this ride per the meter?

It's not per meter. With the recent minimum fare regulations for Ola/Uber, I observed that, auto drivers are not accepting ride requests if distance is less.

So, I was trying to book and none of the autos are accepting the request. This auto driver was having his lunch near the supermarket, then I walked towards him and asked for a ride.

He quickly finished his lunch and started. While boarding, I asked him to tell how much I need to pay, he said, let's discuss at the destination.

I paid him through cash, so, I am not having his contact number as well.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by sameer_vwagner

A broken car can make you good friends!!

- Xylo that had steam coming from under the hood
- offered them a ride back to the guest house after helping the driver to a local garage.
- invited me over for dinner when i visited Pune. We have stayed in touch ever since

Originally Posted by matchvan

- saw a couple in early 50's by the roadside with a punctured Kwid; stopped and asked if they needed help.

In both these experiences, what's come to the fore is the core Indian (could add neighboring nations too) trait of helping people stranded. The feeling of having helped someone is invaluable!

I know of a youtuber in Delhi who does this with many who are stranded, and in most cases, offers to push autorickshaws, bikes, loaded cycle rickshaws, sometimes even cars using his left leg when he is using his Bullet or his Suzuki GSX. Very noble gesture, but I feel his left knee will go for a toss.

I've personally helped a lot of people stranded with dead batteries, pushed many a car, many a loaded rickshaw up a small incline, provided reassurance to many concerned owners around some weird observations in their cars, , but never made friends with any new folks, except those that I met via team-bhp.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Have a look at this pre-wedding photoshoot

https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/trendi...216-2022-10-27

[Dwaipayan26]

Had a very warm experience with a cop today.

I was returning after a morning walk around the Rabinda Sarobar lake at around 7:15 am. So I headed down Southern Avenue and turned right onto South End Park Road right before the Golpark crossing. Now, the road is one way in the morning and is a no entry for vehicles on Southern Avenue ( believe it is until 1:00 pm). I accidently missed the sign and went straight through. As I was waiting at the traffic light right before the Dhakuria flyover, I noticed that the timer was stuck at 00.

A cop, standing on the footpath, started to gradually walk up towards the car and halted next to the front passenger door. My father was in the seat next to me and the conversation went somewhat like this:

COP: Sir, this is a one-way.
DAD: Oh, sorry. We did not notice the sign.
COP: Sir, the sign is very large and clear. Which way do you plan to go?
DAD: We planned to go right. But I'm sorry. We will turn around and go back.
COP: Ok sir. But I'm sorry. I will have to issue you a challan. Please wait as I click a picture of the car. Also Sir, I'm issuing a digital challan so it'll be easier for you to pay. I am also issuing a challan for traffic light violation so that the fine amount will be lesser.
ME: Thank you so much Sir. Also, I'm really sorry.
COP: Fiddles on the phone for a few seconds
COP:Well, appears that the app is not working. So I'll let you go without a fine. Also it does not make sense to ruin your mood in the morning.
TO ME: Drive safe and follow the rules. A lot of accidents happen in the morning because people don't care to follow the traffic lights or drive very fast seeing the empty roads. Have a good day. Bye.
ME: Thank you so so much Sir. Have a great day. Bye Sir.

He was extremely polite and respectful while talking to us. Not for a moment was he rude or loud or aggressive. As I turned the car around and retraced my path, the feeling that echoed in us was one of pure respect and gratitude.

I am 18 and got my driving license a couple of months ago. This was my first ever cop experience first hand. I had heard a lot of horror stories of cops and their rude behavior towards motorists. But this experience will definitely force me to completely reimagine my perception towards cops.

This may not seem like a big deal to more experienced drivers who may have had similar experiences, but it was a very positive surprise for me. It left me so deeply affected that I really wanted to share it here.

Thanks,
D.

[anjan_c2007]

This image is unusual and funny but may not be heartwarming. An usual finding though on many urban streets!

It's about parking in Kolkata- how will the Scorpio steer out? As they say some lesser animals can also make the life of tigers and lions in a forest, difficult !!

I posted this in a forum and a youngster quipped "gimme the keys, I'll steer it out."

[cpabhijit]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

This image is unusual and funny but may not be heartwarming. An usual finding though on many urban streets!

It's about parking in Kolkata- how will the Scorpio steer out?

If this is Kolkata, I know the answer!! I'm sure the SX4 and the Swift would be in Neutral and either of them will be pushed to make way for the Scorpio. On almost all roads, parking in Neutral is a must in Kolkata. They can fit in many more cars this way. I drive two DQ200s and can't park in neutral , it is difficult to convince those guys to let you park. Especially on the busier streets around Maidan, etc.

[Everlearner]

A recent heartwarming experience by my wife especially with so much talk about BLR autos. She had to visit a bank which is only 2-3 KM from house and none of the autos were accepting the ride. Then an auto driver told her he is going in that direction, so can drop her off at the nearest point, but not to the bank. She agreed and when she reached, the driver told she need not pay since he was anyway going on his way. She was overwhelmed and handed over some money as a token of appreciation.

[travelling owl]

Originally Posted by cpabhijit

If this is Kolkata, I know the answer!! I'm sure the SX4 and the Swift would be in Neutral and either of them will be pushed to make way for the Scorpio. On almost all roads, parking in Neutral is a must in Kolkata. They can fit in many more cars this way. I drive two DQ200s and can't park in neutral , it is difficult to convince those guys to let you park. Especially on the busier streets around Maidan, etc.

This would give me a heart attack, if someone pushed my car from behind also how does this work for cars with e-brakes? My Compass automatically pulls the handbrakes when the engine is switched off.

[anjan_c2007]

When buying a Maruti 800 still amounted to fulfillment of one of the choicest items on our wishlist -THE INDIAN DREAM !

This one was clicked by me in 1998 outside the Kali temple premises in C. R. Park, New Delhi where a family is getting a puja performed by a temple priest on the new car.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by Dwaipayan26

Had a very warm experience with a cop today.

I was returning after a morning walk around the Rabinda Sarobar lake at around 7:15 am......This may not seem like a big deal to more experienced drivers who may have had similar experiences, but it was a very positive surprise for me. It left me so deeply affected that I really wanted to share it here.

Thanks,
D.

Great post, Dwaipayan - I am relatively new to Kolkata and have acquired a car recently. Having heard (& seen) the complexity of Kolkata traffic I'm not driving on longer distances yet & prefer to let a driver do the needful. It is certainly heartening to hear of your experience - it does add to the feel good factor regarding cops!
Regards, Shashanka

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

This image is unusual and funny but may not be heartwarming. An usual finding though on many urban streets!

It's about parking in Kolkata- how will the Scorpio steer out? As they say some lesser animals can also make the life of tigers and lions in a forest, difficult !!

I posted this in a forum and a youngster quipped "gimme the keys, I'll steer it out."...

The image is funny certainly but not unusual in Kolkata! And the youngster was probably right - several 3-point turns and one may scrape through!
Regards, Shashanka

[hema4saran]

In my recent India trip, I just grabbed my brother in law's S Cross key and started driving with my family in Pondicherry City traffic. When I was nearing a free left, one elderly gentleman was waiting to cross the road. For me who first started driving in US, I stopped the car and waved at the gentleman to cross as pedestrians get right of way here in US on most slow speed situations and right turns. The gentleman waved at me and nodded his head with a smile .

On another occasion, I was driving and I saw a stop board near Pondicherry beach. I automatically stopped the car due to my muscle memory and started looking both the sides. Within few seconds lot of honking and expletives were coming from behind and couple of two wheeler guys came to my side and asked me to move .

I had a tire burst experience at 40KMPH and was able to pull the car to safe spot in Pondy to Villupuram highway mainly due to the ongoing 4 lane work. When I pulled to the side of the road, couple of people came to me and offered to help to change the spare probably thinking I don't know how to change it. I politely declined their offer and changed it myself within 15 mins and went on my way.

P.S. I just enjoyed driving MT car even though I never driven one after learning driving 13 years back in a rickety M800.

[condor]

Came across these pics while browsing. Captions/comments are already in the pics. Feel bad for the Subaru owner - must have been horrifying trying to escape the fire.





(copy-right whoever clicked these .. am just sharing since I found these un-usual)