[Arch-Angel]

Originally Posted by arsenal.arun

I think its just a coincidence that the drivers were women...
Come to Gurgaon and I am sure your sentence "What happens inside a woman's mind is everything but clear to me" will change to "What happens inside a human mind is everything but clear to me".

Well, i guess i will change my opinion when i see it ofcourse. General ignorance is what is causing so many issues. Some people have absolutely no regard for their lives or those of others. No point in cribbing about it. Only if we can enlighten these folks, then there might be an iota of hope..

P.S: It maybe coincidence as even i had earlier believed, until a handful of these Jhansi ki ranis on wheels made life miserable for man and machine alike. Too man run-ins lately and if i had those many fingers that i could count these run-ins on, my hand would look like the leaves of a coconut palm

[Mnjdnght]

Good to see a positive spin on a much ranted topic!

1. Do you love driving in India? IF YES, then continue,
Absolutely. Haven't enjoyed as much anywhere else (have had my fair share of international driving).

2. What do you love the most about driving in this country?
The variety is just awesome - kind of roads, scenery, diversity of local population and behavior as you drive through, driving behaviors, food, adventure. There are great roads, great scenery etc. in a lot of other countries but I find that India has the best mix of all on any reasonably long drive.

3. What has driving here, taught you?
Patience, Respect for others, Ability to change perspectives to name some.

4. Bikers and off road enthusiasts. Please do tell us, what is unique to Indian driving conditions. I am not into biking and off roading.
...

5. Feel free to describe some your best memories while driving here. I don't want to hear your travels (that's already covered in the travelogue section), just the good times.
Tough one to nail down. In fact I've to jog my memory hard to pick some bad ones since most of my memories are good. Still, I do have pleasant memoirs of driving in Bangalore during early nineties through early 2k.

[thoma]

Originally Posted by Simple_car

"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you."
- Jim Rohn
I decided, I want to become a great man. That's it. Once this decision was taken, my life is slowly but steadily becoming a pleasure to deal with. This article, just encompasses this philosophy from the point of view of a driver.

Yes, but the most difficult part is not to get hurt at all, when someone by his mistake dents my car, when the service center fleeces me for false repairs. But that kills a lot of enthusiasm in maintaining the car as well, and the love for the car too.

Maybe it is time I take the car as a 'thing' and not a 'being'.

[abirnale]

Reading post by @Arch-angel, I think I can add my two "more" cents - the way I enjoy the driving in India also comes from the feeling I have developed over the period of time. Think for a moment this is hard to believe - something we do take so much care and sentiments attached to it as prized possession, how can someone scratch it just like that? And thats why we get hurt because we are attached attached.

I learned to detach the hard way. But thats what made me somewhat insensitive to the traffic rants. My first car got a large dent on its RHS rear tail lights when it was parked. Someone while taking their vehicle out of parallel park area had crushed mine. I literally cried that day (many years ago) - Afterall it was the dent without any of my fault. But then my friend told me this - Money you put on the car is like money put on the road. So if you just keep something on road, anyone can claim ownership. So forget about it. I pondered upon it and recovered soon. I am still possessive about my cars but any minor or medium dents and scratches don't bother me. All i keep thinking is - let me be no reason to the mess and cause any harm to others. So, I never invest any money on exterior of the car. Anything that goes inside the car is for me, outside is for our unknown friends on the road to break!

Of course that is no assurance that I wont rant, but I am confident it wont be as much as I need to complain in public about traffic conditions and other drivers. So long story short - I reaffirm, I Love driving in this country

[dreadknight5]

Originally Posted by Simple_car

Dear dreadknight5 sir, thank you for agreeing with my sentiment. I kindly request you to just keep this thread on a positive side. I know of such examples within my own family, but I think we have enough threads on team-bhp to put in those rants. I, for my part rant everyday in the Mumbai traffic thread.
Hope you won't take my comment as an offense, I didn't mean any. Just a simple request.

Simple_car

@simple_car : No Offense taken and yes I didn't mean to rant. Some of the comments reminded me of the incident and I felt to share it with rest of us.

Originally Posted by Shiv_1984

100% in agreement with Eagle Eye, i mean look at U.S. I was driving from Mtp, Illinois to Michigan state Univ to meet one of my cousins and it was super boring with nothing interesting en route, your speed limits will be an addendum to the ordeal. Super smooth roads, powerful v6 accord but rest all is not worth a mention.
.

@Shiv_1984 : I agree with your sentiments. For long drives ,I found it very safe to drive in US, but also found it terribly boring. My love of driving waned even while on a mustang doing 120mph+ speeds. The roads in US is just too damn straight. No curves, or anything. Its boring as hell to go on long drives. I used to get tired after driving for 2 hours.

IN India, I don't feel safe while driving anywhere. But I drove twice to and fro Hyderabad - Mangalore and I still wasn't tired, even after 16+ hours of driving. I have done fair number of long drives ( Bangalore- Mangalore, Mangalore-Coorg etc) and one thing I have realized is that, I have almost always enjoyed my long drives in India.

Within US cities, I could experience stress free driving while still feeling safe. That's something you cannot get in India though. Wish we could take best of both worlds. City driving in US + long distance driving in India

[shobhit.shri]

That is one wonderful post that you have made. Thanks for it

While others have covered most of the things, I would add that what I really enjoy about driving in Indian highways is the joy of stopping at secluded roadside eateries. I doubt I ever got better "customer service" at any other place!

I think, unless you have have to drive more than half an hour everyday to your workplace, there is not really much to be irritated about. And if you have to do that, any place in the world could be a pain!

[bluevolt]

Driving in our country is fun in its own way. I do get frustrated because of the traffic jams, rash drivings and road rages experienced on day to day basis but when I get a chance to drive in early morning say 4am in a city like Delhi/Mumbai, one just can't express the joy of driving!

Last month I was in Mumbai and I really enjoyed driving a friend's Vento late night and the city was looking just saw awesome. I have experienced a completely different character of Delhi and Mumbai while driving in the wee hours.

Even day to day driving helps you concentrate, stay calm, tackle tricky traffic situations, staying alert and much more.

PS - A big thumbs up for this thread!

[luvDriving]

A big thanks for this wonderful thread !

Here is what I think about driving in India.

1. Do you love driving in India? IF YES, then continue,
Yes. Though I do not have any experience driving abroad, the fact the I simply love driving answers this as Yes.

2. What do you love the most about driving in this country?
As many others have put it, the variety ranges from no roads to mega highways. There are the western ghats with not a minute of straight driving involved and then there are the mega highways where you can cruise along for many a hours. It is never monotonous.

3. What has driving here, taught you?
Patience, of course. Also it has taught me that things are not what they seem - for example if someone suddenly comes close to you, it may be that someone else has forced that person to drive in that fashion. It has also taught me that rage, anger only raise your BP and heartbeats and do nothing else. I have yet to master this - once I was driving on my bike and overtaking a car. Suddenly the car pushed me towards the oncoming traffic (he was avoiding a deep pot-hole). I was very angry, gave chase and at the next signal asked him why was he driving that way. He folded his hands and said - "Sorry sir, Meri koi galti ho gayi kya ?". I did not know what to reply to such politeness and my anger vanished in a second. It has also taught me to never trust anyone to drive safe and always expect the unexpected. Lastly always keep scanning in each direction periodically to ward off unwanted surprises.

4. Bikers and off road enthusiasts. Please do tell us, what is unique to Indian driving conditions.
I have done quite a bit of biking, none of off roading thought. In traffic jams if you are on a bike, it is a very serious advantage. The unique thing is everyone expects you to drive like the devil


5. Feel free to describe some your best memories while driving here. I don't want to hear your travels (that's already covered in the travelogue section), just the good times.
Some of my best memories are driving with family / friends in the rains to places like Panshet, Mulshi - enjoying the rain and beautiful scenery, having a cup of tea and hot snacks in the rain.

[dgupta]

Great thread!
I have not had the privilege of driving in India extensively, but I have had some highly frustrating, blissful and hilarious moments on the road on occasional drives.

1. Do you love driving in India? Absolutely, it's much more involving than driving in UK. You are on your toes all the time. I have seen an improvement in my driving habits in India through my experience on UK roads, contrary to popular belief that once you drive in US/UK, you cannot drive again on Indian roads. Really not that difficult if you learn one very key aspect of driving from western countries. They call it "scanning and planning" in driving instructor lingo here. Pay attention and maintain enough distance from the car ahead of you, and you can avoid most pile up situations. As Simple-car said, you can always see the brake lights of 2 cars ahead of you, just paying attention to the right thing at the right time helps. Stay away from auto-rickshaws is my golden rule on Indian roads!

2. What do you love the most about driving in this country?
Stress management, fighter pilot levels of concentration keeps you from losing grey cells, but will definitely give you grey hair!

3. What has driving here, taught you?
Be patient and go out often, don't let the frustration and chaos stop you from driving.

4. Bikers and off road enthusiasts. Please do tell us, what is unique to Indian driving conditions. I am not into biking and off roading.
No experience here

4. Feel free to describe some your best memories while driving here. I don't want to hear your travels (that's already covered in the travelogue section), just the good times.
I remember this hilarious incident I was a part of in Mumbai a few years ago. I was waiting at a jam packed signal in Mulund just outside Nirmal Lifestyle. As usual, the bikers were swarming ahead between cars and buses to fill in spaces. I see a biker trying to squeeze between a bus and car in my RORVM. He passes that obstacle and now is trying to squeeze between my car and the BEST bus on my right. I watch patiently deciding not to fold my ORVM. As expected he touches it and folds it outwards and stops just around my bonnet. I lower the window to blast at him. Just then, I hear a loud but slow clap coming from above me and someone shouting "Waah uncle waah, aap to first aa gaye, kya kaam kiya hai" (Uncle, you just came first, we are proud of you!). I look up and see a bunch of college teenagers putting their hands out and clapping. This guy looks back and swears at them. Suddenly all the passengers sitting on the left windows start clapping loudly and cheering this guy . My anger vanished in a jiffy and I joined in. Needless to say "Uncle" zoomed from there asap. All of this in a matter of 60 seconds! I love Indian roads!

[Simple_car]

Originally Posted by Mnjdnght

2. What do you love the most about driving in this country?
The variety is just awesome... but I find that India has the best mix of all on any reasonably long drive.

Couldn't agree with you more

Originally Posted by thoma

Maybe it is time I take the car as a 'thing' and not a 'being'.

Dear thoma, don't be so disheartened. Things are not that bad yet. I think abirnale sir has explained it very beautifully below.

Originally Posted by abirnale

we get hurt because we are attached attached.

Money you put on the car is like money put on the road. So if you just keep something on road, anyone can claim ownership. So forget about it. I pondered upon it and recovered soon. I am still possessive about my cars but any minor or medium dents and scratches don't bother me. All i keep thinking is - let me be no reason to the mess and cause any harm to others.

Beautifully described sir. Thank you!

Originally Posted by shobhit.shri

Thanks for it

While others have covered most of the things, I would add that what I really enjoy about driving in Indian highways is the joy of stopping at secluded roadside eateries. I doubt I ever got better "customer service" at any other place!

No no, thank you for your contributions. The roadside eateries just add to the charm of driving on the Indian highways. Not to forget, they are really cheap and you get the warmest people serving you.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Driving in our country is fun in its own way.
Last month I was in Mumbai and I really enjoyed driving a friend's Vento late night and the city was looking just saw awesome. I have experienced a completely different character of Delhi and Mumbai while driving in the wee hours.

Driving in Bombay at night is just bliss. Its my stress-buster:-)

Originally Posted by luvDriving

2. What do you love the most about driving in this country?
It is never monotonous.

Very aptly put!

Originally Posted by dgupta

Great thread!
I have not had the privilege of driving in India extensively

Contrary to popular belief that once you drive in US/UK, you cannot drive again on Indian roads. Really not that difficult if you learn one very key aspect of driving from western countries. They call it "scanning and planning" in driving instructor lingo here. Pay attention and maintain enough distance from the car ahead of you, and you can avoid most pile up situations.

I remember this hilarious incident I was a part of in Mumbai a few years ago. I was waiting at a jam packed signal in Mulund just outside Nirmal Lifestyle. As usual, the bikers were swarming ahead between cars and buses to fill in spaces. I see a biker trying to squeeze between a bus and car in my RORVM. He passes that obstacle and now is trying to squeeze between my car and the BEST bus on my right. I watch patiently deciding not to fold my ORVM. As expected he touches it and folds it outwards and stops just around my bonnet. I lower the window to blast at him. Just then, I hear a loud but slow clap coming from above me and someone shouting "Waah uncle waah, aap to first aa gaye, kya kaam kiya hai" (Uncle, you just came first, we are proud of you!). I look up and see a bunch of college teenagers putting their hands out and clapping. This guy looks back and swears at them. Suddenly all the passengers sitting on the left windows start clapping loudly and cheering this guy . My anger vanished in a jiffy and I joined in. Needless to say "Uncle" zoomed from there asap. All of this in a matter of 60 seconds! I love Indian roads!

Hilarious incident indeed
Don't be surprised if you find me in such crowds. I love to tease such uncles.

I certainly agree that it is a myth that after driving in US/UK, you cannot drive here. I have learnt a lot of safe driving skills from there and now implement them here.

Thanks,
Simple_car

[Zed]

Im all for putting a positive spin on a bad situation and from that perspective I do relate to the spirit of the posts below. 'Driving in India is entertaining', 'Its not monotonous / theres never a dull moment, ' we can exercise our freedom' and so on. The question is when this 'thrilling adventure' goes bad, be it a scratch on your vehicle an injury or god forbid something worse, will these positive sentiments persist ?

Originally Posted by rajivr1612

Yes I love driving in India!!! I have been to Germany and Italy for company assignments and have been a passenger with my foreign colleagues on long drives. What I feel is their driving style is purely mechanical due to the overall discipline of the drivers and the general traffic situation. But here in our country we have to be super alert and it feels like mission accomplished when we reach from point A to B without a scratch or a dent. And I am proud of the fact that there are only two minor scratches (touchwood) that too on the bumper of my Liva since I started taking it to office in Feb this year

I beg to differ. What you describe as purely mechanical is a result of drivers in these countries being 'super aleart' as you describe it. You may not recognize this as a passenger but drivers are (as a result of training) constantly motoring what's in front / behind / besides their vehicles (ORVMs are not ornamental), their vehicle speeds (speed limits are not optional) and the distance they maintain to the vehicles in front (breaking distances are critical).

When you say that one needs to be 'super alert' in India what you are implying is that one needs to watch out for the deficiencies of fellow road users. Contrast this with 'super alert' in the European context as described above. The first scenario is being reactive and instinctive - which causes chaos since we don't train for reactions and instincts as opposed to the latter which is all about being proactive / disciplined which can only result if theres effective training and respect for traffic laws.

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

Nice topic.
Seeing the possibility of an accident about to happen was thrilling. But now it's horrifying. Only because I have been a part of a couple of major accidents. But it is this very love of driving, that too in India, that has never scared of taking the wheel again. There are enough negatives in life. Even an excellent road like the Yamuna Expressway becomes "boring", "dangerous", "noisy surface" etc.
Sam

Sam, your post is very pertinent. Its when things go bad we actually perceive the reality of the situation minus the rosy glasses. Noisy surface - constant noise can result in driver fatigue.

Originally Posted by anekho

Interesting thread!
On the annual trip to India, and as someone who has grown up and learnt driving in Sweden - I can honestly state: I enjoy driving here!There is a constant sense of dynamism. Everything is overwhelming, and to be honest an assault to the senses! To drive here effectively I have to focus far more than I would in Sweden, and I enjoy the challenge. I even find bottle neck traffic interesting because there's always a lot to look at. There is no monotony.

That said, I always have this nagging feeling in the back of my head about how one wrong move could prove itself fatal for a) someone else, b) the occupants in my car, c) myself. The margins of error are very narrow. It's like walking on a tight rope.

Exactly. So the question that begs to be asked is if the thrill is worth the risk. Id rather have a less thrilling ride with the knowledge that I will reach my destination safely.

Originally Posted by silverado

Driving in INDIA is a CREATIVE thing, you learn so many different things on road in order to drive safely. Indian roads bring the best out of you and your vehicle.

From what I have seen is that it tends to bring out the worst in people ! I guess what you mean is in terms of driving skills. Moving into small gaps in traffic, overtaking when theres a truck hurtling towards us and so on. But we wouldnt require these 'skills' in the fist place if driving in India became a lot more disciplined. And if our road were better designed and maintained.

Originally Posted by Arch-Angel

Simple_Car, please don't call me sir, i am only 23 . The foreign driving experience will have to wait for now, The onsite trip i am waiting for seems to be delayed. But really, we need some amount of optimism out there because we have a lot of good things here which many countries lack i.e freedom.

Driving with scant disregard for rules is NOT exercising freedom in my humble opinion. Perhaps you were implying something else and I missed the point.

This an interesting and though provoking thread - Thanks !

[anekho]

Originally Posted by Zed

Exactly. So the question that begs to be asked is if the thrill is worth the risk. Id rather have a less thrilling ride with the knowledge that I will reach my destination safely.

That was essentially what I was hoping to convey with my post. It is 'thrilling' but the risks involved are substantial and can not be ignored.

[rajivr1612]

Originally Posted by Zed

I beg to differ. What you describe as purely mechanical is a result of drivers in these countries being 'super aleart' as you describe it. You may not recognize this as a passenger but drivers are (as a result of training) constantly motoring what's in front / behind / besides their vehicles (ORVMs are not ornamental), their vehicle speeds (speed limits are not optional) and the distance they maintain to the vehicles in front (breaking distances are critical).

When you say that one needs to be 'super alert' in India what you are implying is that one needs to watch out for the deficiencies of fellow road users. Contrast this with 'super alert' in the European context as described above. The first scenario is being reactive and instinctive - which causes chaos since we don't train for reactions and instincts as opposed to the latter which is all about being proactive / disciplined which can only result if theres effective training and respect for traffic laws.

My apologies. My intention was not to say that drivers in Western countries are not alert while driving. The level of alertness required for us in India is much more inorder to negate the "deficiencies of fellow road users". But since a majority of the drivers in the western world are disciplined a driver can divert his alertness on following the traffic rules, watching road signs etc, whereas we have to constantly monitor the antics of our fellow road users. Thanks.

[JohnyBoy]

Originally Posted by Zed

Im all for putting a positive spin on a bad situation and from that perspective I do relate to the spirit of the posts below. ...

Simple_car's intention of creating this thread was to highlight the positives of driving in India. Not putting a positive spin on a bad situation. Your point starts from driving in India is bad. Yes, you may not enjoy driving in India and see it is a 'bad situation'. Respect your feeling. Please respect the intention of the OP also.

Completely agree with your points on thrilling adventure going bad, need for better maintained roads and more discipline and respect for traffic rules.
But that's not the point of this thread.

But we have numerous threads on why driving in India is bad or difficult. As someone pointed out, there is separate thread for Traffic rants for each city, topics on dealers and service centres cheating public, lack of consumer protection acts and people getting faulty cars etc etc... There are hundreds of such threads and there is only one thread trying to highlight the positives.

Borrowing Simple_car's words, I apologize, if I have crossed a line.

Just read opening post once more, Simple_car wrote
"I would like to hear from fellow bhpians,
1. Do you love driving in India? IF YES, then continue,"
.

[Arch-Angel]

Originally Posted by Zed

Driving with scant disregard for rules is NOT exercising freedom in my humble opinion. Perhaps you were implying something else and I missed the point.

I meant that in a more general way. I, for one am strictly against breaking rules. this is not to say i am 100% perfect. But the freedom i meant was in the literal sense and not advocating the 100s or 1000s of us who drive with scant regard to the rules or even tend to show the custodians of the law a finger at times(Believe me i have seen it...). Don't you think that our roads, no matter how potholed they are, give us this sense of being at home? I do wish the people in the city drive a little more orderly though.