[suhaas307]

I can't speak for other cities, but infra in Bangalore CBD has drastically improved thanks to TenderSURE.

There used to be a time when pavements and walkways were non existent, and this was a major draw back for the CBD, because of the sheer number of offices, schools and colleges dotted around the CBD, all within a kilometer of each other. Students and office goers had to routinely dodge buses, two wheelers and cars. TenderSURE has improved the situation for pedestrians a great deal!

Church Street in particular has been given a total make over, and it looks absolutely fantastic and nearly unrecognizable now.

TenderSURE was also supposed to address the waterlogging issues as well, but it seems like it hasn't been resolved. The civic bodies will have to revisit this issue. Nevertheless, TenderSURE has given the city's CBD a much needed facelift.

[saurabh2711]

Another great topic to discuss after the "Trucker's plight" thread. Many thanks Sajo.

Something unique that I see on these highway toll plazas now a days, that was not visible earlier. I am surprised to see Lady toll collectors, (which was mainly male dominated) even in night shifts. I see these at PimpleGaon on NH3 & the Shinde Toll Plaza before Nashik, while coming from Pune. I am sure there are more.

The concepts of "City- ByPass" has led to increased real estate prices. But boy, does these bypasses save your time. Unbelievable. These Bypasses give a completely new direction to the growth of the city. Every new facility automatically starts developing in the vicinity of the ByPass. Not Bad.
But this has a flip side as well. The existing businesses on Old highways, within cities are destroyed. But development does comes at a cost.

We can have Pit-stops at will & have some dedicated spots as well. This is resulting in Increased employment.
+1 to "Nav-i-Gator". Better roads are leading to Genuine development which is Leading to increased urbanization.

Last but not the least > "Could have been worse" >> Safer & better roads, less drive fatigue due to better roads, reduced travel time (minus the time on toll plazas).

Some Sarcasm (if I am allowed to) - When we say better roads, most of them have tolls. Now the toll plazas leave no stones unturned to destroy the time that you covered on the beautiful stretch of roads that you just came driving in from last toll plaza. . God forbid if you are on "Fast Tag".
Well that itself is some fun, in its own way.

[proton]

Originally Posted by Ohh!Oxygen

I think its a myth that the unruly traffic is a time killer. We tend to overplay the traffic issue on Indian roads. Grass always seems greener on the other side.
Don't shoot me yet.

I will share my thought from my two experiences.

1. 101 Freeway in California - I have been driving in this highway since last 10+ years probably 2-3 weeks every year. Traffic is horrible and degrading every year. 1 hr for 10 miles at least in peak traffic for the usual stretch. All roads are top notch, good lane discipline. Empty spaces for emergency services etc. I believe in Indian way of travel we can probably move 2X traffic at 10% more time. I am talking this purely from my experience and no stats to back it up. So I tend to think we make the best use of the resources.

2. Thailand (Bangkok, Pataya) - Very similar scarcity of roads. Too many vehicles and too less road but its very disciplined. No honking or lane change magic and no chaos at all.
What I have observed the average traffic speed is much slower than that of India. Once I missed a flight.

I've used the 101 while commuting daily to Pasadena. The gridlock starts at the ramp!

My friend from Korea loves to drive in India. He pays an average of 500USD a month in fines in Seoul because the Highway Patrol pursuit cars are so strict there!

No such hassle in India. He bought a Bolero and even the auto drivers are scared of him!

Too much control is bad, even pushing up cost of living, as their high medical care costs bloated by doctors protecting themselves with liability insurance will testify. As my friend says, there should be a via media.

[DriverR]

Lovely nostalgia thread.

For all my cribs on our roads and traffic sense, there is always the positive side that makes me want to drive more and more.

1. Scenic beauty: Each state in India have their own unique natural beauty around their highways that that covers all natural terrains, be it agricultural fields, hills, coast, river, etc. This makes driving so much wonderful. Having driven in Southern (excluding Kerela) and Eastern India (excluding Arunachal), with a bit on the Western Ghats as well, I have seen such wonderful natural scenery that had ignited my passion for highway driving. The sight of the rising sun over the horizon in front of the road or besides the road is a sight to behold.

2. Stop and Go: I love the ability to stop at any point on a highway to admire the scenery, have a pitstop of just for a lunch. twenty years back when there were not many dhabas or hotels along the highway, we would stop at an nice shady spot along the highway and have a lunch break of our home packed food. While this activity has stopped in the recent past with the higher availability of eateries/hotels, I had a chance to relive my childhood memories recently when we drove across Assam and stopped besides a bubbling river along the road to have our home packed breakfast. Best breakfast ever!

3. Helpful Truckers: By and large, I believe truckers in India are fairly reliably in terms of their road discipline and helpfullness. I have had help from truckers in the past when my vehicle broke down in the middle of the highways, and they are also pretty reliable in signally when it is safe to pass/overtake them. I sadly cannot say the same for the bus drivers!

4. Lively traffic : As mentioned by others, the traffic on our city roads are always very lively. This makes even a traffic stop interesting at times. From Hawkers to beggers to me glaring at other vehicles for some crazy reason such as kids jumping about the car or an overloaded vehicle/auto. There is always something interesting happening around you.

5. Helpful city drivers : While this may not always be true, but at times there are some drivers who are helpful when conditions are bad such as rains. I myself normally don't give lift to people, but many years back, once at around 10 at night when i was returning home in the monsoons, a guy was motioning for a lift. Looking at the rains and the non-visibility of autos, I made a quick decision to do something different and stopped and gave him a lift close to where he wanted to go. I have also come across news articles of auto drivers to go out of their way to help their passengers.

[landcruiser123]

Two things cut it for me:
1. Scenery: Each and every highway is unique, making for a different sight everywhere
2. Food: Some of the best food has to be in the highway side restaurants. Although this is losing its charm in busy corridors like Bangalore-Chennai.
3. Helpful locals: (most cases) Help is never too far away. Locals are generally very helpful in case of accidents/breakdowns/punctures. There are some rotten eggs though.

Not sure about the situation now- but my dad tells me about how it is very easy to get cell phone signal in Indian highways, unlike in US (when he used to drive regularly.)

[gatsby_great]

following are my observations regarding Indian roads:
- good number of exits/diversions, which, despite of slowing the traffic flow, provide alternate routes in case of traffic jams/road repairs etc. I have experienced this several times on Punjab and Haryana roads.
- highway dhabas, vehdors, repairshops and fuel stations make the trip planning easier. We always know that the things would be available nearby in the time of need.
- Indian roads and highways could be a means of instilling an early maturity in a driver given that so many challenges, road conditions and different people( and drivers) are encountered on any trip.

[rrsteer]

The biggest reason why I love travelling by road in India is - FREEDOM!
On the other hand, there are so many restrictions in developed countries around what you can do and what you can't do on the road.

A special mention for the highway experience in Punjab:
An equally important part and one I think I enjoy most on the highways in Punjab is the Dhaba experience. Its not just the food part, its the feeling of being taken care of and being made to feel special and that someone is going out of the way to make you feel happy. A sincere dhaba owners never fails to do it. And mostly the owner is a retired serviceman. And whats more Punjab highways are the only place where I WILL stop at 1am in the night with the ladies in tow to have some lip smacking daal with tandoori rotis.

Coincidently, this picture below was taken just this past Sunday @ around 1am when we stopped at a dhaba near Balachaur on the way back home from Chandigarh. Delicious food, nip in the air, stillness by the road, family together...what more could I ask for.

[Asish_VK]

Driving in India is like watching a perfect thriller movie. Intense , Engaging, Thrilling, Scary and Some times Shocking. But surprisingly Satisfying . You will never have a dull moment.

Every drive is an event

[Santoshbhat]

Fantastic thread! We tend to get so preoccupied with criticising that we forget the positive aspects.

Which country can boast of such diversity in nature and cultures? Just the thought of getting out there is a stress buster for me.

One observation I have made is that offlate road making technology has improved vastly. Wherever fresh tar is being laid, the quality is far superior to what it used to be. Atleast this is what I have observed in Karnataka. Some internal and rural parts which never used to have good roads have some of the most mouthwatering surfaces to drive on.

Ofcourse then we have the big highways. Distances don't have to scare us now.

[chin2_2much]

Barring one Sri Lanka Trip in 2011 where I was on road for 4 days in a hired Taxi and a Singapore Trip in 2017 for some office work, I have never been to a foreign land and thus can't comment on what experiences road trips in EU or USA offer.

From whatever I have read in wonderful travelogues on Team BHP, one thing is for sure, no trip in US or EU can offer you a scene like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ9E...ature=youtu.be

Dash Cam on my Ecosport recorded it during my trip to Kausani in 2015. Let's just say you can't keep out a determined passenger out of the bus, ticket or no ticket.

[pranavGTI]

Thanks for this fantastic thread.

I have also driven in Europe and U.S. I'll compare U.S roads and Indian Roads. I personally feel the drive experience in U.S is so monotonous - same speed, similar cars and similar food. This makes me feel so boring.

I feel more lively when i drive in India. I have couple reasons.
1. It is always exciting and fun to drive in our roads. Esp with MT.
2. It is always easy to guess the vehicle's behaviour , which is infront of you as well as the opposite lane vehicle (in roads without divider).
3. While there is no minimum speed limit in Indian Highways, one can drive very slowly too.
4. If you drive along villages, you can easily get help from them. (Directions, local food, stay, most important if your car is broke)
5. You get opportunity to try eating different varieties of food if you do cross-state driving. (If I drive from Tamilnadu to Pune, I have opportunity to eat food from 3 states and numerous varieties)

[giri1.8]

Biggest plus I see is not having to spend money on cars/bikes with huge HP figures to have fun Just 20Bhp bike or 1.5L diesel is good enough to have a thrilling and engaging ride.

[anshumandun]

In India, people care for my vehicle's battery and mileage. I can never ever make the mistake of driving around with my headlight ON in the daytime. People will see the headlight ON and make the rotating-flashing round hand gesture to remind me of my mistake. I am so thankful!

Govt decided to implement AHO and create chaos on the road! But no worries, AHO-OFF switch is a hot selling after-market accessory now.

[srishiva]

My friends and relative who come here for vacation drive have one word, Freedom. You can enjoy it while being a safe and rule abiding driver.
Then you have the food aspect. Road to Mysuru is a food street for 120 kms ! Except restroom facilities (which is where freedom helps ), most roads even in rural areas are very enjoyable and not boring.

[outofthebox]

Great topic and a great diversion from the morbid road accident stats on Indian roads. As a biker and a focus on expressway trips comparing my experience of developed countries, these are my top 3:

1. Immense sense of freedom - no fear of highway cops, no speed traps etc
2. A blast of clean air and blue skies as soon as one leaves city limits. This contrast is getting wider every year.
3. India has a very beautiful and highly underrated countryside. Sights along some routes are just magical. We may not be able to compete in terms of city architectures etc but the natural beauty on offer is top notch. Better than most IMO.

A bonus is the very colourful trucks and the witty messages on their bumpers along the way!

I'm definitely enjoying my Indian highway runs!