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-   -   Lousy Road practices on Chennai - B'lore Highway (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/20148-lousy-road-practices-chennai-blore-highway.html)

Last week I made a trip to Yelagiri and took the Chennai / Bangalore Highway. Came across the following idiotic practices on the highway.

1. Mobikes and other vehicles coming on the wrong side and in the inner lane (along side the median). I was doing 100 + and had to react and move to the middle lane to let them pass.

2. Slow Moving vehicles in the inner lane. When I honked, one guy made such a peculiar sign which I had to understand that he will not move and I have to move to the outer lane. One car refused to move over and I had to over take him from the left hand side and I did that only after giving choisest explectives.

3. Center barrier broken at many places to let bullocks carts cut right through the high way.

4. Hyundai has conveniently occupied all the lanes for a short stretch to let their transport vehicles park. Traffic was diverted to other side of the highway, causing traffic jam.

5. Vehicles straddling two lanes and one had to honk a lot to make them move to one lane.

In India, most of the Motoring Schools teach people only how to drive a vehicle. Not necessarily on the road. I don't think most of these guys know anything beyond Steering Wheel, Clutch Pedal, Brake Pedal and Accelarator Pedal when it comes to driving.

Most of what I have mentioned, I am sure, is quite common on other highways.

I agree ... on the Motoring School thing ... thats exactly why they are called Driving School's .. they Teach one How to Drive period, they dont impart any driving sense ....

Also add this one .... Two OverLaden Lorries competing with each other while Climbing Uphill @ 30 KMPH ... Practically no way to overtake them though you can move faster .... Its Damn Irritating ..

You might want to read the thread by Landcruiser

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...my-fiesta.html

Also the state buses coming towards you which try to run you over while overtaking another vehicle.
They have absolutely no botheration for oncoming traffic.

Highway discipline is very rare.

Even on the 4 lane mysore road, i end up overtaking every slow vehicle from the left. After slowing down, flashing 10 times, honking 5 times have to move to the left an pass by.

Funny thing is i end up getting abused for flashing and honking.

Once a guy in a sumo has abused me saying i was blind that i coudnt see the left lane empty to pass through.

i just dont know what to say to these people. Hurling abuses doesnt help only makes you feel better. those guys will continue to do it even if you beat them with a stone and try to teach them.

The highways as many has experienced are really dangerous particularl in the night. I have travelled in the chennai-bangalore highway so many times both during day and night.

I am aware of all the stupid possibilities of getting into an accident over there. But still I couldnt avoid one accident to myself. However careful you are it is hard to escape the morons on the highway.

There are many who drive "safely" in the middle of the road with each left and right wheels and each lane. It is really hard to predict which way they will dive. And there are morons without any spatial sense who dont know where they are and cant look at the side mirrors and also take care of the vechicle direction. They just swerve.

Once you are entering the towns like vellore, krishnagiri be more careful as school children used to run across sometimes. In india as soon as one sees a car on the highway they run across (cause everyone aims to win a gold medal in olympics)

Best option will be to keep the speeds around 80-100.

What you have mentioned is common on most roads in the country; not only on highways.

Re. driving school, today i noticed a driving school instructing a learner how to drive on the wrong side of the road...... the driving school was Saga* Driving school

People approach driving school just to aviod hassiles with RTO office for getting DL.

for example, I asked my wife how was the DL test, she said most of the time she did not know what was happening with the car. The instructor was controlling from passenger seat -- other than Steering and Accelerator with inspector sitting on back seat.

She now drives in Bangalore!!! Just imagine there are 100's of them on our roads!!.

what to say. Just live with that!

Yes it is no different elsewhere. The government has decided to invest in infrastructure without educating people on how to use it properly.

It will be the same even if we have 10 lanes on either side of the highway. Sad, but this is the truth - we dont deserve good highways.

Thats nothing - during my test, the RTO inspector himself asked me to back out of a lane into the main road so that the next guy could take over! At first I thought it was a 'trick question' but the guy was serious!:Frustrati

nope, if we had 10 lanes, we would be driving on our sides. LOL.

Let me quote my worst experience on this highway.
Heading to chennai ,was stopped by the cops on the highway for over an hour.
Reason ????
Some school kids cycle rally. What da hell :Frustrati ? How can someone simply use the GQ for school kids cycle rallies??? Even the service roads were closed and traffic stopped.

My only suggestion on this road is to stick to the center lane. You drive on the extreme right every possibilty that you will find a moron cycling near the median and heading towards you in the opp' direction.

Educating people is going to be a hard task. There are other higher priorities for the people as well as goverment. For example during the rainy season this year the municipal guys dug my street across to let the water pass. I shouted at them asking how can I take the car into my street. The answer was simply there are people who are stranded with water inside their homes and you are worried about your luxury car being in water. eh!

I wont say he is wrong. But I also need to live in this country and my interests also need to be protected (more so being a tax payer).

In the chennai-bangalore highway via chitoor there is a interesting check post just somewhere near chitoor. I used to come back from bangalore late night during this route (during 2004 whent he GQ was not yet complete). These guys used to stop me (by coming across the road suddenly and waving their hands/torch) and ask where I am coming from and where I am going to. (For this I always used to confuse. when I am traveling towards chennai and they ask me where I am coming from I will reply "chennai").

Then they will ask for some money. They are also drunk. So I gave Rs.30 once. Second time also I gave Rs.40. The third time this happened I got very bold and I asked them why do they have to stop cars and inspect. That check post is to check lorries mainly to find out smuggling etc. Then they said "OK sir you can go". :-)

After that I never gave money to them.

Its the same case with the Nort GQ also, people travel on the wrong side of the GQ, Cattles cross the roads suddenly, people cross the Highways as if walking in the gardens. All the slow moving traffic occupies the right most lane (so called fast lane). Cars refuse to give side for overtaking. You are forced to overtake from the left.
Its also the same case here on the Mum-Pune Expressway, seen the same in the baroda expressway also.
I normally use the right most lane for overtaking purposes only. Sticking to the middle/left lane otherwise on Highways. Seems like ..will have to give up the habbit or cant survive..

LandCruiser... that check post, ostensibly, must be for checking liquor. You will notice quite a few when you are leaving Pondicherry. Last month, they waved to stop me. I Stopped, unbuckled the seat belt, switched off the audio / AC, opened the door and got out. They simple said 'OK, you may go'. Could'nt figure out their cognitive abilities.

Its the same case with the Nort GQ also, people travel on the wrong side of the GQ, Cattles cross the roads suddenly, people cross the Highways as if walking in the gardens. All the slow moving traffic occupies the right most lane (so called fast lane). Cars refuse to give side for overtaking. You are forced to overtake from the left.
Its also the same case here on the Mum-Pune Expressway, seen the same in the baroda expressway also.
I normally use the right most lane for overtaking purposes only. Sticking to the middle/left lane otherwise on Highways. Seems like ..will have to give up the habit or cant survive..