[hema4saran]

Originally Posted by anand.shankar

I used to do this, I'll usually call my mom on the way to work, but I realised since my commute is fully b2b traffic and with the infinite # of morons on road at times i get irritated and the same tone gets reflected on the call as well.

Thankfully my drive is good interstates and toll road here except one stretch. So I just cruise at 70MPH for most of my journey.

Originally Posted by akshay4587

So; when are they supposed to use their washers?
At home????

They can use it whenever there is no one near especially in two wheelers. We should be considerate to other road users. It happened to me once when I was riding in Chennai. I was at a traffic snarl and the swift guy sprayed his windshield washer just like that. My light blue shirt was sprinkled with lot of water mixed with some kind of dirt. He immediately asked apology and I need to go back home to change my shirt.

Guess what, I did this to my wife twice when she was about to enter the car and I sprayed. She wears a spectacles and I got earful when I did for the second time .

[tp_dominator]

I lived in Ahmedabad for a while and if you know the city, the cimate is HOT the year round. So what do lady two wheeler riders of the city do? They put on layers of scarves and gloves to protect themselves from the heat (Sadly, very few users of helmets).

But the weirdest thing I saw was a few of them driving cars with the same protection from the sun as they do atop a two wheeler. And the funny thing was, I spotted a few not running their ACs so I think for them such protection is justified!

[landcruiser123]

Forgot to add this-
The reason why many auto drivers sit on the right half (or 2/3rd) of their seat and extend their left arm to control the steering is that they are so habituated to sitting in that position while sharing the seat with their instructors.
Heard this from an auto driver when I asked if he had some sort of backpain.

Originally Posted by harsha8253

Many drivers in b'lore have this bad habit of washing there windscreen in signals or during movement, this causes water to spill on the fellow riders nearby.

Originally Posted by akshay4587

So; when are they supposed to use their washers?
At home????

I think people need to be sensitized about this. Most other countries probably don't have many 2-wheelers sharing the road.
That being said, you got to wash your windscreen if you got to do it.

Originally Posted by dean5545

I have once seen a Motor Training school instructor drive the car from the passenger seat ! The driver seat was empty.

Guess he was feeling too lazy to switch seats.

Not sure how he did that- those cars generally only have brake + clutch on the left side.

[roadrunner_nv]

Originally Posted by R-Six

Come to Gujarat and you will find drivers opening the door and then spitting the “Pan Masala” residue on the road. They don’t do that through the window so that it doesn’t spoil their car but joyfully opens the door while driving and spit. It is very creepy to watch. And no, not only cab drivers, you can see this behaviour from individuals driving an Alto to Audi.

Sad, but true.

Not just Gujarat, here in Pune too. At every traffic light, you see scores of people from humble Altos to mighty Beemers doing the same thing. We are the dirtiest citizens any country can have. No respect for cleanliness, responsibility and hygiene.

[mohansrides]

Others have commented on meetings while driving. I have one to add. Some of this may be OT. But, I had to state it here because it's all part of the same story.

More than a decade ago, I was lead-footing it solo from LA to Miami. All my life's possessions were crammed into the boot and backseat of my 1999 Altima. I had just finished an internship in California and was coming back to school. It was a hot afternoon and I had just exited New Mexico and entered Texas. El Paso was in my rear view mirror when I found myself on a desolate stretch of Interstate 10. At that point, from something like to 2 pm and all the way to 3:15 PM, I had the car on cruise control while I gave a full job interview for a second internship. At that time, my car didn't have bluetooth and there were no smartphones or even phone holders (or at least I didn't have one). I had one of those Motorola flip phones that I had to put on speaker and hold close to my mouth. Great phone by the way. God I miss the times when things were simple.

Anyways, let's do the math; if I was cruising at 70 mph, I covered at least 85 miles while I was on this call. This wasn't a call where I could be a passive attendee. I had to answer probing questions and come out sounding enthusiastic and intelligent. Incidentally, I got the job. But, that's not important. When I look back at the incident, I am left with two thoughts.

a.) Throughout that entire call lasting 75 minutes and for a time much beyond that, I didn't pass and nor was I passed by, even one other car or truck. For hours together I had a 4 lane divided highway with superb surface quality all to myself!! Today, there is immense pressure on me from my office to move to the US. I am resisting it because I believe that India is the place for me at present. But, the memory of this call on I-10 in Texas does make me misty eyed. The call of the road is a strange thing indeed.

b.) The call didn't drop even once. There wasn't even static to be heard. Both parties heard each other loud and clear all through a 75 minute call. Seriously, that is amazing. Because almost 50% of my calls today, in 2019, drop. I have to redial all the time. I remember that at that time, Verizon used to run a commercial where they had this geeky looking guy walking in isolated spots saying "Can you hear me now?" into his phone to highlight Verizon's extensive coverage. After that day on I-10, I was a convert. Verizon had the coverage aspect in the bag for sure.


Epilogue:

Coming back to my drive; fast forward a few hours from my call, it was around 10 PM and I was still on Interstate 10 and still in Texas. Yes, I-10 is L-O-N-G and Texas is H-U-G-E. Anyways, I was hungry and exhausted; what with being on the road for more than 12 hours with only the briefest of breaks. But, I was determined to make it to Houston by midnight to crash at my friend's place. I certainly wasn't going to spend money on a motel. I was pushing my luck at 90 mph when I saw the dreaded flashers of a police cruiser on my IRVM. It was pitch black and this guy showed up out of nowhere. He told me that I was way over the speed limit and asked me for my L & R. He went back to this car, ran my plates and came up with nothing. When he came back to my car, his flashlight fell on my things in the back seat and I told him my story. Get this!! Not only did he not issue me a ticket (which by the way would have cost more than a motel room for the night). He cautioned me against driving while being less than alert. Then, he accompanied me to the next gas station 10 miles down the road and made sure that I stopped to get a cup of coffee. Then he peeled off, squealing tires and all.

Now THAT, is a remarkable memory for me.

[Akshitsi]

I have come across such things people do while driving. Once i saw this driver playing Candy Crush on his phone on a very busy road. Not just playing, but he had all this attention to his phone and was totally ignoring the road ahead.

Other instance was when this guy was watching some cricket match on his phone while driving. Some people are so distracted while driving that they don't even realize if someone is honking or giving them the dipper.

[Tassem]

I once had someone slow down for me at a pedestrian crossing in Bangalore.

Strangest thing I ever saw. Changed my life.

Jokes apart - I once saw a full grown cow being transported inside a Fiat Siena. And no, I don't mean it figuratively. It was a real cow.

[mukeshgoel]

Originally Posted by Tassem

I once saw a full grown cow being transported inside a Fiat Siena.

I saw a similar (almost) video on youtube where a cow was "stolen" and transported in an Indica (?).

https://youtu.be/Lv3By0lfNrI

[Nomad_Wind]

Although a majority of two wheeler riders ride without a helmet, I've noticed this peculiar trend among those riding with a helmet. They jam their mobiles inside the helmet! I find it amusing and dangerous at the same time.

[KrisTvpm]

Originally Posted by Nomad_Wind

Although a majority of two wheeler riders ride without a helmet, I've noticed this peculiar trend among those riding with a helmet. They jam their mobiles inside the helmet! I find it amusing and dangerous at the same time.

This is a common trend seen around here in Bengaluru & seen it in Mumbai as well, so guess this must be pretty common Indian behaviour. While using public-transport/office-cab for commute when I'm not checking mobile/reading a book, one of my favourite pastimes is to check out the cars/bikes on road. Invariably will find around 5 guys in a single journey with phones shoved up their helmet. These guys will be paying more attention to the call, rather than the proceedings on the road, making it dangerous for others too.

How I wish the mobile falls down from its precarious perch and these guys learn a lesson! But no, with the variety of cheapo mobiles available, they will have a replacement in a day and resume status-quo

[Nomad_Wind]

Well the "mobile shoved in helmet" people are pretty careless about their own safety, I highly doubt that the loss of a phone would bring them any sense.

[KrisTvpm]

Originally Posted by mukeshgoel

I saw a similar (almost) video on Youtube where a cow was theft and transported in an Indica (?).

OMG, what was that!?

The remaining b/w cow seems more concerned & agitated than the morons who emerged out of the shop! How could they not have seen it when it's happening, either they were colluding with thieves or dar-ke-maare didn't venture out !?

[nikhilarni]

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

Another friend of mine never puts the car in reverse right away in the morning. He has to put the car in the first gear and move it an inch forward, before he backs it up. The theory is that if you back up in the morning, you are destined to lose or go backwards in life.

I too do this, esp the first time I start the car. I move the car just a tad bit in front, pause for a couple of seconds, and then reverse.

My dad told me this and I would observe him do it too.

My reasons are not technical at all. Its to alert me if,
1. Any dog / cat is under the car, will get up and go. I don't want to run over them
2. If there is any obstacle under the tyre ( stone etc ), the little movement will alert me of it.

Those were my reasons for doing that. I also do this if I have parked in an area for an extended period of time.

[avisidhu]

Haven't seen it with my own eyes, but a certain sect in Punjab is famous for using their Pajeros to transport sacks of cow feed from the farm to the dairy, and this was almost a decade back. Apparently, this was the only task the Pajeros were purchased for. Wouldn't be surprised if some German SUVs do the honors now!

Anyway, fairly well to do families in Punjab use their Fortuners frequently to bring agricultural produce like sacks of vegetables, livestock or dairy produce from farms to home.

Might seem weird by Indian standards of putting these SUVs at a certain pedestal, but seems like an apt usage of these machines

[skchettry]

What do some drivers do if a cat crosses their path? Well, I have seen it at some places in Assam. Stop the car (of course it's done on not so busy places), reverse it by a few metres, make a cross (X) in the air with the index finger touching the windscreen, spit (symbolic) three times out of the window and drive ahead, cursing the cat with the choicest of words!