[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by saumil

n_c what were you doing in mulund ?

And its such a good feeling when you cross the sion flyover where you dont have to see these roaches !

Then we get to face the yellow/black taxis, which I feel are worse then the autos by a large margin. Frankly living in India, we do need to anticipate and drive carefully, for example never try to overtake a bus in fast lane, through his left, he might turn left to reach a bus stop

Digressing a bit, does anyone have any idea why the south indian truckers (ka, ap, kl, tn) drive sticking to the fast lane in any divided highway? Any special reasons for this? All the MH drivers do stick to their slow lanes. Ive been irritated continusly by the south indian truckies, from hyd to mumbai, driving in fast lane at 40kmph

[w 12]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh.C

Once he went and broke the indicators of a car with his gun butt as the driver turned into my colleague's lane without using the turn signal indicator.
Seems he just took out his gun went screaming at the guy "why do you need an indicator? you dont seem to use it anyway and broke both the mirrors"..when he broke both the indicators.

This is road rage at its worst.

What if the other driver also comes out screamiing with a gun, this time a loaded one ?

Would love to see your friend in person brandishing a gun in public roads here..he can easily cool his heels at the nearest lock up on an attempt to murder case for years..does not matter even if his gun is licensed and unloaded. He will get sufficient time and exercise in the lock up to cool his tempers down.

[sreenivass]

Well I agree with some of the guys suggesting defensive driving, being watchful for autos, taxis, etc.. I have not been able master this art since I can look at only one direction at any given time. How does one manage to look for a pedestrian jumping in the middle showing stop, an auto rick taking a U from left/ middle lane and a biker cutting in front and braking. I can not see how one manages this many views with a pair of eyes. I think there is a lot of luck element in Indian traffic, the only best option is to pray as hard as one can

One of the basic lessons in driving is to look at the path, not objects in the way. With the kind of suddenness of manoeuvres some of the folks make, its very hard to deal with one vehicle in the way, It would not be possible to drive with many such folks around the vehicle.


Any practical suggestions are welcome (the scenario may be slightly better on highways, but city traffic sucks whatever indian city it is).

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

PS: Eastern express highway does have a clearly written speed limit (60kmph) for cars, so when the author of this thread was at 70+kmph, it was he who was breaking the law, sorry but the law will take this stand.

and how many people stick to the speed limits? the author broke the speed limit so he is at fault? what about you? do you stick to the 40kmph road limits and the 80kmph road limits?

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

and how many people stick to the speed limits? the author broke the speed limit so he is at fault?

Yes, I'm afraid that WOULD be the legal stand!
And how about you? You do not subscribe to following the law, or are you above it?
My question is as valid as yours (post # 79)!

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by sreenivass

With the kind of suddenness of manoeuvres some of the folks make, its very hard to deal with one vehicle in the way, It would not be possible to drive with many such folks around the vehicle.

You NEED a driver for the present.
Please do not venture out on to the roads if that is how you really feel.
It's not as difficult as you make it sound. Many here have an accident-free record over many tens of years of driving. And without ever having been late for a meeting!

[Venkatesh.C]

Originally Posted by w 12

This is road rage at its worst.

What if the other driver also comes out screamiing with a gun, this time a loaded one ?

Would love to see your friend in person brandishing a gun in public roads here..he can easily cool his heels at the nearest lock up on an attempt to murder case for years..does not matter even if his gun is licensed and unloaded. He will get sufficient time and exercise in the lock up to cool his tempers down.

1 subtle point. He is a colleague. not a friend.
Agreed. It is perhaps the worst form of road rage. I cant imagine what would happen if he just pushes it beyond the limit and pulls the trigger at some one.
I found it funny coz he drives a Ki-HO and for that he gets so enraged. Wonder what he would do if is driving an Innova. Maybe he would fit in a sawed off howitzer in the backseat

[normally_crazy]

@ apache

So I broke the speed limit by 10 kmph - I am guilty of that and what did the auto driver do ?

Simply innocently drove in a 45 degree angle at 15 kmph from the slow left most lane to the overtaking lane when there were cars coming at 60 kmph in a straight line (which is how vehicles are to be driven IMO). Was that not breaking the law ?Or are the guys who were driving straight on the highway inside their lane markers wrong ?

Oh I forgot - poor guy was without headlamps and tail lights - isn't that the basic requirements of driving a vehicle ?

Oh and I forgot to tell you he wasn't wearing his uniform - which is ok ? There is a law for that but I guess it does not apply to auto drivers.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

It's not as difficult as you make it sound. Many here have an accident-free record over many tens of years of driving. And without ever having been late for a meeting!

So it just means their luck didnt run out as yet, and they have been saying their prayers on time. Some day, Lady Luck will take a day off, and that unblemished record will go for a toss.

Sad, but thats how life on our roads has become. its only a question of 'when'.

[sreenivass]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

You NEED a driver for the present.
Please do not venture out on to the roads if that is how you really feel.
It's not as difficult as you make it sound. Many here have an accident-free record over many tens of years of driving. And without ever having been late for a meeting!

I do not think even a driver can guarantee accident free record. I have not had any major accidents either or been to a meeting late. I am not alone in thinking the traffic is absolutely chaotic. All the driver driven cars of colleagues have had more dents/ scratches/ accidents than mine.

My intention is not to get in to an argument, but its not necessarily ones capability that matters. One can not cover up for others mistakes and stupid driving.

May be we are going off-topic here. I am afraid we are going off topic here, so have cut it short.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

@ apache

So I broke the speed limit by 10 kmph - I am guilty of that and what did the auto driver do ?

Simply innocently drove in a 45 degree angle at 15 kmph from the slow left most lane to the overtaking lane when there were cars coming at 60 kmph in a straight line (which is how vehicles are to be driven IMO). Was that not breaking the law ?Or are the guys who were driving straight on the highway inside their lane markers wrong ?

Oh I forgot - poor guy was without headlamps and tail lights - isn't that the basic requirements of driving a vehicle ?

Oh and I forgot to tell you he wasn't wearing his uniform - which is ok ? There is a law for that but I guess it does not apply to auto drivers.

Mate, intention was not to point out your mistake. At the godrej signal, several times, we have people crossing roads adhoc, bikers turing into accenture etc, which do cause accidents. similarly at the pedistrian overbridge on ee at vikhroli, people run across 6 lanes of traffic!!!!. If you had heard the bystanders talking about the crash, u wud have heard the line' the rickshaw was turning, the car came at great speed!!......, you get the message

[amit]

Eastern express highway does have a clearly written speed limit (60kmph) for cars, so when the author of this thread was at 70+kmph, it was he who was breaking the law, sorry but the law will take this stand.

So I broke the speed limit by 10 kmph

Factor in speedo error and the actual speed may well have been 60kmph.

In no country of the world other then our great nation, would anyone be charged for doing 10 kmph over the speed limit.

I have driven 20kmph over the limit on city roads abroad with a cop following me and never was I flagged down. I have driven through a camera controlled traffic light that turned amber abroad a couple of times and never once did I get a ticket. There is a practical aspect to interpreting law which sadly doesn't happen in our country.

If there was an accident it would be reported as "overspeeding car carshes into auto. Suspected drunk driving claims life of innocent auto driver."

[manaa45]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

PS: Eastern express highway does have a clearly written speed limit (60kmph) for cars, so when the author of this thread was at 70+kmph, it was he who was breaking the law, sorry but the law will take this stand.

please be kind to tell me who follows traffic rules here in india. because there is no harsh punishment to scare them from doing so. secondly you can drive at 90 kmph and still drive safely. it all depends on you. but here in india everybody knows you can get away by just greasing the palms of that havaldar with a mere 50 or sometimes even 20 rs.

i feel that it is just the responsibility of the driver to be careful while he drives and be alert at all times. because the bottom line is law never takes its stand in india. period

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Digressing a bit, does anyone have any idea why the south indian truckers (ka, ap, kl, tn) drive sticking to the fast lane in any divided highway? Any special reasons for this? All the MH drivers do stick to their slow lanes. Ive been irritated continusly by the south indian truckies, from hyd to mumbai, driving in fast lane at 40kmph

Wow another person noticed it!! Its true moment you see south indian plate you are 90% ensure you will have to take the LT side for overtaking

but here in india everybody knows you can get away by just greasing the palms of that havaldar with a mere 50 or sometimes even 20 rs.

Fine them heavy with proper chalans, thats the only way things will improve.

100$ Tab is not taken easy by Americans Nor Rs 1000 by Indians, but then we need to have highly paid cops in first place

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by manaa45

please be kind to tell me who follows traffic rules here in india. because there is no harsh punishment to scare them from doing so. secondly you can drive at 90 kmph and still drive safely. it all depends on you. but here in india everybody knows you can get away by just greasing the palms of that havaldar with a mere 50 or sometimes even 20 rs.

i feel that it is just the responsibility of the driver to be careful while he drives and be alert at all times. because the bottom line is law never takes its stand in india. period

Manna, please check the conditions in Delhi, NCR and esp Chandigarh. People (motorists) are scared of cops, challans, courts, cameras, and they to a large extent follow the rules. My driver in Chandigarh was too scared to step over 50kmph at any given place, due to the cops and their speed traps. So if the law is strict, it works. And how many times will one want to grease the pandus in a day? Sorry to see this attitude of greasing the palms, if we are so ok with this, why expect the call center cabbies, or autowallas to be more traffic sensitive????????