[getsurya]

In Hyd everybody is connected to somebody in the echelons of higher society/politicos etc. I myself have heard people on being caught asking the traffic cop 'tumko maloom mai kiska aadmi hoon?'. Unless this stupid attitude of people changes, nothing will improve.

The city is much better this side of civilization. Old city, Nallakunta, Amberpet, secunderabad station etc are worse. There is no driving sense at all.

Only one rule works MIGHT IS RIGHT!!

[huntrz]

The less said about the hyderabad traffic, the better. Traffic police is the last person hyderabadis respect or are afraid of, personally I have seen people pushing traffic guys, taking a U turn(coz there was the patrol vehicle , Qualis, was blocking the way) and speeding away at 1.00 in the night and the traffic guys(there were around 10 of them) were least bothered to catch the guy and teach him a lesson. this happened at somajiguda circle. Seriously these traffic guys need to have some self respect first, only then can we expect them to do their jobs. Roads here are meant to be driven on without any concept of rigt or wrong side.

Originally Posted by straightdrive

Some specific places – 1. Going from Cancer Hospital to Jubilee Hills Checkpost, there is a signal (where the TDP office is). A right turn takes you to Punjagutta and the road straight ahead to Checkpost.

2. Road No.1 Banjara Hills, going from Taj Krishna to Masab Tank. At the City Centre Mall junction, only people turning right to Road No.10 stop for the red signal.

3. Road No.2 Banjara Hills, going from Nagarjuna Circle to LV Prasad Hospital. At the signal where a right takes you to Srinagar Colony, people going straight to LV Prasad don’t bother about the signal.

All the 3 places you mentioned donot have a left turn and in such a case left lane will lead you straight and unless otherwise specified, left is always free. If the left is not free there has to be a sign for it at the crossing.

[Ravveendrra]

I have been driving in Hyderabad for about 20 years now, initially I had nightmares about it. But things have actually gotten worse over the years!

Before I proceed further let me clarify on Straightdrive's query - All extreme left lanes are free turns in Hyderabad unless specified otherwise. (If the lane is not blocked by guys who are turning right.)

I am setting out below some of my more common experiences in Hyderabad-

1. Pedestrians casually stepping out in front of you. When screamed at - he nonchalantly replies "Haat dikhaya na! - Haath nahi dikhtha kya?" My only reply is "Tereko 10 foot ka gaadi nahin dikhta - to mereko 4 inch ka haath kab dikhna?!"

2. At any intersection or junction - 90% of the guys in the right lane are going left and 90% of the guys in the left lane will turn right. You win the game if you can guess which one is going where!

3. At signals, people will stop only well after the light turned red and will start much before the light turns green.

4. 'Keep left' and 'one way' are strictly optional and in any case such rules by convention and custom do not apply to bicycles, cycle rickshaws etc. so watch out for them on both sides of any road.

5. No one stops at the stop line, if they do, it is merely the start line for a race to creep forward into a vantage position where they can hold up the traffic behind.

6. If you are the first to stop at a traffic signal two things happen - (1) someone rams into your rear end, and, (2) In about 2 seconds you will be about the 10th vehicle in line - courtesy the guys who cut in front of you from the sides.

7. The guy who cuts in front of you (as in 6 above) at the signal will be driving a much slower vehicle and/or he will then proceed to have a long conversation with his passenger or on a cell phone much after the light has turned green or his vehicle will refuse to start.

8. The centre lane is the 'slow lane' for use by autorickshaws, city buses etc. the extreme left lane is for use by hawkers, pedestrians, etc. the rest of us have to manage as best as we can.

9. Each man on the road is on a mission of life or death, therefore no one pulls over to let ambulances pass.

10. No one dips their headlights at night.

11. Zebra crossings and school zone boards exist merely as decoration on our otherwise drab roads.

12. Hyderabadis do not walk - hence vehicles will stop directly in front of the shop they wish to visit (never mind that there are already 2 rows of vehicles parked there).

13. If you park your car at the kerb, by the time you return, someone else will have parked behind you and boxed you in.

14. Double parking is passe, the norm is parking in three or even four rows - the worst offenders being the lal batti or lal patti government vehicles.

15. The road is the best place to catch up on gossip 'gupshup' in the local lingo, so you will find motorcyclists riding 2 or even 3 abreast chatting away, oblivious to the fact that they are actually experiencing a near death experience.

16. Music is played loud so that the driver cannot hear himself think, much less horns or, god forbid - police whistles.

17. The 'educated' drivers dawdle on the road, the 'uneducated' taxi and auto drivers are in a tearing hurry.

18. Finally - there is a design/purpose behind the chaotic traffic, road speeds are so slow that there is no chance of death or serious injury in case of a shunt!

[straightdrive]

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

1. Pedestrians casually stepping out in front of you. 2. At any intersection or junction - 90% of the guys in the right lane are going left and 90% of the guys in the left lane will turn right.
3. At signals, people will stop only well after the light turned red and will start much before the light turns green.
4. 'Keep left' and 'one way' are strictly optional and in any case such rules by convention and custom do not apply to bicycles, cycle rickshaws etc. so watch out for them on both sides of any road.
5. No one stops at the stop line, if they do, it is merely the start line for a race to creep forward into a vantage position where they can hold up the traffic behind.
8. The centre lane is the 'slow lane' for use by autorickshaws, city buses etc. the extreme left lane is for use by hawkers, pedestrians, etc. the rest of us have to manage as best as we can.
12. Hyderabadis do not walk - hence vehicles will stop directly in front of the shop they wish to visit (never mind that there are already 2 rows of vehicles parked there).
14. Double parking is passe, the norm is parking in three or even four rows - the worst offenders being the lal batti or lal patti government vehicles.
15. The road is the best place to catch up on gossip 'gupshup' in the local lingo, so you will find motorcyclists riding 2 or even 3 abreast chatting away, oblivious to the fact that they are actually experiencing a near death experience.
16. Music is played loud so that the driver cannot hear himself think, much less horns or, god forbid - police whistles.
17. The 'educated' drivers dawdle on the road, the 'uneducated' taxi and auto drivers are in a tearing hurry.

Ravveendrra, all 17 experienced on a regular basis and I have got used to them. The above 11 experienced today morning alone while driving to work.

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

he nonchalantly replies "Haat dikhaya na! - Haath nahi dikhtha kya?" My only reply is "Tereko 10 foot ka gaadi nahin dikhta - to mereko 4 inch ka haath kab dikhna?!"

Good one - will keep it in mind for when the need arises.

[sai_ace]

and add to all of this ... hyderabad has got some really good roads. Especially compared to chennai now. Roads in some places are fantastically wide and neatly paved. if only we could keep the two wheelers and four wheelers stick to their lanes.

also, had my biggest fall on a bike in hyderabad. Two cars - Wagon R and an Alto trying to race with each other in rains. the location was just after the bowl o china junction in begumpet towards secunderabad. The alto was on my right, and he cuts across my path . i braked on loose gravel, lost complete control and slid. suffered quite a few bruises, me and my girl. the alto driver actually blamed me for the incident. i almost whacked him with my helmet, but just walked away cursing my luck.
teaching traffic rules to hyderabadi people is like

no offence meant.

[kittigadu]

3 years back i met with an accident right opposite to pantaloons, begumpet.i was lucky that day and i escaped with some bruises and a sprained ankle.After the incident, When i started to think about it. Why it happened and how it happened, thats when i realized that there is something seriously wrong.

A week later, me and my friends decided to do something about it. pooled in some money and hired a few technicians and started on this project. The idea is to interview a lot of people and understand their views on current traffic conditions, know how much they know about the rules and regulations and expressing their honest suggestions, ideas, views and above all their anger and agony on camera.

It took us almost 1 year working parttime and weekends. we had to donate our vehicles for logistics, my bedroom for office and our PCs for pre and post production. It was new for all of us in the media world. Learnt a lot.

A lot of things are still left undone. Unfortunately we couldnt continue as we ran out of money,time and a lot of other good things.We didnt have money even to add subtitles.
Last year, I moved to bangalore. 3 months in bangalore, met with another accident for no fault of mine. But thats life.

Rightly said by DKG. The whole hyderabadi traffic is in a catch 22 situation. just waiting to implode under its own weight. And Ravveendrra, had i known you earlier i defnitely would have hired you as a consultant.

MY final verdict: Its all in the people. Individually everyone wants change. They talk about it for hours demanding change. But collectively wouldnt co operate and contribute. Every one is the culprit and everyone is the victim.
God bless hyderabad.


Traffic on Vimeo

Please pardon my shameless selfpromotion. Just felt that this is the right thread to talk about this. Please comment on the videos.







Regards,
Krishna.

[straightdrive]

Kittigadu, tried going through the videos. Don't know if the problem is with my connection or not but some of the videos don't play and out of the ones that do, two or three of the videos seem to be the same. Fast motion shots of first a road in the old city and then at some signals.

Anyway that is ok. I think it is creditable that people like you are taking the trouble to actually do something about this instead of just complaining. I hope you get a chance to complete your project.

[kreddy]

Have never driven in Hyderabad, but was there a couple of times. Would walk from our hotel in Lakdi-Ka-Pool to our office at Red-Hills. It was so difficult to cross the roads here, comparatively Bangalore traffic even though worse is somehow manageable. Atleast there is some method in madness in Bangalore.

[anurag_p80]

Well, I for one think that we read about Hyderabad traffic in Chemistry 101 in school. Think it was called "Brownian Motion". Evry component will move randomly at any specific point of time.

[lordofgondor]

Originally Posted by straightdrive

I could keep rambling on about similar stuff but I think the above is more than enough.

Seems Hyd. & Noida have more than just IT in common!

[Digital Vampire]

The less I speak about Hyd traffic the better.

I keep seeing the following slogan on Andhra Pradesh highways.

"Roads portray the culture of the nation" (may not be the exact words)

Especially in Hyderabad, I guess it should be re-phrased to

"Road manners reflect the culture of the person"


Thanks to the forced indoctrination of Hyderabady style of driving, I'm welcomed by strong verbal feasts from other drivers each and every time I drive in Cochin, Kerala.

[getsurya]

Dear Digital vampire, without being biased I can tell you from my experience that driving in Kerala is equally bad(any city). No body cares for you or your car there too!!

[vinzrox]

Traffic here is like this:

YouTube - Hyderabad Traffic

[Digital Vampire]

Originally Posted by getsurya

Dear Digital vampire, without being biased I can tell you from my experience that driving in Kerala is equally bad(any city). No body cares for you or your car there too!!

I hear ya buddy!

Looking at the "positive" side of things, driving in Hyderabad has helped me in one way during my European and North American assignments.

Driving on the Right side of the road was a non-issue. Hyderabad follows the same rule.

Resisting that horn button was very difficult though.

[f450]

Originally Posted by Digital Vampire

Driving on the Right side of the road was a non-issue. Hyderabad follows the same rule.

Resisting that horn button was very difficult though.

That's a good one!