Traffic Custom in Chennai

haithereitsme · 16th February 2009, 20:15

Guys from Traffic custom in Hyd , thank you for giving me the idea and guys this is definitely not to show the off the craziness amongst us , just a way to express our feelings about people who dont obey traffic rules and our experiences.

If its Chennai, then you get to see police man (traffic mamas) driving without helmet and at times on the wrong side of the road.

I had an experience with a policeman (off duty) drove into my car, coming in the wrong way on a one way road. I pulled up a quarrel with him to pull him to a station and file an FIR. My dad ended up that way , ensured that they guy went scot free.

My dads explanation, what that he would loose his job or would be temp suspended if he had an FIR. My door ended up with a dent neither did the police pay nor did my dad.

aaggoswami · 17th February 2009, 08:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by haithereitsme

1) Guys from Traffic custom in Hyd , thank you for giving me the idea and guys this is definitely not to show the off the craziness amongst us , just a way to express our feelings about people who dont obey traffic rules and our experiences.

2) If its Chennai, then you get to see police man (traffic mamas) driving without helmet and at times on the wrong side of the road.

I had an experience with a policeman (off duty) drove into my car, coming in the wrong way on a one way road. I pulled up a quarrel with him to pull him to a station and file an FIR. My dad ended up that way , ensured that they guy went scot free.

My dads explanation, what that he would loose his job or would be temp suspended if he had an FIR. My door ended up with a dent neither did the police pay nor did my dad.

1) Can you please elaborate on this point. How were they of any help to you ?

2) You cant fight police unless you have good contacts/influence. Its very difficult to even survive in India if you dont have contacts. Yesterday at around 8:00 pm while coming back home, I hit ( at a very slow speed thanks to traffic ) one police officer who was trying to cross the road jumping the road divided. The road divider has metal fence installed above it so I thought a police officer will have sense not to jump, but he did. Next I thought that he will try to control the traffic ( they do stand like this controlling the traffic in peak hours ), but he came into my way. Braked, but slightly hit him. After stares for a moment or two, he left away as I also started driving. He had a gun with him indicating he was an inspector or someone from that level.

What can we expect from them. No sense of crossing the road, not even speaking. Best say sorry, bear the burnt of expenses and leave to live on.

Your dad is correct that if you dont have good contacts, he might have caused greater trouble to you.

haithereitsme · 17th February 2009, 09:40

My dad was concerned about the police guy loosing his job if he had an FIR on his name.

Trust me ,when you dont stand up to people they will never change, that didnt mean we need to raise the fist and give a few blows. I lived in Cochin for couple of years and the police out there were good.

in the event of a traffic violation, a ticket is issued and you can either pay there or within 15 days at the police station. else it will be taken to the court.

But in chennai, Police (Mama) will start at 1500 for a no parking , however the actual fine is just 150 Rs and then run you through negotiations and ends up taking 10rs.

esteem_lover · 17th February 2009, 11:55

hello haithereitsme

Quote:

Originally Posted by haithereitsme

Guys from Traffic custom in Hyd , thank you for giving me the idea and guys this is definitely not to show the off the craziness amongst us , just a way to express our feelings about people who dont obey traffic rules and our experiences.

Cant make anything out of this, can you help being a little bit more clear. Who are these guys from traffic custom in Hyd ? and why are you thanking them ? What is the idea they gave you ?

bblost · 17th February 2009, 12:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

hello haithereitsme

Cant make anything out of this, can you help being a little bit more clear. Who are these guys from traffic custom in Hyd ? and why are you thanking them ? What is the idea they gave you ?

I think he is referring to
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...c-customs.html

pulsar56 · 17th February 2009, 12:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

hello haithereitsme

Cant make anything out of this, can you help being a little bit more clear. Who are these guys from traffic custom in Hyd ? and why are you thanking them ? What is the idea they gave you ?

He is thanking the Hyderabad folks for rambling about the traffic customs in a separate thread as pointed out by Bblost.

I guess we just gave the idea of starting this thread and nothing more.

AFAIK, this thread might not have much contributions as IMHO, Chennai folks follow the traffic rules except for few exceptions.

esteem_lover · 17th February 2009, 12:36

Thank you bblost & pulsar56 for clearing that. I had not seen that thread.

@pulsar56, chennai is as bad or as good as any other city & will have quite a few points to ramble.

supremeBaleno · 17th February 2009, 12:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by pulsar56

AFAIK, this thread might not have much contributions as IMHO, Chennai folks follow the traffic rules except for few exceptions.

That's a compliment though I am not sure how much we deserve it. Like e_l said, we are as good or bad as any other Indian city. More or less, the motorists follow the rules here except for the following that I observed :

1) At night, almost all ignore the lights. And if you decide to stop for that red light at night, please ensure that there are no vehicles behind you, because chances are they are not expecting you to stop and will run over you, especially the mammoth garbage trucks, city buses, call taxis etc.

2) I remember a time many years ago in Chennai when the 'Stop Line' used to be respected. For violating it even a bit, there used to be a fine of Rs50 (a decent amount some 20 years ago). Today most motorists violate the line and park on the 'pedestrian crossing'
making it impossible for pedestrians to cross the road. That is, if at all they get a chance to cross (see point 3).

3) Motorists are impatient and cannot wait till the light turns green. Even when timers are present, some drive off even when anything between 1 - 20 seconds still remain for light to turn green. This usually means that they are encroaching on the time allotted to pedestrians to cross the road or for traffic from some other direction. Very bad habit.

4) No concept of sticking to any lane. Even on the IT corridor where the lanes are marked with paint, you can see people straddling 2 lanes. And to top it they drive real slow - thus you can't overtake them from either side. Earlier, I used to be worried about my car and thus limit my frustration to only honking. But after 4 years of owning the car, I sometimes lose it and just wedge my car in, forcing them to move to one of the lanes. Yeah, road rage, but some occasions, it is tough to let such behaviour go by. If only I had bought a rusty Jeep.

5) Honking for no obvious reason. It's evening rush hour traffic and vehicles are lined up all over the place on the road. Traffic is stationary waiting for the signal to turn green. Still you have the smart-alecks who keep on honking. What is he expecting the guy in front to do ? Fly over the traffic? Beats me.

6) Bikers who expect the car guys to ensure that they live to see another day. Each day. They just swerve into your path expecting you to brake, which most of us do as we are expecting such idiotic road behaviour from them. One of these days, I am going to be taking a day off from saving their lives and it is not going to be good.

Yesterday, I am taking the right-turn at Mahalingapuram towards Loyola college after coming down the Usman Road flyover. I am on the lane close to the median and there is a biker on the leftmost part of the road. I like that turn and love the feel when you just breeze by. The biker suddenly thinks he is on the track and takes the turn the way racers do, which is OK with me. What is not OK and what I least expected is that we are both hitting the turn at the same time and suddenly for some wierd reason he leaves his lane and abruptly come to the centre of the road, landing just in front of me. It took some panic braking to save his life.

@Biker-at-right-turn, if not for the slow-driving Fiesta driver in front of me, you would have had me catching up with you and demanding an explanation for your stupid behaviour that could have cost you your life and for me a serious repair bill for all the SGP parts located in the front of the Baleno.

haithereitsme · 17th February 2009, 12:46

I am taking that as a personal insult.

name it , we are there and at times surpass our Hyderabadi brothers and sisters in traffic violations and craziness.

I guess its to do with the attitude of the driver. 90 % of the taxi drivers drive on high beam in the city and dont care about traffic signals. I ve had issues with city metropolitan corp busses who would constantly honk if you make the mistake of being the first guy behind the stop line on a red light.

I have even had a talk with a traffic mama (cop) who says the Govt Order is that you can stop the MTC bus , but can send a memo to the MTC. Few days back there was an article on Hindu about MTC taking violations of their drivers seriously to the extent of putting them on probation. In Adayar locality a teenage girl was instantly killed by a speeding MTC bus who didnt stop at a red signal. That incident really hurt me.

bblost · 17th February 2009, 12:50

The biker leaving a lane happens when a turn is entered faster than what the bike+rider can handle.

and the irony, that biker would never know it cause he is not spotting his turn.

A bike follows the eye. So if you look at something down the road, you will ride on that.
Its a common trick employed by experienced riders to ride safe on a sharp turn. Some bikers have no idea about it. They simply look at the wrong spot and end up crossing all the lanes.

pypkmsrikanth · 17th February 2009, 15:55

One thing which I noticed when I came back for good to Chennai last year was how people occupy almost 3/4th of a road waiting for the right turn at signal, if you need to go straight you would be lucky to even have one clear lane. Similarly very rarely can you take a free left peacefully without honking at some moron who is occupying the left lane waiting for his turn to either go straight or in most cases take a right

hrag · 17th February 2009, 16:37

You guys have it all wrong - the lane markers are meant to assist auto drivers track straight. Their front tyre will always be on the lane marker.

And you have to drive in high beam everywhere. What else is the high beam for? Think about it - manufacturers can save a lot of money by doing away with the parking lights and low beam from all vehicles.

vikram_d · 17th February 2009, 17:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by hrag

manufacturers can save a lot of money by doing away with the parking lights and low beam from all vehicles.

Also add turn indicators to this list.

JVille07 · 17th February 2009, 21:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by hrag

And you have to drive in high beam everywhere. What else is the high beam for?

Its just a breach of driving etiquette and its unfortunate that even we BHP'ians are not following this. If there is no oncoming traffic, I don't find any problem with using high beam.

druva · 18th February 2009, 14:31

I was driving on Velachery-Taramani Link road to office. I stopped for traffic and then was about to start. I realized at left corner that a lady carrying a baby was attempting to cross. However I had already pressed the accelerator and decided not to stop.

I was embarassed and watching the rear view mirror. A Tata mini lorry was behind me. He stopped for the lady to cross! The lady was not sure and did not start. He waived her to start and only after she crossed he started.

The truck caught up with me in another 2-3 minutes!!

I leave it you guys to flame me.
Not all drivers are bad (including me - i try to yield to pedestrians as much possible :-)). I also had incidents where a bus driver yielded for me - whereas the bike and autowallahs were not letting me complete my right turn.

Think about the heavy vehicle drivers. If we car drivers are cribbing about two wheelers and autos jumping - these heavy vehicle drivers encounter atleast twice the amount as us.

16th February 2009, 20:15	#1
haithereitsme BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 82 Thanked: 15 Times	Traffic Custom in Chennai Guys from Traffic custom in Hyd , thank you for giving me the idea and guys this is definitely not to show the off the craziness amongst us , just a way to express our feelings about people who dont obey traffic rules and our experiences. If its Chennai, then you get to see police man (traffic mamas) driving without helmet and at times on the wrong side of the road. I had an experience with a policeman (off duty) drove into my car, coming in the wrong way on a one way road. I pulled up a quarrel with him to pull him to a station and file an FIR. My dad ended up that way , ensured that they guy went scot free. My dads explanation, what that he would loose his job or would be temp suspended if he had an FIR. My door ended up with a dent neither did the police pay nor did my dad.
	() Thanks

17th February 2009, 09:40	#3
haithereitsme BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 82 Thanked: 15 Times	My dad was concerned about the police guy loosing his job if he had an FIR on his name. Trust me ,when you dont stand up to people they will never change, that didnt mean we need to raise the fist and give a few blows. I lived in Cochin for couple of years and the police out there were good. in the event of a traffic violation, a ticket is issued and you can either pay there or within 15 days at the police station. else it will be taken to the court. But in chennai, Police (Mama) will start at 1500 for a no parking , however the actual fine is just 150 Rs and then run you through negotiations and ends up taking 10rs.
	() Thanks

17th February 2009, 12:36	#7
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	Thank you bblost & pulsar56 for clearing that. I had not seen that thread. @pulsar56, chennai is as bad or as good as any other city & will have quite a few points to ramble.
	() Thanks

17th February 2009, 12:46	#9
haithereitsme BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 82 Thanked: 15 Times	I am taking that as a personal insult. name it , we are there and at times surpass our Hyderabadi brothers and sisters in traffic violations and craziness. I guess its to do with the attitude of the driver. 90 % of the taxi drivers drive on high beam in the city and dont care about traffic signals. I ve had issues with city metropolitan corp busses who would constantly honk if you make the mistake of being the first guy behind the stop line on a red light. I have even had a talk with a traffic mama (cop) who says the Govt Order is that you can stop the MTC bus , but can send a memo to the MTC. Few days back there was an article on Hindu about MTC taking violations of their drivers seriously to the extent of putting them on probation. In Adayar locality a teenage girl was instantly killed by a speeding MTC bus who didnt stop at a red signal. That incident really hurt me.
	() Thanks

17th February 2009, 12:50	#10
bblost Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 11,000 Thanked: 15,305 Times View My Garage	The biker leaving a lane happens when a turn is entered faster than what the bike+rider can handle. and the irony, that biker would never know it cause he is not spotting his turn. A bike follows the eye. So if you look at something down the road, you will ride on that. Its a common trick employed by experienced riders to ride safe on a sharp turn. Some bikers have no idea about it. They simply look at the wrong spot and end up crossing all the lanes.
	() Thanks

17th February 2009, 15:55	#11
pypkmsrikanth Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,124 Thanked: 283 Times View My Garage	One thing which I noticed when I came back for good to Chennai last year was how people occupy almost 3/4th of a road waiting for the right turn at signal, if you need to go straight you would be lucky to even have one clear lane. Similarly very rarely can you take a free left peacefully without honking at some moron who is occupying the left lane waiting for his turn to either go straight or in most cases take a right
	() Thanks

17th February 2009, 16:37	#12
hrag BANNED Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bangalore / Madras Posts: 1,982 Thanked: 31 Times	You guys have it all wrong - the lane markers are meant to assist auto drivers track straight. Their front tyre will always be on the lane marker. And you have to drive in high beam everywhere. What else is the high beam for? Think about it - manufacturers can save a lot of money by doing away with the parking lights and low beam from all vehicles.
	() Thanks

18th February 2009, 14:31	#15
druva BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 313 Thanked: 37 Times	Not all drivers are bad I was driving on Velachery-Taramani Link road to office. I stopped for traffic and then was about to start. I realized at left corner that a lady carrying a baby was attempting to cross. However I had already pressed the accelerator and decided not to stop. I was embarassed and watching the rear view mirror. A Tata mini lorry was behind me. He stopped for the lady to cross! The lady was not sure and did not start. He waived her to start and only after she crossed he started. The truck caught up with me in another 2-3 minutes!! I leave it you guys to flame me. Not all drivers are bad (including me - i try to yield to pedestrians as much possible :-)). I also had incidents where a bus driver yielded for me - whereas the bike and autowallahs were not letting me complete my right turn. Think about the heavy vehicle drivers. If we car drivers are cribbing about two wheelers and autos jumping - these heavy vehicle drivers encounter atleast twice the amount as us.
	() Thanks