Rants on Bangalore's traffic situation

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by Arkin evoisrevo

we must laud the rick driver who tried to help amitoj without him even asking for help. Such drivers can set an example for others.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

C'mon! The fella was trying to help, in the only way he knows! Agree it is not the right way but someone on the road is at least trying to help.

+1. at least he tried to help in his own way. most wouldn't even bother - not just auto guys, everybody!

[praz]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

+1. at least he tried to help in his own way. most wouldn't even bother - not just auto guys, everybody!

Atleast the guy tried to help. Otherwise, you can see people trying to get away from the place somehow or the other without even bothering to help. And then there are some morons who will keep honking as if you have stopped your car bang in the middle of the road for sightseeing.

I have been in both situations in Chennai. Once, while driving my old santro (non PS model) which stopped in the middle of the road and refused to start. People just kept honking and nobody helped me as I pushed my car with great difficulty to the side. The other time I was the co-driver when the car in front of us just stopped moving. I knew that the car was not going to start and the guy inside the car had no clue as to why it had stopped. This was near DSC hyundai signal in Saidapet and people who know the place will know how much traffic is there around 7:00 PM on a weekday. I got down and re-directed the traffic and helped the guy push it to the side. Before leaving, I also told him to call up some mechanic as most probably the battery was dead and there was no way to push start the car in bumper to bumper traffic.

[rohanjf]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

We can also add every single railway crossing to this phenomenon, when the gate is closed, and waiting for the train to pass.

I experience this at least five times every week, at the railway crossing in front of Decathlon in Kodathi (Sarjapur Road). Not just bikers, but also cars, BMTC buses and trucks stop on the wrong side, on both sides. When the gates open, the people on the right side (like me) always have to wait for a long time to cross the crossing. Check this out:

[Jeep]

This morning there was a commotion at the Elec City gate 2 (the one nearer to Silk Board). A tempo traveller had apparently brushed a new Swift. The guy from the swift got out and started hitting the TT driver! Cop had just arrived on his bike after seeing the traffic pile up.

Thank God, this happened inside EC and not on Hosur Road

[Mafia]

The traffic proble in bangalore is the side effect of the beauracrasy of the whole system. Unplanned, shortsighted solutions, unruly commuters, indifferent police, narrow roads where no lanes can exist.

the list can go on. Is there a real life solution to this issue? I can rant and rave for hours about what is wrong, how does one set it right. of course it wont happen tomorrow, can we at least have a systamatic plan for the next 2 years to improve the conditions?

One sure fire way is simply to reduce the users on the road by having a good public transport system. the criteria should be that the public transport system should be quicker that driving. That can be achieved only by a non-road based system like the 'locals' of Mumbai or the 'tube' in london.

I can see a drastic difference in bangalore between driving on a monday morning and a saturday morning. with as much as 10% reduction in traffic, the time taken for my commute to office is reduced drastically

[raghav.carfreak]

@mafia The metro is going to be launching in a few months(april 4th right?) but what difference is that going to make unless people who travel by their private vehicles don't take it? If the people who go by bus right now travel by the metro, It's more convenient for them, that doesn't mean the frequency of buses along that route are going to improve right? and that doesn't help the traffic in any which way
Delhi was a mess upto 10years ago, once the city is well connected through the metro, Now they have among the widest/best roads in the country!
1)One way is educate drivers, BMTC, auto unions, two wheelers, four wheelers on lane discipline, and importance of traffic rules
2) Make a system wherein corruption of traffic cops reduce, once fines increases, bribes reduces, people stop breaking rules just out of fear
like in bombay, no matter who's son/daughter/cousin/nephew you are, If your caught drunken driving, you are going to be behind bars for atleast one night, no exceptions!
Create a system of the traffic policemen getting an incentive for getting the most number of fines, This way bribes reduce, they're just stricter, It's just better all around!
That was my two cents

[download2live]

A big reason for the traffic woes, in fact almost all the woes Bangalore faces is the explosive growth the city witnessed. Any city having such a rapid growth will have similar problems. Almost all the one ways we see now had two way traffic sometime ago.

No need to blame the Govt. I repeat, any City having such explosive growth would have faced the same issues.

But there is hope. Things are settling down. Metro work is already in progress. We have got speed interceptors. We have traffic cops making challans on the Blackberry with no scope of bribes. The city will stabilize soon.

OT: Auto drivers could have been better though. Their behavior defies any logic.

[rohanjf]

Bangalore Police have interceptors. But what's the use? When they try to catch a speeding biker, the interceptor ends up totally smashed by the mob. Our cops also need cameras, pepper sprays and tasers.

And our biggie police officers have to take the risk of getting blamed for causing inconvenience to the public, and go ahead and start punishing erring autorickshaw drivers. If the police want to raise enough money through legal fines, there is no better way. If the autorickshaw unions protest against increased fines, that means they are supporting something that's illegal. When someone supports something illegal, he/she has to be punished. So, arrest the union bosses and jail them.

Instead of imposing fines on poor motorbikers who don't wear helmets (and thus are risking their own lives and not of the other road users'), why not punish those rash drivers (of cabs or rickshaws) who are risking innocent peoples' lives?

[Chetan_Rao]

A fully-functional Metro would be a big boon. I'd join the queue as soon as it's available on my route. Beats a tense drive to/from office anyday

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by rohanjf

Bangalore Police have interceptors. But what's the use? When they try to catch a speeding biker, the interceptor ends up totally smashed by the mob.

This is the serious part isn't it? Where else in the country do you see this?

And this is not a one off. I saw a Auto driver bad mouthing a constable doing his duty in the midst of peak hour traffic. The constables crime was to stop the Auto guy from breaking the lane and joining in from a different lane.

Then there was another. A cop tries to stop a biker who broke a signal at the Command Hospital signal on Old Airport Road. The cop jumped in front of the bike and the biker guy leans out to slap the constable with his outstretched left hand. The cop takes evasive action. The biker is without a helmet too and is shouting at the cops in the local language as he goes off. UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Imagine this happening in any small town. forget cities.

The Police force due to their own greed and corruption have lowered their self esteem so much that their dignity too has been sold out.

The joke of night time drunken driving checks has to be seen to be believed.

[Arkin evoisrevo]

Originally Posted by rohanjf

Instead of imposing fines on poor motorbikers who don't wear helmets (and thus are risking their own lives and not of the other road users'), why not punish those rash drivers (of cabs or rickshaws) who are risking innocent peoples' lives?

Do you expect someone who doesn't care about his life to care about the lives of other people?

Originally Posted by Spitfire

And this is not a one off. I saw a Auto driver bad mouthing a constable doing his duty in the midst of peak hour traffic. ...... The biker is without a helmet too and is shouting at the cops in the local language as he goes off. UNBELIEVABLE!!!

A BMTC bus driver caught on camera doing the same:

Originally Posted by Arkin evoisrevo

Proof that BMTC drivers are not at all innocent.

The BMTC driver telling the policeman in chaste Kannada "AbeyTera baap, Jaa bey tera...."

I personally have experienced across such an incident.

I do not understand why the police can't react to such audacious behavior. As a citizen, he can file a case of "Threatening and assault" against the morons, and as a law-enforcer, a case of "Hampering a public servant from doing his duty" and "Causing harm to a duty bound public servant.

When law enforcers themselves are at the recieving end, think of the general public.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by sumannandy

Totally true. And sometimes they would park their bikes in front of your car and leave. You could get out of the parking spot only if your car could travel sideways.

To their credit though, I have spoken to few two wheeler riders in our office about these. Most of them do not drive cars and they do not understand the space required for a car to take turns etc. For that matter, even the parking attendants in most places would not know the space required for a car to take turns.

The solution may not be easy if they are not doing it intentionally. A car driver is not necessarily expected to know about the turning radius of a truck, or no driving school anywhere would probably tell you that you should not brake hard if a heavy vehicle is behind you at a high speed as the heavy vehicle would take more time to stop. So I doubt a strict license exam would help. It is plain common sense and respect to others, and, as a car driver we could at least expect it from these two wheeler drivers. However, if and when confronted on road, they would always try to defend themselves.

I do not ride a two wheeler. The above statements are based on my observations. And, I hate majority of the two wheeler riders too. I did have a couple of close calls when they tried to cut me off. Obviously, the comments do not apply to 40% of the drivers who like to race in public roads.

I have also observed that 20%-30% two wheeler riders do try to follow traffic rules, but more often than not, they get cut off by other riders or car drivers.

Absolutely!

Although I do not completely agree with you on the paragrapgh that I've taken the liberty to highlight.

Yes, there are few out there who understand that a truck or a bus would need a lot more space in order to turn. And it isn't hard to understand that they would need the extra space.

Being a road user, one must be able to judge and anticipate this. One should not assume that they do not know the space needed and do whatever he wants under the pretext that he doesn't need to know.

Everyone who uses the road should know what it takes to drive or ride. They do not deserve to have a license. A car driver has to know what it takes to maneuverer a large vehicle. At least, he is expected to understand that driving and turning a truck requires more space than he would otherwise need.

IMO, all road users should know that driving/riding in Bangalore requires more thinking than what one would like to believe. When you see a truck or a bus ready to take a turn and is committed to it, you must give way, because he is driving a truck/bus after all. One must give that much benefit as he is maneuvering a massive vehicle.

Unfortunately, two wheelers refuse to understand this, and when they see a gap, they decide to take it instead of waiting for a couple of seconds and giving way. I mean, what would happen if they could wait just one minute?

Getting a license must be made hard. Two wheelers must be grilled by the cops when they approach the RTO for a license. They must be taught not to cut off traffic and give way when necessary. If they do not get the basics right the first time, they should be given the opportunity to acquire their license only after a stipulated time, say 1 year.

Along with this, education will go a long way in helping people understand the nuances of traffic on the roads and driving/riding etiquette.

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

@Suhaas, I understand your frustration buddy, but there are select few like us bhpian's who don't cut in traffic and follow most of the rules. Since I ride and drive, I know the pain of bikes cutting off the 4 wheelers. So i always am with the traffic flow and never hinder traffic be it 2/4 wheeler

Thanks for understanding Abhinav.

Yes, there is still hope, I would say. On behalf of other fellow respectable road users, I thank you and others for following rules and riding etiquette.

Originally Posted by Arkin evoisrevo

Are you serious?



Had I been in your passenger seat, I'd have got down and given him a piece of my mind using the kind of language I seldom use. Such audacity boils my blood.

Now some rants from my side.
1) I decided to go on a late night drive, and cruised onto IRR from my old airport road residence. Took a U-turn at Saphire toys/tacho bell and proceeded to the flyover. I wanted to go in the MG Road direction so dad took the underpass, thanks to the signboard. But to our consternation, the road was all dug up! We had to take a U-turn, cruise 5km on IRR, take a U-Turn take the flyover to OA road, take a U-turn at Manipal, and finally, after a good 20 minutes, I was on my way to MG road.
2) At the signal on OA road, where the road diverges into 2 roads, one towards trinity and the other towards Lifestyle, there was red for right and green for straight. And two morons in a zen had parked right at the signal with their hazard lamps on!!! Vehicles going straight had a hard time negotiating. I tried getting down, and forcing the zen guy to park somewhere else, but my dad didn't let me. When it turned green for us, I put down my window and shouted "Abbey Dimaag nahi hey kya, kaha park kiya hey"
The guy just stared at me.

Why don't you go about 10 pages back (or so), and you'll see a picture posted by me at the very spot.

A stupid BMTC bus driver who wanted to take a right turn near the Army Mess had completely blocked the left side of the road that is meant for people who need to go straight. It was a green for them, but this idiot seemed oblivious about it. Such drivers need to be shot at dawn.

[libranof1987]

Here's one thing I don't understand : Why do all the SETC buses (coming from Forum, wanting to continue towards Hosur/Chennai etc.) take a left at Silk Board and then attempt a U-turn at the first junction at HSR colony and then take another left at Silk-board to continue on that road? Why can't they just take the flyover and spare motorists the trouble.

While it blocks traffic while taking the U-turn, is hazardous as the junction at which they take it is after a long curve and quite a blind spot at night; it also creates a mess under the Silk Board flyover (towards the EC side) as all buses : BMTC and these SETC buses stop to collect passengers.

They should start taking the flyover and shift their bus stop away from the Silk Board junction.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

The Police force due to their own greed and corruption have lowered their self esteem so much that their dignity too has been sold out.

I fully agree with you on this. Even on the Elevated Expressway to Electronics city, the cops stand right in the middle of the lane to flag down an offending vehicle. The car is then stopped right in the middle of the road and then asked to move aside. Imagine the other vehicles behind who are doing allowable speeds who will have to slowdown to zero speeds due to this act of the Police.

Another place is right between the St John's Signal and Madiwala Underpass (the newly concretized road) where the cops flag down Tempos and Tata Aces and mostly 2 wheelers every morning.

Gentlemen, if the above is acceptable to you, how about the same constable jumping the divider and trying to flag down Tempos and Aces going towards St. John's signal? Even if it meant that the vehicle is occupying the rightmost lane (which in all probabilities is the case with Tempos and Tata Aces in Bangalore), they are asked to park it right there and walk to the opposite corridor to meet the Traffic SI.

I have been watching this since a week now as I need to wait to pick up my colleague on the way to work to EC. I would love to capture this soon and post it here.

[ajmat]

And the best part is that the cars will slow down at the toll booth. Why not post a cop there to haul in the offenders