Rants on Bangalore's traffic situation

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by srishiva

The roads looked more organized today.

I totally agree! I had a nice drive to office today, a proper weekday, with sparse traffic, and no road rage to report of!

[SunnyBoi]

Originally Posted by srishiva

The roads looked more organized today.

Amen! Took me just 30 minutes to reach Electronics City from Jayanagar today!

Frankly I wouldn't care for auto prices since my dependance on autos is off completely. But still, i wish these auto strokes would happen more often since it makes driving in Bangalore more enjoyable!

[binand]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Thing is - everyone's grievances except the common man's are heard. Because the auto wallahs, the truck drivers will strike; the mango person won't. So, public convenience and legal auto fares be damned, patronize the auto drivers.

Who is this elusive "common man"? Isn't the rickshaw driver one? Am I one? You? My take is that every single individual is (knowingly or unknowingly) a member of some pressure group or other.

I'd rather the BMP undertook a serious study on the status and viability of autos as a means of public transport in the city. Try to understand the reasons for tampered meters, unwillingness to ply, rude/uncouth behaviour, rash driving - all these. Is it oversupply or undersupply? Mismatch between costs and revenue? High-handedness of police/RTO/financiers/owners? Lack of education or moral/cultural values among the drivers? Lack of institutional funding? With world-class institutions like IIMB, NIMHANS etc. within the city, such a project should make eminent sense. Unfortunately, as Hacker said, "politics is only about surviving till Friday".

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by binand

I'd rather the BMP undertook a serious study on the status and viability of autos as a means of public transport in the city. Try to understand the reasons for tampered meters, unwillingness to ply...

Mate, BMP is busy filling their coffers, you think they have time to even undertake a study as outlined by you. And if they eventually do start something, don't expect any outcome in this lifetime!!

And yes, today traffic was much better due to the strike and i was able to reach office in 20 mins as opposed to the 40 mins it takes daily!

[rohanjf]

Those who travel on Gunjur to Varthur road, have you noticed that the rumbling humps near Varthur government school/hospital have risen from the ashes?

These had gone almost flat since a few years, and someone found enough asphalt to create 3 parallel humps. But they did not have enough tar to fix the huge potholes in front of S4 supermarket just 50 meters away (near the police station)!

And I wonder what sense these rumblers make? There is a speedbreaker just about 10 meters away, and then these potholes and HUGE hump near the police station slow down the traffic anyway.

These rumblers now make the traffic come to a standstill when there are trucks and tippers involved, and except creating chaos, they have absolutely no use.

Is there any authority where I can complain? (HAHAHA, yes, you can laugh at me).

[libranof1987]

Noticed a rather alarming thing yesterday. Was driving on ORR late at night, hence more aware of the road conditions.

On the underpass (the first one going from M'halli towards Silk board), there is absolutely no provision for drainage at all. There are neither storm water channels on the sides nor any drainage at the centre of the underpass.

So, the moment there's even the slightest of rain, the whole underpass is going to be one large swimming pool.

[suhaas307]

I had a tiff with an auto-driver yesterday, right in front of Bangalore Central/Mayo Hall.

I had half a mind to roll-down my passenger window and ask him, "Why aren't you on strike?"

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

On the underpass (the first one going from M'halli towards Silk board), there is absolutely no provision for drainage at all.
So, the moment there's even the slightest of rain, the whole underpass is going to be one large swimming pool.

BBMP/BDA does not seem to learn from their mistakes! I still remember the 1st rainy day after the Cauvery theatre underpass (on Sankey Road) was opened. The underpass had flooded completely and there was a total mess up of traffic around the entire area!

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

BBMP/BDA does not seem to learn from their mistakes! I still remember the 1st rainy day after the Cauvery theatre underpass (on Sankey Road) was opened. The underpass had flooded completely and there was a total mess up of traffic around the entire area!

Floods or no floods, the situation remains unchanged and they have the cheek to call it the magic box. Who ever designed that blunder box should be put through some form of capital punishment.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Floods or no floods, the situation remains unchanged and they have the cheek to call it the magic box. Who ever designed that blunder box should be put through some form of capital punishment.

Exactly what everyone who travels on the stretch feels!!
Nowadays in peak hour evenings, policemen stop traffic from Bashyam Circle temporarily to allow the traffic from Windsor manor towards Mekhri circle to pass straight, bye-passing the U turn! The 'signal free junction' becomes a manually controlled junction

[deetjohn]

My Swift ZDi got hit from behind by a car today on Sarjapur Road in front of Spencer's. The Tavera in front of me stopped and I stopped behind him. The silver Indica DLS that was right behind me couldn't stop and hit my car from behind.

I got out and found the bumper knocked off its rivets and sagging. The Indica hit bang in the middle and so the Swift bumper took the knock well. No cracks, but there are small scratches and some deformation.

I parked the car to the side of the road and the Indica followed me. It was a private car and he was the driver. I asked him to follow me to the Mandovi behind Springfield's. I wanted to check whether the exhaust was okay.

The driver in the meanwhile rang his uncle on the mobile and he told me to let this pass as the damage was little. I was in no mood to relent as he was not even there to access the impact or the damage. The driver (I think his name was Satish) then told me to wait for his uncle to come from Marathahalli but I was getting late and asked him to follow me. I then took down the registration number of the Indica. I had to take a U turn to go to Mandovi and then the Indica flew in the other direction.

I didn't attempt a chase and I head straight to the service center. The the mechanic from the body shop got under the car and told me only damage is on the bumper and the clamps holding it in place. Thankfully the exhaust on the new Swift is shorter and it was alright. They fixed the clamps and put in new rivets and the bumper no longer sags but the scratches and dings remain. They didn't take any money. But the dings can only be removed by replacing the bumper and painting it.

I found out the owner' name through the RTO site and the said Indica has a signal jumping ticket also in its name. I don't know how to take it forward now. But for sure, I didn't like the way he fled the scene.

[root]

At about 8:45 PM yesterday evening, as I was commuting on the left most lane of the Inner Ring Road from Indiranagar to Koramangala, saw that the bush fire in the army land had crept up till the road (as there are creepers hanging out onto the pavement.) This was for a fairly long stretch and the flames were just a few feet away. There were a number of policemen and there was at least one person filming the same. Unfortunately could not click a snap. I wonder:

(a) Why the newspapers or TV channels today were silent about it, especially since the smoke seemed to reach almost upto Koramangala?

(b) In such situations, where the flames get dangerously close to vehicular traffic, should the authorities not be shutting down the road (I know the chaos it would create, but shouldn't safety be paramount) - it was a Bandh and as other Bhpians have commented, traffic conditions were better.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

I found out the owner' name through the RTO site and the said Indica has a signal jumping ticket also in its name. I don't know how to take it forward now. But for sure, I didn't like the way he fled the scene.

Go to the nearest traffic police station where the incident took place. Tell them you need an acknowledgment for insurance claim and since you have the number , request them to provide you with the address of the Indica owner.

I did go through the same ordeal to find out the Omni driver's address who hit our car from behind and ran away.

[KiloAlpha]

A note of appreciation now. It really isn't all that bad.

At an unregulated junction, I indulged in a bit of "pehle-aap-pehle-aap" (you first, you first) with a BMTC bus .

He was trying to turn right and on an up-slope, I was going straight and down the slope. Both of us yielded and gave way to each other, and for a few seconds, were waving each other on. Eventually, I thanked the bus driver and moved on, as there was no traffic behind me and traffic was beginning to pile up behind the bus.

[Rocky_Balboa]

Originally Posted by root

At about 8:45 PM yesterday evening, as I was commuting on the left most lane of the Inner Ring Road from Indiranagar to Koramangala, saw that the bush fire in the army land had crept up till the road (as there are creepers hanging out onto the pavement.) This was for a fairly long stretch and the flames were just a few feet away. There were a number of policemen and there was at least one person filming the same.

...

I saw atleast 5 instances of high smoke all the way via BETL till Domlur. And I thought it was my mind playing tricks until I saw them, the flames in the army land! It was past 7PM and with no traffic cop at the junction combined with the vehicle chaos, the flames could have wiped out an entire stretch of vehicles!

Scary to say the least.