[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Slightly OT : I am planning to commute using my scooter for some days of the week. I work in morning shifts. Hence traffic problem is not there. Any advice on how to protect myself from the potholes, bad roads, etc? I tried coming to work one day and my back aches. Is it advisable? The scooter is just lying idle without much use and hence the need to use it. I cant dispose it either.

What are the timings and distances and the route?

A long commute in a scooter can be tiring. Also scooters can mess your back pretty hard if road is bad.

I usually ride to office on my bike. Some times I have taken a scooter also. And I need to go most part on the Outer Ring Road, Problem is that in the free stretches, it is difficult for a scooter to keep up with the speed of traffic and/or out accelerate when needed. That made me feel vulnerable.

On my bike (Pulsar 200 NS), since it is relatively powerful bike, I can easily keep up with traffic and out accelerate if needed. Makes me feel much safer.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Slightly OT : I am planning to commute using my scooter for some days of the week. I work in morning shifts. Hence traffic problem is not there. Any advice on how to protect myself from the potholes, bad roads, etc? I tried coming to work one day and my back aches. Is it advisable? The scooter is just lying idle without much use and hence the need to use it. I cant dispose it either.

The more you travel by 2 wheeler, more the back ache will be the end result. Why dont you commute in your office cab. Even I come in i shift and i commute by office cab.

[Added_flavor]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Any advice on how to protect myself from the potholes, bad roads, etc?

In cars, suspension takes a beating and your back is safe. On two-wheelers, both take a beating. The only way you can protect both is by taking them speed breakers and potholes slow and nice.

Since you don't have the issue of getting baked in traffic, please get some good protective gear - preferably armored, to protect your body (God forbid) in case of a fall. Not to mention a good helmet and boots. Do not bother about the people who snigger at you for being in gear.

Always keep the mirrors adjusted and ensure you have a good view of the traffic behind you, in your peripheral vision. Let bigger, faster and rash vehicles go. Your timings will ensure you meet a lot of rashly driven vehicles. Watch out for them at junctions and always anticipate. Ride Safe!

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Slightly OT : I am planning to commute using my scooter for some days of the week. I work in morning shifts. Hence traffic problem is not there. Any advice on how to protect myself from the potholes, bad roads, etc? I tried coming to work one day and my back aches. Is it advisable? The scooter is just lying idle without much use and hence the need to use it. I cant dispose it either.

How far is the commute ? 5-6 kms is fine.
Anything beyond 6 kms or anywhere close to 10 kms should be avoided on a scooter.

1 - Smaller tyres, bad grip.
2 - More bumpy than bikes.
3 - 2 Wheeler in general is unsafe compared to 4 wheeler.

- If the commute is longer than 10kms, would request you to see if your company / project provides cab service.
- If not, see if you can carpool with your spouse / colleague / friends on the same route.

- If all fails, drive your car, but let me warn you about that too.
My left knee is gone, absolute pain, due to clutch usage in stop go traffic.
Be careful about your knee too. If you have an Automatic, you are lucky.

Good Luck

[sairamboko]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Nothing great, be alert, glance at the rear view mirrors, understand the traffic

Originally Posted by pratyush6

Morning you have another sort of problem - People, cars, cabs drive up the wrong ways. I am amazed at the impunity they do it. The danger of you being hit and injured is actually higher. In off peak hours it is slightly unnerving to see rash + speed . In Peak hours its just rash, the danger is more to the car/bike rather than a person.

My advice - stick to the car. As for the scooter, use it in the weekends to run errands.

Originally Posted by Mr_Bean

If you are experiencing backache on smooth roads, then you need to change your riding posture. Your back is an important asset than your scooter, damages to back over long run are irreversible. I have experienced back pain in stop-go traffic than driving over the bad potholes. Don't go beyond 40km/hr & stick to the left most lane.

Thanks a lot everyone for your replies!! I will limit my usage to once or twice a week. For weekly errands, I walk mostly. I get back pains only on roads filled with potholes. Yeah, the morning traffic is too rash than the other hours. All the vehicles use high beam and no on bothers about it.

[sairamboko]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

What are the timings and distances and the route?

A long commute in a scooter can be tiring. Also scooters can mess your back pretty hard if road is bad.

I usually ride to office on my bike. Some times I have taken a scooter also. And I need to go most part on the Outer Ring Road, Problem is that in the free stretches, it is difficult for a scooter to keep up with the speed of traffic and/or out accelerate when needed. That made me feel vulnerable.

On my bike (Pulsar 200 NS), since it is relatively powerful bike, I can easily keep up with traffic and out accelerate if needed. Makes me feel much safer.

My office is in Bellandur-Embassy Tech Village. I stay in Kasavanahalli. Distance is 6kms if I take the shortest path i.e road opposite Total Mall, Sarjapur which connects to Bellandur. If I take the main road , its 8kms and the roads are relatively good here. I prefer the longer one.

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

The more you travel by 2 wheeler, more the back ache will be the end result. Why dont you commute in your office cab. Even I come in i shift and i commute by office cab.

Cab comes too early for my shift and starts too late :( My log in time is 5:30am and cab comes to my home at 4am! Log out is 2pm and cab starts only at 3pm :( Hence cab is ruled out.

Originally Posted by Added_flavor

In cars, suspension takes a beating and your back is safe. On two-wheelers, both take a beating. The only way you can protect both is by taking them speed breakers and potholes slow and nice.

Since you don't have the issue of getting baked in traffic, please get some good protective gear - preferably armored, to protect your body (God forbid) in case of a fall. Not to mention a good helmet and boots. Do not bother about the people who snigger at you for being in gear.

Always keep the mirrors adjusted and ensure you have a good view of the traffic behind you, in your peripheral vision. Let bigger, faster and rash vehicles go. Your timings will ensure you meet a lot of rashly driven vehicles. Watch out for them at junctions and always anticipate. Ride Safe!

Thanks for your advice!!

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

How far is the commute ? 5-6 kms is fine.
Anything beyond 6 kms or anywhere close to 10 kms should be avoided on a scooter.

1 - Smaller tyres, bad grip.
2 - More bumpy than bikes.
3 - 2 Wheeler in general is unsafe compared to 4 wheeler.

- If the commute is longer than 10kms, would request you to see if your company / project provides cab service.
- If not, see if you can carpool with your spouse / colleague / friends on the same route.

- If all fails, drive your car, but let me warn you about that too.
My left knee is gone, absolute pain, due to clutch usage in stop go traffic.
Be careful about your knee too. If you have an Automatic, you are lucky.

Good Luck

Please read my above comments. Distance is 8kms one way. Company provides cab but ruled out because of reasons mentioned above. In car, my left knee is intact because of my working hours

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

If I take the main road , its 8kms and the roads are relatively good here. I prefer the longer one.
......My log in time is 5:30am and cab comes to my home at 4am! Log out is 2pm and cab starts only at 3pm
.......In car, my left knee is intact because of my working hours

5:30 AM is dangerous for 2 wheeler. As many mentioned above, cabbies are maniacs at this hour due to free roads.
And since it is just about 8 kms each way, you should mostly stick to the car.

Your left knee will still remain intact. Infact your whole body should be fine in the car at this hour of commute.

PS: From your signature, I see you own the latest Nano, which is an ultimate city hatch.
So go on, enjoy the fresh morning drive, and hot and dusty afternoon return commute in the comfort of AC.

[hserus]

Sairam - The return time is going to be painful because of all the school bus traffic but going to your office is going to be very easy and painless.

Soumyajit - I had that trouble too (knee pain due to long hours of driving) but sort of compensated by setting my seat back to a comfortable distance so that my legs are more or less extended and not jammed up close to the dashboard. So they have to flex less to operate the pedals. The other thing is, I kick my shoes off and drive with socks / bare feet, and that makes it a lot more comfortable. Yes I know it looks ugly, and getting out of the car suddenly (eg: for a traffic stop by a cop) will take time. The thing that absolutely cured my knee pain was to work from home though

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

My office is in Bellandur-Embassy Tech Village. I stay in Kasavanahalli. Distance is 6kms if I take the shortest path i.e road opposite Total Mall, Sarjapur which connects to Bellandur. If I take the main road , its 8kms and the roads are relatively good here. I prefer the longer one.

Cab comes too early for my shift and starts too late :( My log in time is 5:30am and cab comes to my home at 4am! Log out is 2pm and cab starts only at 3pm :( Hence cab is ruled out.

For your login time of 5 30 AM, the cab comes at 4 AM.

This is absolute shocker to me. let me tell you my login time and when the cab comes.
My login time is 6 30 AM. The cab (indica) comes by 5:55 - 6: 00 AM to Bommanahalli and by 6:35 I am in office. This is for a distance of 21 kms (ITPL).

Now tell me why should the cab come to pick you by 4 AM???

[hserus]

Maybe he got lucky and got one of the very few sane and careful cabbies in bangalore? 21 kilometers in even smoothly flowing traffic you'll have to budget 1 1/2 hours. Early morning traffic with heavy truck movement etc - I am not surprised if he'd allow 1 hour instead of half an hour. One and a half hours is being overly conservative I think.

Further, if he lives in Kasavanahalli off the sarjapur road, the first km or so is very narrow and winding uphill / downhill roads till you reach sarjapur road near the hosa road turning (Bata), which is a huge bottleneck at most times of the day. On second thoughts, no, 1 1/2 hours is being careful, not conservative at all.

[ashwin.terminat]

Loss of wetlands and open spaces have been huge contributors to the chaos and floods in Chennai apparently.

In this aspect, Bangalore fares no better. Huge loss of lakes and open spaces thanks to construction companies. If we were to face a deluge like the one Chennai did; we would suffer a similar or a worse fate I believe.

Bangalore lost 79% of wetlands - this was in 2010. And the situation has only worsened over the five years.

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/in...tlands-1342759

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...?homepage=true

[hserus]

Yes - this one social activist Nityanand Jayaraman has been protesting against this for a long time, but nobody has cared to listen to him. The TN govt even came out with a report saying this was happening, and then filed it to let builders / IT companies etc put up IT parks and flats wherever they wished. This one article below gives you details on which specific roads cause a lot of the problem.

http://scroll.in/article/769928/chen...d-construction

[mpksuhas]

Traffic alert
Huge block near New Horizon college on ORR - Marathahalli - Bellandur side due to what looks like a vehicle fire.

Was able to see thick black smoke rising from the road and people running towards it to catch a glimpse from my office. Not sure about the details, smoke has ceased since then, but has ensured that there is a huge jam.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

Loss of wetlands and open spaces have been huge contributors to the chaos and floods in Chennai apparently.

In this aspect, Bangalore fares no better. Huge loss of lakes and open spaces thanks to construction companies. If we were to face a deluge like the one Chennai did; we would suffer a similar or a worse fate I believe.

Bangalore lost 79% of wetlands - this was in 2010. And the situation has only worsened over the five years.

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/in...tlands-1342759

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...?homepage=true

Bangalore will suffer more than Chennai. With the slightest of rains, Koramangala and Ejipura get flooded. Then we have the foamed Bellandur lake and Madiwala lake. Rewind the clock to year 2005 when silk board was flooded.

[sunishsamuel]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Bangalore will suffer more than Chennai. With the slightest of rains, Koramangala and Ejipura get flooded. Then we have the foamed Bellandur lake and Madiwala lake. Rewind the clock to year 2005 when silk board was flooded.

How does it matter if Bangalore floods ? Few days of outcry and that's it. In spite of traffic issues, water shortage and drainage problems, i do not see anyone pointing fingers at the violators. The who's who are safe. Others are just numbers; victims, vote banks. To be used/remembered only during the elections.