[am1m]

Originally Posted by binand

That hardly catches even 10% of the cases. All it has managed to do is to shift the DUI habit to a bit earlier than it used to be.

Quite possible. I know they are more active on weekends, but logically that is still the time when more people are more likely to drink and drive. So I think that makes sense. And about timings, I'm sure I've run into checks at far longer time intervals and sometimes even on weekdays. Not every night for sure, but certainly there are several more checks and at several more spots than there used to be.

Originally Posted by binand

That means the bar owners, party hosts... If anyone is caught drinking & driving, put a comparable fine on those who allowed them to drive after drinking

While I agree drunken driving is a very, very serious offense and should be stamped out, this doesn't make much sense. How can a bar owner make sure everyone in the establishment has a designated driver or takes a cab? I can't even ensure that at a gathering in my home. And if the threat of arrest is hanging over host's heads, the logical thing to do is avoid serving alcohol altogether. Now, that sounds like moral policing.

Step up the actual drunken driving checks by all means and even make the penalties more severe.

[binand]

Originally Posted by am1m

How can a bar owner make sure everyone in the establishment has a designated driver or takes a cab?

By asking everyone who comes in to deposit their vehicle keys. By reporting those who drive off after consuming a few to the police with vehicle number and location. Many ways. Once it is established that bar owners are culpable for what their patrons do they will come up with methods to reduce that culpability.

Originally Posted by am1m

I can't even ensure that at a gathering in my home.

That is callousness. What stops you from adding "there will be alcohol, please don't bring your vehicle" in the invite?

Originally Posted by am1m

And if the threat of arrest is hanging over host's heads, the logical thing to do is avoid serving alcohol altogether. Now, that sounds like moral policing.

No. It forces people to drink & serve alcohol responsibly. Those who can't will find themselves more and more isolated.

Originally Posted by am1m

Step up the actual drunken driving checks by all means and even make the penalties more severe.

That requires at the very least, 11-11 monitoring. I have seen drunk people struggling to control their vehicles on Bangalore's roads at 5 PM. But with total impunity. And fortunate that Bangalore's traffic woes prevent them from really causing big trouble for other road users. We can't have DUI checks at peak evening rush hour but the bars are serving alcohol.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by binand

What stops you from adding "there will be alcohol, please don't bring your vehicle" in the invite?

Fair enough. (Just to clarify by using the 'my house' example, I didn't literally mean this happens at my place I was trying to make the point that it's hard enough to enforce such control in a smaller place, will be harder in a commercial establishment.)

But yes, this is a good idea.

Originally Posted by binand

By asking everyone who comes in to deposit their vehicle keys.

This I still think is impractical. (Though people do happily hand over their keys to places that have valet parking.) Frankly, I'm not a fan of such overreaching government regulation. (Now please don't say that means I'm "condoning drunken driving" ) Actual drunken driving checks enforced by the police on public roads, IMHO, that is more practical.

[Samurai]

Please get back to discussing Bangalore traffic - Support Team

[itwasntme]

PM in BLR on 25 March. Definitely avoid the Whitefield area.

https://www.deccanherald.com/electio...5-1202276.html

[ShreyG]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Please get back to discussing Bangalore traffic - Support Team

On this note, there seems to be a eerie calm to the truly unruly traffic in Bangalore these days. I am talking about one of the most dreaded stretches in the city, the ORR from Silk Board to KR Pura. Yes, there is humongous traffic and lines stretch from Wells Fargo all the way back (towards Silk Board), but the movement is continuous, you are not stuck at a place for more than 10-15 seconds and drive times have also reduced to some extent despite metro construction in progress.
From my observations, I can attribute it to the policing for
1. One way violation (of course there is the odd apocalyptic moron )
2. Parking / standing on the main carriageway (specially BMTC and the tempo travelers). They are now directed into the service lanes for passengers to board / alight
3. Overall driving sense
Election buzz in the air it seems, what with the PM coming down every now and then to inaugurate infra projects (I don't remember him coming to inaugurate the green or purple lines, but the 8 station Whitefield line is of utmost importance ), newly tarred roads everywhere and the BTP actually manning traffic and not just standing there taking pictures of violators the don't fancy.
Come June, true state of affairs will come to the forefront it seems. Not a pessimist, but this is the sort of pattern I have seen staying in the city for close to a decade now. Fingers crossed its not the case this time.

[deehunk]

BDA's controversial PRR project gets environmental clearance, is it late to start?

https://swarajyamag.com/amp/story/in...tal-clearances

Probably 15 years ago, this would have been very useful to decongest the city traffic.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by ShreyG

On this note, there seems to be a eerie calm to the truly unruly traffic in Bangalore these days. I am talking about one of the most dreaded stretches in the city, the ORR from Silk Board to KR Puram.

Definitely. The traffic flow has tremendously improved at least in my commute route and the infamous Ecospace stop-go also has now bettered to a steady crawl. What I have also observed is that most cabbies except for the few random rogues now drive very sedately and stick to their lane. The average FE of my car has improved from 9-10kmpl to 11-12kmpl during my commute since I now get to do a steady speed on most of the stretch between Silk Board and Marathahalli and also reduced potholes to slow down for.

However the state of two wheeler riders and auto has worsened especially between 6-8PM. Absolutely careless riding and no regard for anything be it pedestrians or other two wheelers. It is a wrestling match at junctions and narrow lanes. Not sure how this attitude can be changed.

[ShreyG]

Originally Posted by audioholic

However the state of two wheeler riders and auto has worsened especially between 6-8PM. Absolutely careless riding and no regard for anything be it pedestrians or other two wheelers. It is a wrestling match at junctions and narrow lanes. Not sure how this attitude can be changed.

On a humorous note, they are ready to give their lives to save a couple of seconds and are dependent on the empathy of other road users (4 wheelers, trucks etc) who do not take it.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by deehunk

BDA's controversial PRR project gets environmental clearance, is it late to start?

Nothing is too late to start I feel. PRR issues are/were profound and deeply complex from the societal and environmental perspective, and not helped by the prevaricating KA governments. Wishing them all the luck as we need to start building NOW!

On another note, the STRR is proceeding very well. I have driven on the completed portions near the Dobbspete / Devanahalli areas with a smooth and well engineered surface/alignment, and in some cases better than the much-vaunted new 'Expressway'.

A recent update below:
https://www.timesnownews.com/bengalu...icle-98793813#

Will provide truckers and other motorists an excellent way to circumvent BLR totally. It should decongest all the key arteries like ORR, NICE Road, Hosur Road, Tumkur Road, Bellary Road, Old Madras Road etc.

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by audioholic

However the state of two wheeler riders and auto has worsened especially between 6-8PM. Absolutely careless riding and no regard for anything be it pedestrians or other two wheelers. It is a wrestling match at junctions and narrow lanes. Not sure how this attitude can be changed.

I commuted the last month on a rental Activa in South Bengaluru. The last 5 seconds of a green signal during non peak hours with sparse traffic gives me the chills. It's clear that I can make it across the junction by maintaining my speed. There are all these nut cases who waited all along, but give up and jump the light in the last few seconds and cut across my path. Suicidal nut cases, lots of them with swiggy, zomato boxes, I hope they are held accountable. They scare the living daylights out of me.

[srvm]

I was riding my Activa today around 5pm. Going from BEML gate to Banaswadi via Old Madras road and ORR. Took a left at Tin factory, immediately after getting on to the upward ramp, I see about 50 people standing on the left lane of the overpass. Plenty of 2-wheelers and couple of cars parked. Fearing that some accident had happened just minutes ago, I slowed down and carefully negotiated the crowd by moving to right lane with fast moving traffic breathing down my neck.
After passing the crowd, I come back to left lane and I notice that there was no accident. People were taking selfies/photos of the pink colored blossom/sakura flowered trees below the overpass on the Beniganahalli side

The trees are awesome to see in this time of the year and lend beauty to Namma Bangaluru but this behavior of people on such traffic prone road is just

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by deehunk

BDA's controversial PRR project gets environmental clearance, is it late to start?

https://swarajyamag.com/amp/story/in...tal-clearances

Probably 15 years ago, this would have been very useful to decongest the city traffic.

True for daily commuters within the city - doesn't make a difference. But makes a hell of a lot of difference for the folks on the eastern and north eastern side of Bangalore (Bagalur, Budigere, Hoskote, Whitefield and around, Varthur, Marathahalli and Sarjapur ) - it takes a good 3 hours for many of us to get to Nelamangala from Whitefield on a typical weekend ( for comparison, 3 hours is approximately the time one takes from Tumkur to Shimoga, which is 240 kms ).

It also serves the truckers quite a lot, which in turn makes it easy for people living in / around the above towns. For example, the amount of truck traffic that crosses over from the Hosur - Dabbaspet highway to the Hyderabad highway is phenomenal and passes through a main market street of Hoskote ( and to some extent Devanahalli ) and these town junctions are now notorious for traffic jams. All this will ease out with the PRR.

[whitewing]

A meme on the "small" gap in the newly inaugurated metro stretch.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by whitewing

A meme on the "small" gap in the newly inaugurated metro stretch.[/ATTACH]

That is hilarious!

I've read several 'reasons' online for why that particular section is still incomplete. Covid, steel shortage, labour shortage, land acquisition, etc etc. Does anyone know what the actual reason was?

If it was any of the shortage reasons, surely that would affect all spans equally. Having seen that stretch over a year now, that one section was always far behind, while all the others were progressing. Wondering if it was a land acquisition issue (though it's in the middle of the road, not over any private land), or perhaps some issue with the railway tracks nearby?

What's even funnier is how the Metro PR is attempting to claim that this stretch is now 'complete' (barring this small section). And the media is just printing whatever they churn out. Even if it's a gap of a foot, what is the use of claiming the metro has now "reached Whitefield". (Technically yes- but not connected to the rest of the system!)

Anyway, waiting till it really connects that part of town, will make a huge difference.