[Warwithwheels]

Exactly! That's precisely the reason why my two year old bike has got less than 1000 KMS on the ODO.

I restrict my two wheeler usage only to places within my locality where no lorries or buses ply. Riding a two wheeler in Chennai is a real nightmarish experience.

[Dieseldunk]

Today I took the bike to office since it was newly serviced and been long since i used it too. On the road well the below events were noticed by me and i was could not take snaps since was riding bike and for fear of dear life. some photos should never be taken like the below mentioned

Share auto collided with a biker (no fault of the biker) his leg was dangling and the share auto chap scooted away in another one of his croons auto. (sorry no pics very disturbing )

A biker suddenly swerves left from right and his neck is cradled against his shoulder and lo behold the all impt cell phone is there ( OMG why should driving kill an interesting cell talk)

A lady in a activa zooms past me near the signal (from right side and I am on the extreme right- to take right turn) she coolly turns to go extreme left (was sporting flashy coolers- may be she was affected by dark vision)

Phew! so much for a day on the bike.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

Riding a two wheeler in Chennai is a real nightmarish experience.

As Dieseldunk points out, sharing the road with [other] two wheelers is a real nightmarish experience. Actually, the bikers sometimes seem to be treating each other with even greater ignorance than they do other vehicles.

[Gansan]

My 81+ years old father had a child like desire to travel by the newly introduced "Small Bus!", so I took him by the S2 bus to Medavakkam and back! Now that the buses have been running for ~ 2 weeks, things have stabilized. Some observations:

1) The bus connects two busy main roads (GST Road and Tambaram - Velachery main road) through some very remote, far flung roads and colonies. It really is a boon to the populace living in those areas. Normal buses don't (can't) ply there. Autos will easily demand Rs 150.00 to reach there from the railway station and bus stand. I observed a flock of school children board the bus gleefully near Zion school in Tirumalai Nagar. And yes, the free student bus pass is accepted in this bus too. To their credit, the crew did not show any irritation towards these children ; they lose their incentive from ticket sale, remember!

2) The bus was fully packed on both the trips! The people do make full use of it, and love it! They are not beyond the pale any more!

3) The stops even in the back roads and remote colonies are now stabilized and there is resistance from the crew to stop at other places.

4) The typical route length is ~ 12 KM and the bus takes a little over an hour for a round trip..
Minimum fare is Rs 5.00 (Rs 3.00 in normal buses) and maximum fare is Rs 9.00

5) There are 27 seats. Another 10 - 15 people can stand. Anything more is a crush load.

6) The bus has six forward gears, one reverse. All fifty of the first batch are TATA make. I hear the next fifty busus will be Ashok Leylands.

The trip really made my dad's day! He had never seen the recently developed colonies around our once sleepy neighborhood! To be honest, I had never heard of some of them myself!

In the picture: our " ride" for the evening! Image credit: Ceeznic Pirate, SSC Forum.

[Thad E Ginathom]

That's great. I haven't seen one yet.

For safety reasons, the windscreen should be clear and free of stickers. I promise that I have no ulterior political motive for saying that.

[supremeBaleno]

^^^The windscreen would be cleared of the stickers. But you will have to wait till the next election and a regime change.

As Gansan mentioned, these buses (wish they had a better name for it than small-bus) are definitely a boon for those residing in interior areas where big buses don't/can't ply. And the frequency is pretty good - every time I have been on the road in my locality, I have seen 1 of these plying. And looks like our locality got 2 of these - apart from the S32, there is an S33 that plies via Bajanai Koil Street towards Ashok Nagar.

[saadat1992]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

every time I have been on the road in my locality, I have seen 1 of these plying. And looks like our locality got 2 of these - apart from the S32, there is an S33 that plies via Bajanai Koil Street towards Ashok Nagar.

Exactly! 2 are there! S33 - Metha nagar to Ashok Pillar via Gill nagar.
And S32 - Vadapalani to thiruvika park via anna nedumpadhai!
They have made travel easy!

[Gansan]

Chennai: Smallbus route number S14, which plies between SRP Tools and Mettukuppam, transports hundreds of school children in Kandanchavadi. “Every morning and evening, these buses ply like school vans and are always packed,” said an official from Metropolitan Transport Corporation.

The children used to walk 2km to their school in Perungudi before small buses were introduced. “These are kids aged between four and six. They do not have passes and are too poor to buy tickets,” said the official. He added that with the buses being so popular among students in the area, MTC has written to the councillor to appoint someone to escort the children.

Source & Full Article

[raghu.t.k]

Today I had taken a day off from office and was out on the roads during the day. I came across the following which left me astonished and laughing.

1. At the intersection from T Nagar to Saidapet, saw a scooterist with a helmet which was strapped up. But the surprising was the strap was used to hang one of the shopping bags!! I wanted to take a snap, but with a young lady as his pillion did want it to be construed any other way.

2. Was returning on Cathedral road and at the Gemini Signal, found a Kinetic Honda with a Political flag on its front mudguard!! Not sure to what level these so called politicians would go to ensure that the cops dont catch them, and to showcase their political affliations.

[GunMo]

Ran into a fender bender experience today and this person driving a golden/bronze Sunny (TN 11 xxxx) with 'Live to Drive' and 'got BHP?' stickers showed amazing resilient and apologized profusely even when it's his car that took most of the brunt for no fault of his.

If you happen to read this, hats off to you buddy - and a serious penitence from me as well (I was one in the black Rexton behind you).

Here's what happened (pardon the lengthy account):
Coming down from Kathipara junction, I was travelling towards Chennai Trade center to reach Porur. The road was wet due the sudden burst of shower early in the morning. Traffic was moderate and I was doing around 25-30 kmph. There was this Sunny in front of me and some autos on my side. In front of the Sunny was a blue Maruti 800. There were few other cars as well behind me.

This road from Kathipara towards Chennai Trade Center (Butt road) takes a sharp right turn and from a wide four lane equivalent narrows into 1.5 lane within some 70-80 meters. It slightly widens back to 2 lane to become 1.5 again within another 20 meters.

All these cars and autos were pretty much travelling around the same speed as me and with decent gaps (in Chennai terms, "mind it") in between them. Nothing different from any other day and I was enjoying the music from the FM - just like any other day. I went past the first narrow area - where typically everybody slows down to crawl and then pick up speed (only to crawl again at the second narrow spot and then pick up even greater speed). These spots would often come to standstill in dense traffic.

Just as I picked up from 5-10 kmph to reach 25-30, I saw the M800 as well as the Sunny screeching to halt - barely 15-20 feet in front of me. Apparently an auto guy decided to cut in front of the M800 throwing him into panic mode. I immediately hit the brake, but the wet tarmac and a 2 ton behemoth that was just accelerating could barely managed to shred most of its momentum to just kiss the rear fender of Sunny. Though it was only few seconds while I was standing on the brake, my heart was racing through the possibilities (or is it head?). I could feel the ABS kicking in; there were autos on my left and hence couldn't steer there; did quick glance in the rear-view mirror to ensure I won't be rear ended; offered even quicker prayer to save the Sunny in front of me; etc.

Finally when I got down, the Sunny was sandwiched between the M800 and my Rexton though there were no broken parts. I slightly backed up to see no visible impact on my Rexton and noticed similar status with M800's rear, but the Sunny's fenders were slightly warped with impressions from it's solid inner structure. Again no broken parts / glasses anywhere.

I felt bad as my car made a slight damage to someone's without his fault, but was shocked to see that person asking for my apology again and again. I was dumb struct to be honest and even forgot to offer my apology / condolence before the traffic around us reminding us to get going. So, here I am.

Buddy, Profound sorry to give you a fender bender. Hope it 'heals' with as little 'medication' as possible. Wish you many happy miles without any such incident.

[klassics45]

Originally Posted by GunMo

Ran into a fender bender experience today and this person driving a golden/bronze Sunny (TN 11 xxxx) with 'Live to Drive' and 'got BHP?' stickers showed amazing resilient and apologized profusely even when it's his car that took most of the brunt for no fault of his.

I truly appreciate it buddy! Forget about apology, We dont see many to even accept their mistakes. It really needs a big heart and you really have one.

[para_7k]

Originally Posted by GunMo

Ran into a fender bender experience today and this person driving a golden/bronze Sunny (TN 11 xxxx) with 'Live to Drive' and 'got BHP?' stickers showed amazing resilient and apologized profusely even when it's his car that took most of the brunt for no fault of his.

That is the worst possible bottle neck I have to encounter everyday. Getting out of it without a scratch is an achievement.

However, now I found an alternate route. Yes, it is a bit long but you can relax and do not have to worry about lanes converging or diverging and drive peacefully. Look at the map below.

PS: Good work both of you

[supremeBaleno]

As per today's newspaper, CCTP to enforce use of seat-belts in cars. First time offenders would be fined Rs100 and subsequent offence would attract a Rs300 fine.
Good move and something they should have started much earlier.

[Maverick79]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

As per today's newspaper, CCTP to enforce use of seat-belts in cars. First time offenders would be fined Rs100 and subsequent offence would attract a Rs300 fine.
Good move and something they should have started much earlier.

Finally, its in!. Great piece of news and way forward for forcing safe driving practises.
I remember being fined for the 1st time in Mumbai in 2005.
From then on wards, wearing seat belt became a habbit for me. Hard way of learning!
I don't feel attached to the car, if I don't wear it now.

Slightly OT: In 2005 too, the fine collected from me was INR 100. Even now its INR100 for first time offenders. Thank GOD. No inflation effect!

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by Maverick79

I remember being fined for the 1st time in Mumbai in 2005.
From then onwards, wearing seat belt became a habit for me. Hard way of learning!

Though I had been driving for many years, I never used seat-belts till the TN Govt started enforcing it in 2003 or so. At that time the only motivation was to avoid being pulled over by the cops and paying a fine, but it soon became a habit and now is something that is default. So hopefully this time around also, the enforcement drive will result in many more folks belting-up and thus ensuring their safety.