[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Gilead

If one is coming from Guindy bridge side to Saidapet, stick to the left extreme.

That is the crux of the problem. When I descend from the bridge, I have to turn left almost immediately and enter my office. But there is a road from the racecourse side which emerges from the left of the bridge, and a lot of vehicles coming from there try to go to the right side of the road, which causes our paths to cross. This has become extremely difficult after the metro work started, so I hardly ever take the car to office nowadays.

Vehicles coming to our office from the Little Mount side find it relatively easy - they take a U turn near race course and emerge from under the bridge, so can stick to the extreme left all along.

There is a rumour the stretch from Guindy bridge to Little Mount may be made one way from next Monday (6/9/10) itself.

[jeevmenon]

Just back from Ekkatuthangal after my Sparky's service. On our way back home, on the bye-pass road, Velachery, on the side of Connexions, NaiHa we parked to pick up a writing pad for Neha from Connexions. It was not available, we crossed the road to Shrishti, got it. We returned back just to see locks on the wheel. The traffic police pick-up truck was around. He showed me the No-parking board. I had seen that but I was 100 m away from it and so thought I was safe. But then he showed me another board some 100 m ahead from where I had parked. I had not seen that. He asked me to 300, said if I had not returned there on time I would have had to go to the station and then would have had to pay 1000. We cribbed a little and he said 150. He did give us receipts. I just want to warn folks in the Velachery area not to park on that NaiHa, Kerala-Chips, Connexions side on the Velachery Bye-pass road.

[aargee]

There's a new automated signal post that has been put up between CTC & Manapakkam. Since its new, people are getting used to it; what I mean is they still follow the old habit of riding free as if there's no signal.

This morning around 7:00 AM this signal turns RED & unfortunately there're no other vehicles in front of me & as usual I'm the stupid who stops before the stop line. All other vehicles passes by & I stand firm.

What's more disgusting is, there is indeed a traffic cop walking towards the signal & waves me to go. But I point to the signal & still stand over there. He gives a sheepish smile show some action that probably meant "no one's stopping & why do you moron?". He then gets to his duty to stop the vehicles by putting up his hand. Now everyone stops.

My thoughts...
1. So it has become perfectly fine for the cops themselves to allow people to violate law & obviously people will tend to violate more. What would be the scene on streets after 5 years from now? Absolute chaos?
2. Looking at people's attitude that no one can stop for just 20-30 seconds that too early in the morning when there's no traffic.

I moved on when the signal turned GREEN thinking if our children would ever get an opportunity to ride/drive safe; but then, my Dad used to worry how I would ride on the roads because it was turning chaotic compared to his times. This is a system; if we've made it worse & handed it over to our children, they'll make it even worse & hand it over to their children inturn. Likewise, if we learned to live in this worse system, they too will learn to live in a even worst system. Thank God, I live only in worse system & the worst is yet to come

[Thad E Ginathom]

1. So it has become perfectly fine for the cops themselves to allow people to violate law

That depends. We could take a view that an instruction from a policeman overrides a traffic signal. In fact, that would be my view.

I was taking a U-turn (as I regularly do) at the junction of MGR road and OMR (Kandanchavidi). Can one do a U when the light is red against you? I'm in two minds about that, but when a cop was there and I looked at him, his attitude was, "yes, yes, go!"

The traffic police are supposed to keep the traffic flowing and the junctions clear, and I'm actually quite impressed at the job they do on our crazy roads.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I'm actually quite impressed at the job they do on our crazy roads.

Sir, that's not impressive.
Impressive is one where they've every motorists on the road under their control. May be excluding a few. But that's what I would call impressive. If it can be done in London, it can be done here!!!

[partha379]

One more place which has been messed up thanks to metro rail construction is Ashok pillar/Udayam theatre junction. Police made some roads one way and removed all the signals without accounting for the fact that vehicles still have to cross the intersections !!.

So now it is a free for all and the place has become really dangerous - instead of 4 signals we now have 4 "X" crossings with vehicles going from Left to Right and vice versa.

I would request everyone to be really watchful in the night if you are travelling in this area, especially near the BSNL office to Udayam theatre stretch. The metro construction is hiding the vehicles that are trying cross your path !!

[partha379]

One more place which has been messed up thanks to metro rail construction is Ashok pillar/Udayam theatre junction. Police made some roads one way and removed all the signals without accounting for the fact that vehicles still have to cross the intersections !!.

So now it is a free for all and the place has become really dangerous - instead of 4 signals we now have 4 "X" crossings with vehicles going from Left to Right and vice versa.

I would request everyone to be really watchful in the night if you are travelling in this area, especially near the BSNL office to Udayam theatre stretch. The metro construction is hiding the vehicles that are trying to cross your path !!

[sterlingjames]

to add to partha379's observation, guys just watch out for a non a/c,low floored,MTC bus route no 170 which has a maniac behind the wheel. i have seen this guy cause 3 accidents in just a week. what he does is, when he comes from ashok pillar going to eekaduthangal side, he enters from the extreme right side of the road(other side of the median as well) and just in front of the BSNL office takes a sharp and high speed turn(almost a u-turn) barging his way into the 'now-narrow-because-of-the-metro-rail barricade', knocking down at least a couple of 2 wheelers or brushing the sides of cars slowly trying to enter the stretch. the worst was when he jammed a cyclist against a beige SX4 damaging the cycle,both side doors and rear view mirror of the car. before anyone could react the bus just kept going(he was doing about 35 kmph to 40kmph at the corner) and just kept picking up speed!it is a scary experience for anyone because the morning traffic is just about 5 kmph or 10 kmph at that junction!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by aargee

Sir, that's not impressive.
Impressive is one where they've every motorists on the road under their control. May be excluding a few. But that's what I would call impressive. If it can be done in London, it can be done here!!!

London's traffic signal system is centrally controlled. Unfortunately, there is political input into the signal timings, which is used as a social-engineering method to pit people off using cars there. If any signal is not working, then often it becomes quicker to get through that junction! When a policeman turns up to control the traffic, he will cause tailbacks of miles.

[aargee]

Well said; then its no exception here & here's why...

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

London's traffic signal system is centrally controlled.

Same here in Chennai; add an additional word - partially along with centrally

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Unfortunately, there is political input into the signal timings, which is used as a social-engineering method to pit people off using cars there.

Same case here; the cops stop you when there's a minister crossing the road. So the same applies here

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

If any signal is not working, then often it becomes quicker to get through that junction!

Same case here. Hold on before reading the next point

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

When a policeman turns up to control the traffic, he will cause tailbacks of miles.

Same here; when you find a mile long traffic, then its damn sure that there's a cop (trying) to (de)regulate the traffic.

If there's no traffic jam, catch hold of a new joinee in police & put him to work on the junction. In the next few days there'll be a headlines in the newspaper on how much traffic is struck & next one year there's a automated signal & the cop standing beneath causing even more traffic jam than before

[Thad E Ginathom]

I still think driving here is marginally better. At least we don't have inexplicable traffic jams at 1.00am

Awaiting your Same here!

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Awaiting your Same here!

Yep; happens occasionally, but not everyday. But I'm sure its going to happen sooner or later. About 4 years ago, Tirumangalam signal at Anna Nagar was crowded everyday around midnight. I mean vehicles moving at the speed of 5 Kmph or even stranded; now sure how it is now. I leave it to you to decide if its the same

[Thad E Ginathom]

Well, already I avoid Thiruvanmiyur at almost any time of the day, certainly late evening.

[jeevmenon]

Two things today about humps

1. The red arrow mark hump (indicated in the below picture - right hand bottom corner) has been partially removed - half the length of the road. What a relief!! It used to shake up my Sparky big time. Was it done by someone who found it irritating for days?



2. Newly installed hump just after the 45 deg descent to the car-park at the office. What a pain!

These are the irritating pre-fabricated nail-to-the-road kind of humps, which are really painful ones. Does anyone feel it that way? The older in-place created ones are much better and smoother.

There is another novel one which I found on the Mysore Road which is something as shown below. Interesting ones and better than what we have currently.

[jeevmenon]

Removed the barriers on OMR again at 8:15 am on Friday - the traffic had accumulated no end. I dont care even if its illegal to move it out.