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-   -   Traffic and life on the roads in Chennai (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/68789-traffic-life-roads-chennai-161.html)

guys, I plan to go to vendanthangal bird sanctuary tomorrow with my family. Anything to look out for?

Well, stands to reason that you look out for birds in a bird sanctuary, no?

The right time to sight the maximum variety of birds would be either dawn or dusk. Dawn is the time when many of the birds leave for feeding and dusk is when they return to roost.

Birds, perhaps? lol:

More seriously, what do you need? This tbhp thread is from 2009 but should still be valid. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...anthangal.html

Or this more recent one. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...sanctuary.html

Crossing Guduvanchery traffic lights has become hellish again(it was quite Ok for about two months). I joined the queue at 8:57AM today near SAFA apartments. When i crossed the light, it was 9:40.:Frustrati
What is really causing this daymare, eveningmare and nightmare? how was it ok for a couple of months? Is there a plan to widen this road by our dear authorities? any thoughts - anyone? please:

Artificial traffic jam created by the police evident at Tidel Park signal. Waited this morning for close to 20 minutes for the signal to change to turn right towards Madhya Kailash.

Why cant the police leave the automated signals automated please:and not manually override it?

Also note that the young and healthy IT professionals are plain lazy to use the over bridge to cross the road. :Frustrati

Things were bad yesterday evening at this junction. Took me 50 minutes to get till Tidel from Kandanchavadi (with huge delays before SRP junction) a distance of around 4Km. Again police are stopping traffic at Madhya Kailash in the evenings so there is a huge jam till almost Indra Nagar station.

We went to mahabs today. It was a nightmarish experience.

First, when we were walking there, a bus almost ran my family & I over even though we were walking on the sidewalk. The driver was laughing when I remonstrated with him. It was only when I started cursing him in tamil that he showed some anger. I wish I had thought to get the bus number then but my family & I were too shaken up by this incident. Question: How do I ensure that these kinds of drivers are punished in the future? Is there some sort of helpline or online portal to report these kinds of incidents.

Second, driving back on the ECR was horrendous. First a scopio with PY number plates almost ran us off the road when overtaking me. He continued to drive in an extremely aggressive fashion and exhibited similar behaviour with other cards ahead of us. Then, there was this jackass in a 520d with TN plates who kept honking & flashing his lights. What he didnt seem to understand was that barring pulling over to the side for him, there was absolutely no way for him to overtake me. He finally overtook me when I moved a little over as soon the road got wider. His destination seemed to be the horticultural gardens on ECR and both of us reached that place within a couple of min of each other, even though I was driving sedately. Question: How do I report the PY plates scorpio. I have my dashcam video which puts his guilt beyond doubt.

On the flip side, our journey to mahabs was very peaceful - a xylo, octavia & I formed a sort of unofficial convoy and it was great driving with them.

Was it a state bus?

What I gather, albeit from newspapers, is that the worst "punishment" they are likely to receive is a short "retraining," ...if they actually kill somebody.

TN buses are also (in defiance of national law?) uninsured. Any claim against them has to be pursued with the bus company and/or the state government. It may take years, and, when you win, they may simply not pay up.

I would have gently slowed to a stop. Of course, that is a bit unfair on the rest of the traffic. The one thing that does moderate my behaviour with people like that is to remind myself that it is a lot safer to have them in front than it is to have them behind. I try to remember that!

I have to drive to Mahabs next weekend. It used to be a very pleasant experience, now the cabbies, buses, SUV bully-boys and rich kids have made it dangerous.

Drive to Mahabs and Pondy (ECR) has been like this from many years now. First off the PSTC buses drive like its the end of the world, they shove you off the road, come from the opposite direction (while overtaking) in your lane as if you don't exist. Even using dipper won't budge them. They have the least fear of killing someone leave alone minimal respect for fellow road users.

Other cars and SUVs also drive like crazy on ECR, however from the time i have the Storme with me, they show me respect :D

Yesterday took the Chennai ByPass from Perambur to Tambaram. I felt like gliding on ice. Was scared to carve corners at 80 km/hr. I don't know what they do with the toll money. I remember this road was good some 3 years back.

Everyone taking this route, please don't go at triple digit speeds.

I dont use this road off late, but when I used it earlier had found soft tar had created lumps. This used to have tendency to slip when driving over them. Not sure if you had a similar experience.

Had a query about parking. Need to be at the US Embassy and their VAC at Cenotaph Road for US visa interview/OFC this week.
Are there safe (as in, car won't be towed away) parking options around these 2 locations ?
- For Cenotaph Road, is there an option to park under the flyover ?
- What about the US Embassy at Cathedral Road ?

You would be lucky if you get a vacant parking spot there. Easier option would be to take the left after the VAC if you reach from Mount Road side and park the car somewhere in the street. This is the street in which Lanson Toyota showroom is located.

No way. People might suggest you Lloyd's Road (Avvai Shanmugam Salai). But, this road being a school zone (DAV-Gopalapuram), you will see a lot of school-vans parked - especially if you go during the lunch time or the evening time. The only option is to park somewhere close to the Cafe Coffee Day (guess there is a SBI/Post Office nearby - google for these) in Lloyd's Road - but its quite a distance from the embassy.

I would any day suggest you to take a rick or a cab on the D-day. A couple of months back, when I happened to visit these two places - I took a rick and believe me, it was damn hassle-free. And surprisingly, I just paid by meter.

FYI - I used Ola Rick a few times over the past 2 weeks and that's just awesome.

Thanks, callvvijay !!! Today took a bus from Thoraipakkam to MadhyaKailash and then an auto from there to Cenotaph road - quick, hassle-free & economical too. Same for return.
Left office at 1:30PM and was back in office at 4PM.

The Embassy visit is early in the morning - will have to depend on a cab. These are the times I wish I was staying in the city, instead of the outskirts. Sholinganallur to Gemini makes me feel like a cross-country ride.