[manishk83]

It's been a while since I logged into TBHP. But this topic interested me because of it's philosophical implications (pls bear with me!):

Two points first before I converge:

1. We Indians are the worst Indian-bashers. We would go to the US and sing of the discipline that USwallahs follow. We'd amaze at how honest they are. And we would crib at how Indians are. Not recognizing that all people are equal. USwallahs are as chor as us Indians. Case in point: They cheat on their GFs & wives more often that us. Why are they generally honest then? Because there the system is strong enough to punish those who break it. Gist: All men are equally good.

2. Man is an animal. He has to fight to survive. And he is adaptable enough to learn the tricks of the trade, i.e. the ways to survive. Gist: We fight to survive.

And now, I'll converge. Well, all of us are gentleman and nice people. It's the fight of survival that has made us such raging maniacs on the road. The truck drivers see probably one vehicle every 15-20 mins (on most roads and also considering that they drive quite a lot at nights). the basic human nature makes them be gentlemanly. And this basic human nature is one that exists in all of us: cabwallahs, autowallahs, dumper-wallahs...everyone.

But, the average cab-wallah sees 15-20 vehicles every second (and ever increasing!) for 12 hrs a day - all the freaking 365 days of the year. And all trying to get ahead in the hoch-poch. He gets tired of it all. You would too. How much do u drive daily? 2 hrs a day? 5 days a week? With occasional vacations every year? Spare a thought for the poor cab/auto-wallah. He is not bad, he is a good guy - he is simply frustrated. He too would follow rules and be gentlemanly (ofcourse, through a little prod from the traffic cops!) if he didn't have to constantly fight - almost every waking hr of his day, probably all his life.

And oh! the truckwallahs are not more gentlemanly; they definitely visit brothels more often.

To conclude, everyone is gentlemanly. It's just the times/ atmosphere that conditions us the way we eventually turn out to be. Given better road conditions, less vehicles - who knows? he too would have stuck to the left lane and allowed you to overtake.

During my recent 6000+km trip spanning across seven states of India, I found that most of the truck drivers in MH, GJ and RJ had good road manners vis-a-vis their south Indian counterparts. The moment a truck driver sees the headlight of my Fiat Linea on his rear view mirror [I need not even have to flash the high beam], he used go to the left lane and give me a free right lane for overtaking. In GJ, even the drivers of multi axle heavy vehicles had good road manners. But here in the South, most of the truck drivers would hog the right lane as if it is their birth right. Honking the horn, flashing the high beams will not make them budge. This is my experience. But, I don't know why their behaviour changes from region to region, perhaps something to do with strict enforcement of traffic rules.

[Chopper]

My occurrence with truckers is good so far. Most of the time when they see us in mirror they give us the way. If not, flash or honk, you are good to go.

I always give a honk before overtaking to make sure they won’t change the line all of sudden.

[klassics45]

Truck drivers are one among many reasons, why i prefer night driving. I feel its easier to handle them comparing to day time traffic of government buses and bikes.

They are so alert that you can feel the quick response the moment you flash. you will come across few maniacs but percentage of occurance is less.

[prince_pervez]

Originally Posted by klassics45

you will come across few maniacs but percentage of occurance is less.

but a majority of these will be in an overtaking mood.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by manishk83

It's been a while since I logged into TBHP. But this topic interested me because of it's philosophical implications (pls bear with me!):

Two points first before I converge:

1. We Indians are the worst Indian-bashers. We would go to the US and sing of the discipline that USwallahs follow. We'd amaze at how honest they are. And we would crib at how Indians are. Not recognizing that all people are equal. USwallahs are as chor as us Indians. Case in point: They cheat on their GFs & wives more often that us. Why are they generally honest then? Because there the system is strong enough to punish those who break it. Gist: All men are equally good.

You have done any research on how many % of people there cheat etc., on their wives etc, And probably you call calling a spade a spade, for example saying you need to bribe to get a license done, is lying. You need to bribe in US too. I did not have too? As for breaking the system, I am sure a lot larger number of people and people in power take bribes in India. In India you need to pay bribe for getting everything done. The difference is that in many other countries(and I am not talking about developed countries) you need to pay a bribe only if you want something "illegal" done.

2. Man is an animal. He has to fight to survive. And he is adaptable enough to learn the tricks of the trade, i.e. the ways to survive. Gist: We fight to survive.

So its okay to murder, break rules etc,. just because its in our instinct. You surely have a warped sense of morality!

And now, I'll converge. Well, all of us are gentleman and nice people.

Are there two people typing here. Its like you type one line. Then this other guy comes and puts in the other line

It's the fight of survival that has made us such raging maniacs on the road. The truck drivers see probably one vehicle every 15-20 mins (on most roads and also considering that they drive quite a lot at nights). the basic human nature makes them be gentlemanly.

IF you say driving on drugs and totally under Influence gentlemanly... well what can I say!

And this basic human nature is one that exists in all of us: cabwallahs, autowallahs, dumper-wallahs...everyone.

But then basically we were all born naked. But I do not see many people running around naked.

But, the average cab-wallah sees 15-20 vehicles every second (and ever increasing!) for 12 hrs a day - all the freaking 365 days of the year. And all trying to get ahead in the hoch-poch. He gets tired of it all. You would too. How much do u drive daily? 2 hrs a day? 5 days a week? With occasional vacations every year? Spare a thought for the poor cab/auto-wallah. He is not bad, he is a good guy - he is simply frustrated. He too would follow rules and be gentlemanly (ofcourse, through a little prod from the traffic cops!) if he didn't have to constantly fight - almost every waking hr of his day, probably all his life.

Wow what an excuse. I take cabs and drive through lot of traffic. Bumper to bumper traffic in the US. In the whole commute I see one person probably crossing the solid white line. Even though there is enough shoulder for 2 cars to zoom ahead. And mostly people who do it are those who accidently missed the turn.
Even when the traffic jam is there for 30 minutes, 3 lanes mean 3 lanes.
It has nothing to do with scarcity or conditions of road. It has to do with the culture. For example, New York is very different. If you go there you will not miss home at all.

And oh! the truckwallahs are not more gentlemanly; they definitely visit brothels more often.

So all people who go to brothels are not gentlemen, and those who do not go to brothels are gentlemen. Are you saying that people who drive bad go to brothels? Or maybe we all should go to brothels. I am confused

To conclude, everyone is gentlemanly.

I think this is the other guy now

It's just the times/ atmosphere that conditions us the way we eventually turn out to be. Given better road conditions, less vehicles - who knows? he too would have stuck to the left lane and allowed you to overtake.

No, some people are just wired differently. Thats why you have "chors" as you put it in the developed world also. Thats why you have very rich people stealing money from their shareholders. By your logic only the poor should be dishonest.
But then your logic is totally 2 persons logic!

[rajeshsundaram]

As far as my experience says... truck drivers are good. I've seen many responsible drivers giving way to cars, changing lanes with winkers on and even give prompt hand signals. Also during the nights, they respect the hi-low beam language in most cases. And mostly all are decent if not good.

Just a few bad drivers here and there. So that's why I always prefer to drive in the nights than the day drives. During the day I always encounter stupid two-wheelers. They never drive in the service-lane and give a cold stare if i honk, as if they are the masters of the road.

And most bad are some cars, some scorpios and the tata ace (little elephants). In many cases I've encountered stupid drivers who put their bonnet in when someone is overtaking them. (Ego?). And the Tata Ace guys who think that they are driving a ferrari on highways.

[prince_pervez]

Originally Posted by manishk83

It's been a while since I logged into TBHP......

Manish the main difference between here and there is the infrastructure per civic density.
Here there is too much infrastructure for too less people (in most places in the US).
So people can afford to wait and be patient.
In India, if you be patient on the road and give way, there will be other people behind who will honk their throats out and the others behind the one you gave way will take undue advantage of your manners and pour on the road not giving 2 hoots about your right of way.
Give Indians a better infrastructure and education on traffic manner and we can be the best there can ever be anywhere in the planet.
Inversely, give the same population of India to the US and people will not hesitate to use their guns for every petty matter.

Indians here are well behaved as far as traffic manners are concerned and I too am a part of it as I don't want to land in jail as I fear the cops.
Simple. In India too I tend to an follow every rule there is unless situations and people compel me to do otherwise. E.g. At a signal in Bangalore people were whizzing past me when I was waiting on a red. I was on a 2 wheeler and a Wagon R just missed me. I feared for my life and I wanted to break the signal and save my life. Thankfully some other motorists stopped behind me and so did some others later.
I do not disagree with everything you said but, lets say you could have used some better examples.

[indianvirus]

My 2 cents based on my experience on Gujarat Highways, It's nothing new but same as other member have mentioned.

Most truckies, I have come across, were nice and gentle, always respecting traffic, giving sides to overtaking, not bullying on coming traffic etc. I think the main reason behind this, is their experiences on the road. They have seen and faced many terrible things, most of us can only imagine. That's what makes them humble on the road. Since this is one of the worst professions in the country (there was a program on this profession on NGC once, where a driver said he wouldn't want even his enemy to be a trucky), and having such tough and demanding life, makes them down-to-earth.

Yes some of them are really annoying for the reasons other member have pointed out. But then one can find such rotten lot everywhere, in all fields and professions.

[RS_DEL]

The conduct of truck drivers is generally contingent on the kinds of loads they carry and the basis of their remuneration. How do I know this? Almost a decade ago I spent a short period of time as a lorry owner who had trucks running on the Delhi Bombay line NH8.

Essentially the guys who drive the chai & dus tairees - 6 & 10 wheelers - are more or less careful/prudent in how they drive. The ones who are following risky behaviour are more often than not ferrying kachaa maal i.e. produce(fruits and vegetables) and have to contend with the risk of the stuff going bad due to any delay in timelines. The other segments where risky behaviour is more prevalent ( that I am aware of ) is (1) the traalas ferrying cement bags/fertilisers. and (2) the guys who do overloading.

The reason why the 6 & 10 wheelers used to drive and I think still drive prudently is the remuneration of a driver in cash is negligible. The place they make money is in the diesel. The lorry owner gives them a fixed quantity of fuel based on an average consumption benchmark. What they save out of this is the major portion of their earnings. That is the reason why they used to make our lives miserable if the vehicle consumed more fuel than the norm.
The other reason is the tyres. In those days a set of tyres for a 10 wheeler of MRF 50s' used to set me back by a lac. The driver had to make sure they lasted for a full 32-33 round trips. So again prudent driving without overloading was a mandatory given.

Yes it also true they consume a narcotic which is an opiate if I am not mistaken - the slang they used to refer to it is maal. This enables them to work for long stretches without the need to take a break as also to bear the furnace like heat in the cabin in the searing summers in the north.

Prior to this stint as a lorry owner I was also quick to condemn the drivers for even a slight infraction of the rules. However once I went through an exposure to the business there was grudging appreciation of how these guys keep the economy running especially in the face of the continuous harassment by petty government functionaries all along the route and do not mind cutting them a bit of slack. Please bear in mind that while I do not condone or make a case for their errant behaviour which results in harm of any kind to other road users , you need to see the provocations they face and also realise how hard it to is to control a vehicle that is weighing 25 metric tonnes when carrying a full load of fuel and cargo upto the legally permissible limit.

[manishk83]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Are there two people typing here. Its like you type one line. Then this other guy comes and puts in the other line

I generally hate tirades and refuse to get heated up. This time too, I will choose not to respond.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

So its okay to murder, break rules etc,. just because its in our instinct. You surely have a warped sense of morality!

No, tsk1979, I'm not saying that it's OK to murder or break rules. I'm saying that desperation & animal insticts (read: fight for survival) drive people to do so (and yes, in some cases, different wiring-psychpathy-lust-rebel instinct-"seen to be different/famous"-ego trip). As prince_pervez put it so much better, that I probably could not, is that had the scarcity not been there, as it isn't in the case of truckers, even the cab-wallahs would have driven properly and followed rules.

Truckers & cabbies have generally the same background (in all fairness, I don't have any research to back me up!). Conditioning makes them behave diferently.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

IF you say driving on drugs and totally under Influence gentlemanly... well what can I say!

Well, in that case, what you are saying is that you don't consider truckers gentlemanly. Fair enough! everyone has a right to his or her opinion.

All I can hope for is that others might see merit in my arguments and bring them in their realm of consideration.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

But then basically we were all born naked. But I do not see many people running around naked.

Even though I have gotten heat-er, I'll let this pass. Especially, since I could not understand the context.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Are there two people typing here. Its like you type one line. Then this other guy comes and puts in the other line

I start getting even hotter. But, rather than taking up on the provocation, I get up and put on the AC in this uncharacterstic chilly Mumbai winter. I hope I don't catch a cold.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Even when the traffic jam is there for 30 minutes, 3 lanes mean 3 lanes. It has nothing to do with scarcity or conditions of road. It has to do with the culture.

Well, I differ here. I think it's conditioning that makes the, "culture" as you put it. Had infrastructure in the US lacked as much as it does in, say Mumbai, and had those US cabbies seen the lack of infastructure right from their childhood (and had their parents too seen the same), all the time-every time, I believe that even they would have behaved like our cabbies do.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

For example, New York is very different. If you go there you will not miss home at all.

I think it goes on to prove my point above. Conditioning plays a very important part in how people behave.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

So all people who go to brothels are not gentlemen, and those who do not go to brothels are gentlemen. Are you saying that people who drive bad go to brothels? Or maybe we all should go to brothels. I am confused
I think this is the other guy now

As prince_pervez said, I indeed have used very bad examples to get you so heated up.

All I was trying to show was that truckers are not necessarily more gentlemanly in how they conduct their life. However, on the road they do behave more gentlemanly.

I used the brothel example to drive home the point (probably, even as a metaphor or as an exaggeration). My apologies.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

No, some people are just wired differently. Thats why you have "chors" as you put it in the developed world also. Thats why you have very rich people stealing money from their shareholders. By your logic only the poor should be dishonest.

Here, I do agree with you. Some people, and "some" is the operative word here, indeed are wired differently. In my initial post, I had considered penning this down. "Some" people WILL behave ungentlemanly given whatever conditions. They would love to go against rules, against society; probably, seeing themselves as iconoclasts or rebels.

The reason I didn't put it down was because I thought it might weaken the argument I was putting across and also because I believe (and hope!) that the percentage of such people is not very high.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

But then your logic is totally 2 persons logic!

I hope this shows that I consider differing opinions and have the sensibility to weigh both and put things in perspective. No? Oh! hopes dashed.

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

Manish the main difference between here and there is the infrastructure per civic density.
Here there is too much infrastructure for too less people (in most places in the US).
So people can afford to wait and be patient.
In India, if you be patient on the road and give way, there will be other people behind who will honk their throats out and the others behind the one you gave way will take undue advantage of your manners and pour on the road not giving 2 hoots about your right of way.
Give Indians a better infrastructure and education on traffic manner and we can be the best there can ever be anywhere in the planet.
Inversely, give the same population of India to the US and people will not hesitate to use their guns for every petty matter.

Indians here are well behaved as far as traffic manners are concerned and I too am a part of it as I don't want to land in jail as I fear the cops.
Simple. In India too I tend to an follow every rule there is unless situations and people compel me to do otherwise. E.g. At a signal in Bangalore people were whizzing past me when I was waiting on a red. I was on a 2 wheeler and a Wagon R just missed me. I feared for my life and I wanted to break the signal and save my life. Thankfully some other motorists stopped behind me and so did some others later.
I do not disagree with everything you said but, lets say you could have used some better examples.

I agree one hundred percent. I'll try being more sensible in the examples I use.

My sincere apologies to anyone whom I might have hurt.

[harishpr]

First of all - Thanks for opening this topic !!
I literally salute most of the long distance truck drivers for their impeccable highway discipline..
Im a regular drive b/w Bangalore-Chennai... And of course encounter 1000s of trucks enroute. I really cannot remember any of the long distance truck drivers (esp the heavy loaded) giving the others hard time.. They give way in the most repsectable manner.. sometimes they even turn on indicators to indicate you to overtake..
Infact it's the cab drivers, Private Bus Drivers and some pvt owners (who wanna show off) who give others hard time.
Owning Cruze, i can literally press to floor to get past many jokers but that doesn't give me satisfaction.. I like to open the sun roof and smell the fresh air rather than sticking my eyes glued to road with high speed !!!

HATS OFF TO THE TRUCK DRIVERS WHO MAY NOT BE LITERATE LIKE MANY PVT CAR OWNERS BUT THEY ARE FAR MORE DISCIPLINED ON HIGHWAYS !!!

[abbhowmi]

Recently I did a 2000 kms long run from B'lore to Kolkata and I have said the same to my parents and friends that truckers are the best drivers in highway. Someone mentioned that South Indian drivers are bit unruly than their GJ, MH counterparts, I do not agree. I have passed through KA, TN and AP and have never faced any issues. Infact I may find 2 trucks racing, but once the faster truck overtakes, he immediately goes to left lane and gives way.

I think it is because of their speed, they realise that there is no point in overtaking or fighting. I follow all rules, but when I am impatient and have a powerful engine by my side, I tend to become unruly too. It all boils down to patience. These guys have enough time to reach their destination and also they probably have the onus of bringing the vehicle and goods in proper shape in order to avoid any penalties in case of accidents.

[klassics45]

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

but a majority of these will be in an overtaking mood.

True, its just that we are left with 2 options. Manage these few maniacs in the night or deal with die hard bikes LOL!

[Acclero]

I would like to share my knowledge about the Truckers..

I have gone through most of the posts and all the points raised are
good and well.. but i guess the topic is - are the highway truck drivers
better than city ones?

I would say An RESOUNDING YES!

I have been through a couple of long rides(as of yet) and find
the truck drivers on highways miles ahead of their counterparts
in city.
Put aside the difference of loads and mindsets etc i mean
I have seen a fully loaded Trash truck (GHMC) overturn due to sheer
negligence of the driver at night in the city.
Where as the highway truckers irrespective of the loads
or night and day continue their driving way better.

And as for gentlemanly nature get down at a truckers spot and
share some chai with them and hear to their side of the story.
These are just hard working men uneducated but fun, rugged yet
kind. Trying to make their ends meet on our dangerous roads.