Drivers in Pune
In India, we are supposed to drive on the left side of the road. But how many drivers follow this rule? Maybe a few does. Others would just drive on either side of the road. They just need some empty space to move the vehicle. The traffic rules hardly matters, self rule is the best. Many of our drivers are illiterates and some are educated imbecile who never went to driving school and probably got their driving license without ever appearing for a driving test. So, the driving knowledge of those drivers would probably match to the followings.
1. I am too busy so I must take a short cut. The left side of the road is occupied by other vehicles, so I can drive on the right side. The approaching traffic must make some space for me. After all there is nobody
2. I need to take a right turn in the next junction so I must drive to the right side of the road, cross the junction, continue driving on the right side of the road till I find the left side empty(Nobody taught me how to take a right turn)
3. What is this big circular construction in the middle of the junction? Only fools go around it to take a right turn.
4. Those colorful lights in the big junctions are probably for decoration. I need not stop to see them everyday; I don't understand why some idiots stop their vehicle when those lights turn red.
6. The switch for my car headlights has two settings. In one setting, I can’t see the road much ahead of me, I don't know what the use of it is; the other setting is good, I can see almost a mile ahead. I don't understand why some crazy drivers from approaching traffic blink those headlights when I drive at night.
The Future:
The road adjacent to my residence has very less traffic and often used by driving school’s trainer car. Today I spotted one such trainer car which was driven on the wrong side of the road. When I asked the instructor in that car why he was training students to drive on the wrong side of the road? He was quick to answer, “This side has less traffic, so I let them use this side of the road”. I just wonder what those students would do when they graduate and get their driving license. They are just learning how to do things wrong. There is no hope that some improvement will happen in future.
posted by Bipul Haldar @ 10:45 PM
4 Comments:
Good one, given the fact that this is your first blog! You have forgotten few more instances, e.g.
Hey! Why those damn fools go half a kilometer on the left side of the road to take a U-turn? I am smart & I will instead drive in the wrong direction and take the turn that is hardly any distance behind me!
This is the state of traffic in almost all towns and cities- small or big, in India. And this is the single reason there are so many accidents and people dying everyday on roads.
Is MOST listening??
:-(
In India driving is a big interesting game - occupy any available space on the road. The expert you are in this game the better driver you are!
As an extension of Bipul's blog look at this, the experience of a visitor to India. I copied it from elsewhere on the internet! :)
This hilarious article was written by a Dutchman who spent two years in Hyderabad, India, as a visiting expert. A little long article but worth reading it!!!
Driving in India
For the benefit of every Tom, Dick and Harry visiting India and daring to drive on Indian roads, I am offering a few hints for survival. They are applicable to every place in India except Bihar, where life outside a vehicle is only marginally safer.
Indian road rules broadly operate within the domain of karma where you do your best, and leave the results to your insurance company. The hints are as follows: Do we drive on the left or right of the road? The answer is "both". Basically you start on the left of the road, unless it is occupied.In that case, go to the right, unless that is also occupied. Then proceed by occupying the next available gap, as in chess. Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the generally intended direction.
Don't you get discouraged or underestimate yourself except for a belief in reincarnation, the other drivers are not in any better position. Don't stop at pedestrian crossings just because some fool wants to cross the road.You may do so only if you enjoy being bumped in the back.
Pedestrians have been strictly instructed to cross only when traffic is moving slowly or has come to a dead stop because some minister is in town. Still some idiot may try to wade across, but then, let us not talk ill of the dead.
Blowing your horn is not a sign of protest as in some countries. We horn to express joy, resentment, frustration, romance and bare lust (two brisk blasts),or just mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar. Keep informative books in the glove compartment. You may read them during traffic jams, while awaiting the chief minister's motorcade, or waiting for the rainwater to recede when over ground traffic meets underground drainage.
Occasionally you might see what looks like a UFO with blinking coloredlights and weird sounds emanating from within. This is an illuminated bus, full of happy pilgrims singing bhajans. These pilgrims go at breakneck speed, seeking contact with the Almighty, often meeting with success.
Auto Rickshaw (Baby Taxi): The result of a collision between a rickshaw and an automobile, this three-wheeled vehicle works on an external combustion engine that runs on a mixture of kerosene oil and creosote. This triangular vehicle carries iron rods, gas cylinders or passengers three times its weight and dimension, at an unspecified fare. After careful geometric calculations, children are folded and packed into these auto rickshaws until some children in the periphery are not in contact with the vehicle at all. Then their school bags are pushed into the microscopic gaps all round so those minor collisions with other vehicles on the road cause no permanent damage. Of course, the peripheral children are charged half the fare and also learn Newton's laws of motion enroute to school. Auto-rickshaw drivers follow the road rules depicted in the film Ben Hur, and are licensed to irritate.
Mopeds:The moped looks like an oil tin on wheels and makes noise like an electric shaver. It runs 30 miles on a teaspoon of petrol and travels at break-bottom speed. As the sides of the road are too rough for a ride, the moped drivers tend to drive in the middle of the road; they would rather drive under heavier vehicles instead of around them and are often "mopped" off the tarmac.
Leaning Tower of Passes: Most bus passengers are given free passes and during rush hours, there is absolute mayhem. There are passengers hanging off other passengers, who in turn hang off the railings and the overloaded bus leans dangerously, defying laws of gravity but obeying laws of surface tension. As drivers get paid for overload (so many Rupees per kg of passenger), no questions are ever asked. Steer clear of these buses by a width of three passengers.
One-way Street:These boards are put up by traffic people to add jest in their otherwise drab lives. Don't stick to the literal meaning and proceed in one direction. In metaphysical terms, it means that you cannot proceed in two directions at once. So drive as you like, in reverse throughout, if you are the fussy type. Least I sound hypercritical, I must add a positive point also. Rash and fast driving in residential areas has been prevented by providing a "speed breaker"; two for each house. This mound, incidentally, covers the water and drainage pipes for that residence and is left untarred for easy identification by the corporation authorities, should they want to recover the pipe for year-end accounting.
Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience for those with the mental make up of Ghenghis Khan. In a way, it is like playing Russian roulette, because you do not know who amongst the drivers is loaded. What looks like premature dawn on the horizon turns out to be a truck attempting a speed record. On encountering it, just pull partly into the field adjoining the road until the phenomenon passes.
Our roads do not have shoulders, but occasional boulders. Do not blink your lights expecting reciprocation. The only dim thing in the truck is the driver, and with the peg of illicit arrack (alcohol) he has had at the last stop, his total cerebral functions add up to little more than a naught. Truck drivers are the James Bonds of India, and are licensed to kill. Often you may encounter a single powerful beam of light about six feet above the ground. This is not a super motorbike, but a truck approaching you with a single light on, usually the left one. It could be the right one, but never get too close to investigate. You may prove your point posthumously.
Of course, all this occurs at night,on the trunk roads.
During the daytime, trucks are more visible, except that the drivers will never show any Signal. (And you must watch for the absent signals; they are the greater threat). Only, you will often observe that the cleaner who sits next to the driver, will project his hand and wave hysterically. This is definitely not to be construed as a signal for a left turn. The waving is just an statement of physical relief on a hot day. If, after all this, you still want to drive in India, have your lessons between 8 pm and 11 am “when the police have gone home and - The citizen is then free to enjoy the 'FREEDOM OF SPEED' enshrined in the constitution. Having said all this, isn't it true that the accident rate and related deaths are less in India compared to US or other countries!!??
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