How to drive in India
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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. (1) Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. (2) Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the 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. (3) 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. (4) 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 to mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar. (5) 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 rain waters to recede when overground traffic meets underground drainage. (6) Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience (for those with the mental makeup of Genghis 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 the peg of illicit arrack he has had at the last stop; his total cerebral functions add u
Nishant S wrote: [ This is an extract from one of the articles written about the driving conditions in India by Coen Jeukens, who is a functional Architect for Baan Apps Distribution. ] Dear Nish, I feel Jeukens has not visited Bangalore recently. btw gud to see you expose India like this !!
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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. (1) Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. (2) Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the 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. (3) 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. (4) 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 to mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar. (5) 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 rain waters to recede when overground traffic meets underground drainage. (6) Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience (for those with the mental makeup of Genghis 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 the peg of illicit arrack he has had at the last stop; his total cerebral functions add u
:-D Brilliant morning read, thanks Nish! If you come onto MSN sometime, please give me a shout - thanks :)
Look at the world about you and trust to your own convictions. - Ansel Adams
Meg's World - Blog Photography -
Most of what you told applies to São Paulo, just some minor corrections and additions: 1. Mopeds are not unique to India. We also have them here, known as "Mobiletes" or "Vespas" (the two major brands). 2. The police is also not on the streets most of the time, but we have lots (did I say lots) of photographic radars, tuned in a way that if you pass 1% of the max allowed speed, you need to pay a fine. Some of the radars are in places where the max allowed speed is 40 Km/h and hidden behind trees, for increased fun. 3. At night, you can't stop at a traffic light, because someone will point you a gun until you give them either your wallet or your life (on rare situations, both). 4. We also have some suicide motorbike riders, known as "cachorros loucos" (crazy dogs). They run and zigzag like crazy dogs, because they have some very important thing to deliver, e.g., a pizza or a piece of paper. They are very proud of this driving style. It's an endangered species, as most people here, involuntarily, hit them when they do a zag instead of doing a zig, or when they cross a red sign. One of the preferred death ways for them is under a bus or some big truck. Yes, even I am blogging now!
And if you go by cab, for god's sake don't mention Ayerton Senna... And if the paths that I have followed/have tread against the flow/there is no need for sorrow I am coming home Return, Crüxshadows
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And if you go by cab, for god's sake don't mention Ayerton Senna... And if the paths that I have followed/have tread against the flow/there is no need for sorrow I am coming home Return, Crüxshadows
Stefan Pedersen wrote: And if you go by cab, for god's sake don't mention Ayerton Senna... Unless you want to talk all the way home about him :) Yes, even I am blogging now!
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Stefan Pedersen wrote: And if you go by cab, for god's sake don't mention Ayerton Senna... Unless you want to talk all the way home about him :) Yes, even I am blogging now!
:) Seems to be two possible reactions: 1. A lot of talking (in drivers native language) 2. Driving like a true mad man. I have expirenced them both but #2 is the most memorable (or rather, downright scary). Driving against red through a 4-way intersection while the driver tries to adjust the radio in 100 mph... And if the paths that I have followed/have tread against the flow/there is no need for sorrow I am coming home Return, Crüxshadows
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:) Seems to be two possible reactions: 1. A lot of talking (in drivers native language) 2. Driving like a true mad man. I have expirenced them both but #2 is the most memorable (or rather, downright scary). Driving against red through a 4-way intersection while the driver tries to adjust the radio in 100 mph... And if the paths that I have followed/have tread against the flow/there is no need for sorrow I am coming home Return, Crüxshadows
Stefan Pedersen wrote: Driving against red through a 4-way intersection while the driver tries to adjust the radio in 100 mph... It wasn't your fault: you don't even need to mention Ayrton Senna for this, it is the standard driving style of most cab drivers here :) Yes, even I am blogging now!
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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. (1) Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. (2) Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the 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. (3) 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. (4) 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 to mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar. (5) 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 rain waters to recede when overground traffic meets underground drainage. (6) Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience (for those with the mental makeup of Genghis 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 the peg of illicit arrack he has had at the last stop; his total cerebral functions add u
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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. (1) Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. (2) Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the 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. (3) 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. (4) 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 to mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar. (5) 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 rain waters to recede when overground traffic meets underground drainage. (6) Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience (for those with the mental makeup of Genghis 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 the peg of illicit arrack he has had at the last stop; his total cerebral functions add u
Great way to start the morning, Nish. Thanks!:laugh: I wish I could so eloquently express the driving habits of our winter visitors here, easily among the worst drivers on the planet. Some people think of it as a six-pack; I consider it more of a support group.
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An Indian friend told me this: In America, the lines on the road are the law In Italy, the lines are a suggestion In India, the lines are just decoration
On a visit to Crete I found that there are only two lines on each road and you are expected to drive between them regardless of direction because the road is only properly paved enough for a single track and the edges disappear into the dirt on either side. This seemed fine until one considers what to do when a vehicle approaches from the opposite direction, both of you happily driving down the middle of the road, between the two lines...:confused: Apparently, the theory is that you swing over to one side so that you are driving with one of the lines approximately centered on your vehicle, the other vehicle does the same on the other line, you pass each other with the wheels on one side running in the dirt but with several inches to spare and then reposition back to the middle between the lines. No problem...:) Then you realise that most of the people driving here are tourists from various countries around the world. Let us consider the case where one person is from England, India, Australia or one of the majority of countries that sensibly drive on the correct side of the road (ie. the left), and the other person is from one of those strangely misinformed minority countries that drive on the wrong side (ie. the right) such as the USA, Germany or France. The sensible driver (let us suppose they are from England) naturally swings over to centre themselves on the left line. The misinformed driver (let us suppose they are from the USA) swings over to center themselves on the right hand line...:suss: Add to this the fact that the air-conditioning of these vehicles consists of having the windows open and driving as fast as possible to generate some kind of breeze...:cool: I leave what happens next to your imagination...:omg:
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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. (1) Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. (2) Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the 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. (3) 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. (4) 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 to mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar. (5) 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 rain waters to recede when overground traffic meets underground drainage. (6) Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience (for those with the mental makeup of Genghis 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 the peg of illicit arrack he has had at the last stop; his total cerebral functions add u
My word! you guys are lucky to survive a day! :D Surely a case of out of chaos comes order, somehow!! Ant. I'm hard, yet soft.
I'm coloured, yet clear.
I'm fuity and sweet.
I'm jelly, what am I? Muse on it further, I shall return! - David Williams (Little Britain) -
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. (1) Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. (2) Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the 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. (3) 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. (4) 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 to mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar. (5) 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 rain waters to recede when overground traffic meets underground drainage. (6) Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience (for those with the mental makeup of Genghis 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 the peg of illicit arrack he has had at the last stop; his total cerebral functions add u
:laugh: Great! Thanks! I thought Italy looked rough. BW The Biggest Loser
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