Saturday, March 10, 2007

Bangalore Traffic....

Ok this blog is for something fun. Given below are some rules/tips about driving in Bangalore which i have written based on my experiences of driving here. The inspiration for this came from another article i saw regarding driving in a US city. Do let me know your comments/additions to this :)

1. All cities have the concept of rush hour/peak hour. In Bangalore there is no morning rush hour/evening rush hour. Rush hour starts from Monday morning 7 and goes on till next Sunday Morning 5am. (Really true. Sometimes certain roads like Airport Road can be jammed at 2am in the morning)
2. You will lucky if you can go at 20kmph. If you hit open stretch there is no upper limit. Your top speed depends on the vehicle u have.
3. Everyone has right of way(Even cows and dogs and Bullock Carts)
4. Never Stop at yellow light and in addition don’t stop for a couple of seconds after it turns red. And start moving a few seconds before it turns green (You need to be experienced enough to know when it will turn green-Little tricky as this can vary on a daily basis)
5. Here you honk the loudest you can. Also flash your headlights all the time. Some people believe that doing that will part the sea of traffic in front and create an open path. Something like what Moses did.
6. Road tarring works are permanent in Bangalore. Tarred roads are tarred again and again till it rises higher then divider on the road. This construction happens during the peak hours mentioned above.
7. Watch out of all kind of living beings on the road. Dogs, cows, rats etc… If you see one lying in the middle of the road don’t assume they are dead. They maybe just sleeping. So don’t disturb them and drive around them.
8. People like putting a left turn indicator and turning right. Also people like to put on the indicator once they are half way through the turn.
9. it is perfectly acceptable to assume you are in America and start driving on the wrong side of the road if you think the correct side of your road is too crowded or jammed for your liking. If you are on a bike, you can also drive on the divider or pavement. Perfectly fine.
10.There will be only one lane in most roads and no dividers. So its ok to complete the turn by going to the wrong side of the road and then correcting it when u feel like.
11.There will be no signs. So feel free to do anything you want anywhere. You can also take a U TURN right over the divider anywhere,if you think your vehicle can handle it.
12.It is unacceptable to slow down for a potential hazard on the road, however, feel free to slow down or stop long enough to visually inspect anything happening on the side of the road. Whether it's an overturned school bus on fire or a car with a flat tire, everything deserves a good long look.
13.If you want to cross an intersection without lights don’t expect anyone to stop for you. Push you vehicle into the middle. Pray that the huge lorry coming will stop in time and then figure out the next step.
14.Don’t expect your vehicle to be spotless and dentless for too long. Sooner or later you are going to be bumped. The sooner the better because then you don’t get worried to death waiting for it.
15.If people are waiting to cross the road. Don’t be nice and stop. You will definitely get hit from behind. And people don’t expect you to stop. So you are the loser anyway.

Will add more if i can think of some.

6 comments:

VV said...

Agreed...

I have been in bangalore for 7 months and one big problem is Traffic.

Sree said...

It is really true... I myself noticed huge traffic even during mid nights especially in airport road ...

Unknown said...

Amazing piece... Its like I have seen it all! Keep it up !!!

Padmalaya said...

Wonderful article. Well written. Had been in Blore for over 3 years and one thing that i see is improving day by day is traffic. The word "improving" is a pun here. Its so scary to drive in such roads !!

pank said...

But that’s unfortunate that you are also contributing to that mess... I don't know how many times you are correct or you are the person who follow the trend... any way got catching post nothing else…….and for your information there is nothing to enjoy. It just need a fix.

Unknown said...

Hey , this is sooo funny , fyi , i am frm Bombay n dis is d same scene even in Bombay!
Very hilarious to read but sadly ders lil we can do to improve all dis ...