I went to receive my best friends a few months ago from Hyderabad International Airport. One came to attend the wedding of another.. during the 45 mins to 1 hour journey into their respective homes, I drove them. To my surprise they commented.. " in the last 5 years in Australia we have never honked the horn as you are doing now.. why do u have to blow horn so
many times dude??"
It seems they hardly blow horn at fellow commuters or pedestrians, even if they do, it is few and far between.
This made me wonder actually the kind of traffic i encounter here is quite different to what they might encounter there... i used a strong word encounter because that is what most of us face... we never know who will bump into our car or bike from which place right in the middle of the road!!!
This is the premise on which I will be writing the current post. Yes, this is about the traffic conditions prevailing in a developing economy of ours. Some of the facts which we see around when we hit the road are:
many times dude??"
It seems they hardly blow horn at fellow commuters or pedestrians, even if they do, it is few and far between.
This made me wonder actually the kind of traffic i encounter here is quite different to what they might encounter there... i used a strong word encounter because that is what most of us face... we never know who will bump into our car or bike from which place right in the middle of the road!!!
This is the premise on which I will be writing the current post. Yes, this is about the traffic conditions prevailing in a developing economy of ours. Some of the facts which we see around when we hit the road are:
- Absolute disregard to the lane discipline
- Road rage
- Improper pedestrian discipline
- Jumping Signals
- Rash & Negligent driving
- Overtaking from the left
- Wrong way driving
Fact remains fact. In our country we have not known that "Driving is a privilege and not a Right" ! No body knows this. Roads are built and taxes are collected to maintain them. Roads are for going from Point A to Point B with less hassles and difficulty.
But what we generally see is- Not be in ones' line but take the line which is vacant! Yes, many of the road users do not stick to their line at all. Wherever there is place they jam their two or four wheelers. If the driver of a Public transport is smart enough he too will do the same. This haphazard fashion of driving results in choking traffic which will choke you to death before being cleared.
I've travelled the entire coastal Andhra Belt right from Prakasam to Srikakulam and our National Highway passe into Andhra Pradesh from Chennai to Kolkata - NH 5 that is! There was not a single day where I have not seen an accident on the highway. This was not due to speeding trucks hitting into tiny autos or two wheelers, incidents mainly were - wrong side driving especially by Diesel autos ferrying passengers from one village/town to another. NH5 does not have much Medians in middle of the road to enable U turn. This was because the speed limit is 80 KMPH. To cut down on the fuel auto drivers/Tractors/two wheelers take the wrong route and collide head-on with trucks coming in the opposite direction. Often it is very ghastly to look at a accident scene - Imagine getting hit to a Truck loaded with goods at 60KMPH! Human body flies into the air leaving the soul behind!
You have seen me more aggressive here in terms of using words but that is the frustration which was mounting on me ever since I've returned to Hyderabad in 2007 after a 7 year hiatus in neighbouring Tamil Nadu - Ah.. what a disciplined traffic you will find in the most Humid city in South India!
The first train from Hyderabad arrives exactly at 5.55 a.m at Chennai Central welcoming you. When you hit an auto or a cab en-route to IIT Madras, you wonder how the auto/cab driver will drive his vehicle cause its predominantly empty roads. But I was shocked to see him stop at every signals' Red light! Yes, irrespective of whether a cop is there to monitor or not! That apart during rush hours too you will find people maintaining lane discipline. Buses to the left, cars and other four wheelers to the extreme right and two wheelers and autos in the middle. Entire stretch of the Anna Salai road - perhaps the longest in Chennai you will not find a traffic regulator, but vehicles simply ply in harmony. I don't say they violate any rules, they do but not at the drop of the hat! Some reasons what I found distinct to Chennai were
But what we generally see is- Not be in ones' line but take the line which is vacant! Yes, many of the road users do not stick to their line at all. Wherever there is place they jam their two or four wheelers. If the driver of a Public transport is smart enough he too will do the same. This haphazard fashion of driving results in choking traffic which will choke you to death before being cleared.
I've travelled the entire coastal Andhra Belt right from Prakasam to Srikakulam and our National Highway passe into Andhra Pradesh from Chennai to Kolkata - NH 5 that is! There was not a single day where I have not seen an accident on the highway. This was not due to speeding trucks hitting into tiny autos or two wheelers, incidents mainly were - wrong side driving especially by Diesel autos ferrying passengers from one village/town to another. NH5 does not have much Medians in middle of the road to enable U turn. This was because the speed limit is 80 KMPH. To cut down on the fuel auto drivers/Tractors/two wheelers take the wrong route and collide head-on with trucks coming in the opposite direction. Often it is very ghastly to look at a accident scene - Imagine getting hit to a Truck loaded with goods at 60KMPH! Human body flies into the air leaving the soul behind!
You have seen me more aggressive here in terms of using words but that is the frustration which was mounting on me ever since I've returned to Hyderabad in 2007 after a 7 year hiatus in neighbouring Tamil Nadu - Ah.. what a disciplined traffic you will find in the most Humid city in South India!
The first train from Hyderabad arrives exactly at 5.55 a.m at Chennai Central welcoming you. When you hit an auto or a cab en-route to IIT Madras, you wonder how the auto/cab driver will drive his vehicle cause its predominantly empty roads. But I was shocked to see him stop at every signals' Red light! Yes, irrespective of whether a cop is there to monitor or not! That apart during rush hours too you will find people maintaining lane discipline. Buses to the left, cars and other four wheelers to the extreme right and two wheelers and autos in the middle. Entire stretch of the Anna Salai road - perhaps the longest in Chennai you will not find a traffic regulator, but vehicles simply ply in harmony. I don't say they violate any rules, they do but not at the drop of the hat! Some reasons what I found distinct to Chennai were
- Parking of vehicles not allowed on the road side; you park it in the cellar of the building
- Lane discipline is a must else you will be fined heavily
- Speed limit is also very religiously followed - scary to sit in an auto zipping at 60kmph
- Helmet is a must/ Seat Belt is a must - No questions about that
Having been there and lived I really appreciate the Chennai traffic police department for their service to the city! Hats off to you officers.
Yes the other state I lived for over an year was Gujarat. I've travelled the length and breadth of Gujarat and predominantly lived in Ahmedabad, sometimes shuttling between Rajkot and Vadodara(Baroda). Traffic sense makes non-sense for the guy who has his pocket full of currency notes. Though industrially very rich and infrastructure wise well developed -(Ahmedabad - Baroda Expressway was the First in our Country - Express Way 1 is what its called!) Road sense and lane discipline is tossed to the winds, worse still wrong side driving is considered to be manly by some college going folks especially near the Gujarat University Area very close to our IIM A. Auto drivers never give hand signals; they don't do it anywhere else, but here they pop out their feet to show which direction they are going to turn! Yes, you see this in Ahmedabad and Baroda. Rajkot traffic is not much to comment upon though. My short stint might not capture much but what I felt was
Yes the other state I lived for over an year was Gujarat. I've travelled the length and breadth of Gujarat and predominantly lived in Ahmedabad, sometimes shuttling between Rajkot and Vadodara(Baroda). Traffic sense makes non-sense for the guy who has his pocket full of currency notes. Though industrially very rich and infrastructure wise well developed -(Ahmedabad - Baroda Expressway was the First in our Country - Express Way 1 is what its called!) Road sense and lane discipline is tossed to the winds, worse still wrong side driving is considered to be manly by some college going folks especially near the Gujarat University Area very close to our IIM A. Auto drivers never give hand signals; they don't do it anywhere else, but here they pop out their feet to show which direction they are going to turn! Yes, you see this in Ahmedabad and Baroda. Rajkot traffic is not much to comment upon though. My short stint might not capture much but what I felt was
- Rich Dads' buying teens expensive Cars/Mobikes
- Utter dis-regard to the traffic signals
- Highway manners(Sticking to lane discipline, speed sense) negligent or even absent especially on the Sarkhej - Gandhinagar highway - This is where our Nano Project is coming up - Sanand!
Having come to end of this section of the post I feel traffic sense lies with each one of us is'nt it? One of my Professor's in IIT Madras said ? "Discipline is something which comes out of Free Will", but friends having used to the stick approach to every discipline right from school level how can one have a free will towards it?
Lets ponder over and understand that it is us who are at peril on the road not the metal motor which just listens to its master!
Lets ponder over and understand that it is us who are at peril on the road not the metal motor which just listens to its master!
Friend
ReplyDeleteMany of the issues written here in is observed by many of us. Really appreciate that you have bought & expressed it out.
do post a blog on 'whats the way out'
Regards
SVV Aswani kumar
Thnks Aswan for the comment, shall soon turn ur wish into reality!
ReplyDeleteTraffic rules are in all places, what we need in law enforcement, which makes traffic look like a breeze in western countries. People are the same every where... they will break a rule if no one is watching!
ReplyDelete