The traffic conditions in Ahmedabad is in such a pathetic situation that people here seem to forget the use of the traffic circles which have been erected at busy cross-roads in order to streamline the flow of the heavy traffic. But alas the people of Ahmedabad are such slickers at breaking the rules for their own personal gains! During my recent commute through the city’s ever bursting at the seams traffic I keep running into all sorts of people who jump these aforesaid circles and when asked reply with aare maru cycle che, nitar hu thaki jaise or maru bike/car nu petrol vadare baadi jaye che! So all these people think I’m using a hybrid vehicle which uses fuel other than on the fossil fuel they are running on?
All these people rush in with such a hurry to reach their destinations that they do not mind breaking the rules and the cops here are of such an affording nature to let you off after you pay them for their chai ke rokada! And the most interesting thing is that just to circum-navigate a traffic circle these people keep tab of their valuable fuel, but at the same time they forget to turn off their vehicles will talking to their acquaintances while parking their vehicles in the middle of a busy road. Let the rest of the crowd keep honking their horns even though the sign says NO HONKING!
Plus the people here drive so rashly and keep breaking the traffic rules and regulations and then complain that their front room/front hall is literally littered with junk (read helmets) belonging to family members! So even go to the extent of getting some doctors to sign that they are liable to get collar injury owing to the weight of these helmets, some keep the helmets hanging on the bikes and only wear it on seeing the cops. Of all weird things some guys manage to wear helmets and still manage to talk on their flashy cells while zipping around! If these people had obeyed the laws then it would have allowed them to go around without flaunting a helmet. Most people make a fuss of being unable to lug around this junk while shopping, going to the office and all other places while they are happy to lug around their cell phones and make up kits (ladies please!). According to me, the real winners here are the lovers who can now zip away cheerfully under the very nose of their strict and doubting parents because you are wearing the Mask which is the license to love without getting caught! ;)
Happy reading…
2 comments:
hi,
nice meeting u this evening. I guess something this is related to what we were discussing this evening. I have been told that there are no traffic jams in the city because no body follows any traffic rules!!!
Almost 10% of the global road traffic accidents occur in India. Much of the world wide web is full of sarcasm & mocking of the indisciplined driving on Indian roads. Unfortunately in since 60 years since independence the authorities have failed to publish a National Highway code. Licences are given to anyone who can demonstrate an ability to use the clutch-accelerator, consequently the motoer driving schools teach just that and no more. Concepts such as - blindspots, principle of MSM, the tyre & tarmac rule, 2 second gap and most improtantly giving way are not known to the average Indian driver.
This site http://driving-india.blogspot.com/ has been created with the purpose of providing driver education and training to all Indian road users. It is by far the most comprehensive website providing training in defensive driving. Learning simple road habits can make our roads safe and also free up congestion caused by traffic chaos.
At present 17 driver education videos aimed at changing the driving culture on Indian roads are available. The video are unique in that the footage is real life action from streets of London. We have copied the Western habits: Replaced the dhoti with denim, high rise buildings for Indian cottages, burgers and coke instead of Indian breads and perhaps sugarcane juice. Surely we can copy the Western ways of travelling too.
To watch the videos, interested readers may visit: http://driving-india.blogspot.com/
The videos cover the following topics:
Video 1: Covers the concept of Blind spots
Video 2: Introduces the principle of Mirrors, Signal and Manoeuvre
Video 3: At red lights, stop behind the stop line
Video 4: At red lights there are no free left turns
Video 5: The Zebra belongs to pedestrians
Video 6: Tyres and Tarmac (rather than bumper to bumper)
Video 7: Merging with the Main road
Video 8: Leaving The Main Road
Video 9: Never Cut Corners
Video 10: Show Courtesy on roads
Video 11: 5 Rules that help deal with Roundabouts
Video 12: Speed limits, stopping distances, tailgating & 2 seconds rule
Video 13: Lane discipline and overtaking
Video 14: Low beam or high beam?
Video 15: Parallel (reverse parking) made easy
Video 16: Give the cyclist the respect of a car
Video 17: Dealing with in-car condensation
Many thanks
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