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Driving in Bangalore

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I think there have been quite a few posts written on it but I seriously feel strongly about a need to drive some sense into the drivers.  Some things I would like to tell the drivers here:

  1. Making a right turn does not mean you come into the right lane (blocking oncoming traffic) to make a turn

  2. When it says "No Free Left turn", it precisely means that.  When the light is red, you CANNOT make a left turn.  Please do not expect the guy in front of you to move if the light is red no matter how much you honk.

  3. When there is a traffic jam, no amount of honking will get you out of it

  4. Please be considerate to pedestrians and don't stop you car 1 feet from the pedestrians feet, as if you are the king of the road

  5. If you pass a car/truck/bus etc on the left, once in a while please expect to get hit as well

  6. Just because the lane for oncoming traffic is empty does not mean you start driving in that lane

  7. When making a right turn at light, there is only lane to turn right.  Don't make 3 right turn lanes and block people who want to go straight


The above were just few of the issues on the road here.  The police are also mute spectators.  I understand regulating traffic amongst drivers who follow no driving sense is in itself a pain, but there needs to be more attention paid to it.

One idea I have been toying around is a way to reward traffic policeman for every violator they catch.  Here is one suggestion:

  1. Have traffic police use blackberrys or write tickets on their pads

  2. The driver has to go to the court to pay the fine and get a clearance certificate from the court with his sign on it (people hate courts so this will be a deterrent)

  3. The traffic police gets 15% of the fine added to his monthly pay cheque

  4. Regular traffic patrols to ensure traffic policemen/women are not taking bribes and not issuing tickets to the offenders


Yes, I understand there can be corruption here too.  However, I would say out of the total force of traffic police at least 50% don't want to take bribes.  This initiative can help theis group of 50% policemen and can ensure that at least some semblance of sanity can rule on the Bangalore roads.

Similarly, I also know drivers who want to follow lane discipline but get frustrated in the unruly traffic and become part of the problem.  I have followed lane discipline, sat behind buses for a while, changed lanes with blinkers on etc.  Yes, people will say I am too americanised.  May be so, but if I want that roads become better and if I want to talk about it, I have to follow all the rules of the road first.

This is not a criticism of every single driver of Bangalore but to people who break rules precisely because they know they can get away with it.

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Comments

kashyap said…
hehe....its all a vicious cycle. Drivers have no common sense..forget discipline. I've once been fined for not possessing a PUC. I asked the cop to write a ticket and was willing to pay. he refused to do that and when I persisted he said that writing a ticket will cost you Rs.300/- and a trip to the station, and I was given an option to pay 100/- without ticket...I took the option...nothing I could have done.
everything bolis down to discipline both in drivers and the cops.
12:16 PM
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