The author didn't mention anything about seat belts.
The first time I got in a car when I landed in India, I had to insist that my driver pull out the seat belts. I don't think he even knew what the seat belts were for!
How to drive in India (2015)
31–40 of 82 posts
Re: How to drive in India (2015)
#32Coming from an East European country I thought I've seen it all traveling through Europe where even Italy didn't bother me. Where I come from, road traffic is a fight. With hate and madness. Then I went to Egypt. I've been picked up by a local friend on the Airport at night and I was shocked that once we came upon one of those north/south highways, the first thing he did was to turn off the lights! From then on he us…
I would never, ever drive in India. I have driven in Cambodia and Laos and there traffic was chaotic but pretty slow and you could get used to it. India is on a whole different level. Chaotic, fast and unpredictable. I wonder what the accident statistics are. When I was there I saw surprisingly few accidents.
I don't know the numbers, but anecdotally from the people I know, everyone seems to know multiple people who have died in traffic accidents. Plus you get the odd bus falling off a cliff every few months or so...
Re: How to drive in India (2015)
#33I visited India in 2017 and while I didn't get to drive, I spent a lot of time in cars/tuk-tuks/busses and got a keen sense of the driving conditions.
I actually quite liked them! (I know, this sounds crazy).
It's absolute and utter chaos, but the thing is -- people pay attention. Drivers are not dazed off listening to a podcast or fixing their makeup or texting. They're keenly aware of the space around their vehicle and they react quickly to (the constantly changing) road conditions -- it's a matter of Darwinian survival.
I actually found driving back in the US more frustrating once I returned. There's just so much ... indignance. If a car needs to cut across 2 lanes (which happens!) - other drivers in the US flip out: they lean on the horn, they shake their fists, they rage. "How dare that driver do something I didn't expect!"
I think we'd all be better served if we were forced to be more active and aware while behind the wheel.
Re: How to drive in India (2015)
#34I visited India for the first time last year, in early March. Spent 2 weeks traveling by train through the north of India, and then planned on settling in Rishikesh for 1 month or so.
Rented a scooter and began to experience India roads directly (i.e. not as a passenger in a taxi/tuk tuk). Was chaotic, but certainly doable if you paid attention; that is, until a giant black bull cow came charging through oncoming traffic directly at me.
I steered sharply to my right to avoid getting killed, which was effective in terms of saving my life, but not so effective in terms of preserving my ability to walk. Lying in the sweltering hot afternoon sun with a complete fracture of the hip, a few kind locals dragged me to the side of the road, where I lost consciousness, leaving this body/mind for some eternal realm that I cannot describe.
Eventually I came back to this world and an ambulance arrived, whereupon I was refused surgery at the local hospitals (3 in total) and summarily shipped down to Delhi on an 8-hour hell ride, with the young drivers smoking hash and pumping the loudest Indian hip hop to provide some ambiance.
Really, it was the stuff of movies, but it was real life, and somehow I came through it all -- am more or less back to normal, walking, just with a bunch of metal in my hip.
In hindsight the entire experience was like India: extreme, full on, and holding nothing back -- hang on, it's going to be a wild ride :)
Re: How to drive in India (2015)
#35Road rage must be rampant? Or is there a (implied socially) hierarchy which prevents this most of the time?
Re: How to drive in India (2015)
#36Re: How to drive in India (2015)
#37I visited India in 2017 and while I didn't get to drive, I spent a lot of time in cars/tuk-tuks/busses and got a keen sense of the driving conditions. I actually quite liked them! (I know, this sounds crazy). It's absolute and utter chaos, but the thing is -- people pay attention. Drivers are not dazed off listening to a podcast or fixing their makeup or texting. They're keenly aware of the space around their vehicle…
> It's absolute and utter chaos, but the thing is -- people pay attention. Drivers are not dazed off listening to a podcast or fixing their makeup or texting.
They might pay more attention on average, but I've seen plenty of distracted drivers plowing through traffic in India. I've also had "drivers" where I discovered it was only their second or third time ever driving a car and here they were driving me through the heart of Mumbai. There's plenty of driver negligence on Indian roads.
> If a car needs to cut across 2 lanes (which happens!) - other drivers in the US flip out: they lean on the horn, they shake their fists, they rage. "How dare that driver do something I didn't expect!"
It doesn't matter where you are, abruptly and unexpectedly cutting across two lanes of busy traffic is dangerous. It doesn't matter if it's the norm in India -- if it increases the likelihood of an accident, then it's dangerous. Don't forget that India has 10x the number of traffic fatalities per vehicle count as the United States and 20x the number as the Netherlands, Germany, etc.
IMHO, not accepting reckless driving behavior and "flipping out" to let them know it's not OK is a good thing in moderation.
Re: How to drive in India (2015)
#38I was recently in India and I noticed something that troubled me. The traffic signals change on opposite ends very quickly without giving the other side some time to adapt. For e.g, When there is a change from green to red at one end, there must be a time gap in order to make sure all the vehicles have cleared the passage before changing the signal from red to green at the other end. This doesn't seem to be the case.…
Having sufficient time where all sides are red in order to clear the intersection is very useful for safety when traffic is flowing quickly and when drivers will wait for a green light and check if it's safe to enter an intersection. From my experience as a passenger in vehicles in Bangalore for a week around 2010, traffic was rarely flowing fast enough to make a difference; and I would expect a significant amount of traffic to treat red in all directions as an invitation to enter the intersection; especially motorcycles and autorickshaws.
Quote from the article:
> Do not assume that traffic lights will keep order on junctions. Red light is just a beautiful color which makes everyday life little more colorful.
Re: How to drive in India (2015)
#39I don't get it, if there's laws, but no one follows them, isn't that a great opportunity to make a lot of money off of everyone? It may go to the government, it may be pocketed, but it would teach everyone to fucking respect the traffic laws.
Re: How to drive in India (2015)
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
India already has self driving cars. Hire a car and it comes with a driver, picking you up from wherever you are. You'll get dropped off where you need to be and the car will find somewhere to park itself. When you want to go somewhere else, use your phone and the car will come pick you up, or if where you are is inconvenient for a pickup for whatever reason, you can find somewhere suitable, describe where you are, a…
USA also has chauffers and Uber drivers. So self driving cars are real? Your argument is as stupid as it comes. Not everyone is upper class and can hire a driver.
That's the thing, in India you don't need to be upper class to hire a driver.
Not everything all around the world is the same as your rural corner in Iowa or whatever.