Driving Conditions in Metro Cities

Traveling in India by roads is considered dangerous.

One has to jackrabbit their way through the maze of the traffic. Yet, officials boost about the Indian driving skills stating that "Considering, the conditions in which we drive, our drivers are not killing not many people". Heavy traffic, a norm in India, includes overloaded trucks and buses, scooters, pedestrians, bullocks and camel carts, horse or elephant riders and free-roaming live-stocks.

Driving conditions prevailing on the Indian roads is some what similar across the metros. Traffic is chaotic. Vehicles veer between lanes. Traffic Signals are not always functioning and if found working then drivers generally does not observe traffic rules. They drive fast, recklessly without considering the traffic rules, cross speed limits and try to overtake others by every norms, drive dangerously, cut in front of other vehicles without signaling, honk horns often, they even honk at potholes and speed-breakers and jump traffic signals. Many drivers are undisciplined and lack the knowledge of traffic rules. They sometimes choose to convert the middle of the road into a stop. It is disgusting to note that drivers open the car doors in the midst of the roads to spit pan juice. It is really strange to note that some auto rickshaw drivers, who wedge their way into every possible gap on the road, signal with their feet instead of hands.

Pedestrian crosswalks are lacking as compared to their actual requirements, forcing the pedestrians to walk on the road and fail to yield to pedestrians their right to share the roadway. Pedestrians are treated as street dogs. Instead vendor stands, sign posts and illegally parked vehicles are launched on pedestrian crosswalks, leaving them on the mercy of the reckless drivers. Streets are potholed. Road surfaces are rough and dig every here and there. These are covered with wooden boards as temporary bridges. Travel at night is particularly dangerous, especially on Indian roads. It is important to be alert while crossing streets and intersections, especially after dark as traffic comes in the wrong directions.

Traffic jams as a result of poor maintained roads are common. Traffic Management is inadequate. Roads congested with traffic have poor visibility, inadequate warning markers, local transport crisscrossing in opposite directions is common. We have traffic rules, but lack Traffic discipline. Traffic police is often unreliable. They are possibly one of the hazards in India. Traffic law enforcement is sloppy across India. Traffic policemen have transformed from a law enforcing body to a revenue generating machine, limiting their duties to issue challans and not to enlighten people about their offences and their ill-effects. One can easily break a rule and grease their hands and just flee. In response to this negligence, Indian drivers have made their own rules and follow them without any misbelieve.

Rules Of Indian Roads

Here in India, everybody make their own rules and not misses them. There are no traffic rules of the kind those are found here: Signals: used for littering; Speed limits: No body cares for them. These are listed below:

1. Rule of Mortality
   "If you are afraid of Death, Better stay at Home."
   


2. Rule to Give Way
   "Give way to animals, beggars, double parked heavy trucks, buses and cars. Don't hit them, just flow around them. Amongst the motorists, he who is the loudest has the right-to-way. On road, traffic entering a road from the left has priority. So has traffic from the right, and also traffic in the middle."
   


3. Indian Driver Mantra
   ""To slow is to falter, to brake is to fail, to stop is defeat". In observance of this rule three things are required of every licensed driver:"Good Horn", "Good Brakes" and "Good Luck". Most drivers don't drive; they just aim their vehicle in the intended direction."
   


4. Rule of Horn
   "He who is the loudest wins. Use of a horn is mandatory, if you wish to pass anything, honk horn. If you don't have a horn, shout."
   


5. Rule for Accidents
   "Never stop for an accident, "That's karma," or in the case of a big collision, "That's truckma". Truck drivers of India are licensed to kill."
   


6. Rules of Speed
   "Speed limit is palpably ignored. Signs are ineffectual and traffic will move at the fastest speed possible."
   


7. Rules of Roundabouts
   "India recognizes no roundabouts."
   


8. Rules for Overtaking
   "Every moving vehicle is required to overtake every other moving vehicle, irrespective of whether it has just overtaken you or whether you are in a rush or not. Indian drivers overtake amazingly, especially where there absolutely no sensible opportunity exists."