[tjsi]

My mom said to me the same thing she used to say to my dad when he used to drive us around when i was a kid

jo bhi jaldi me hai usko jaane do. Khud ko aur apni gaadi ko bachao" (let the person in a hurry pass through. Save yourself and your car."

The person desperately trying to overtake you eventually since their ego is bigger than their car.
It's always fun to stop right beside them on a red light though

[100Kmphormore]

The pedestrians who are in the right lane and in case, try to cause an accident by giving a surprise crossing the road from an invisible bush, crossing a median on their motorcycles, or unnecessarily being in the fast lane etc should be held accountable and attempt to murder cases filed on them.
A Duke 200 rider though overspeeding in the city (which was wrong) saw an Activa almost stopped in the middle lane while overtaking a bus at a curve. He managed to avoid the Activa but hit the footpath and got tossed 20 feet in the air. He died instantly. The Activa rider should thank his stars that he’s still breathing today. This is where we really need skywalks. I have seen people trying to take a video of super bikes giving a flyby on the bloody RIGHT lane, next to the bushes! Anyone can access this video by typing DV 279 kmph flyby GSX.

[ellip5i5]

Originally Posted by ellip5i5

I want to just highlight that the behaviour of your fellow companions in the vehicle is also important. If they keep egging you on to not let anyone overtake you or incite you it’s very detrimental to staying composed.

The fatal BMW crash on the expressway reinforces my above point that your fellow companions play a large role in your mindset while driving.

https://youtu.be/rsutUmlYOpQ

Hope we as passengers ensure we don't pressurize the driver into driving rashly or as a driver we learn to maintain composure (which is harder).

[BanerjeePupul]

Thanks for a quick reminder on importance of defensive driving. Despite being a short tempered person I try to keep my cool while driving. Given the lack of awareness of rules among masses and disdain to follow them even when we know them makes defensive driving also risky at times. We have to adapt at times. I use following methods to navigate through madness the Indian roads are:

1. On highway I strictly follow no three digit speeds. 90-100 is all I do.
2. Never get in race with Inter city buses. Drivers in these buses have ego higher than Mt Everest.
3. Whenever some one does lunatic things on road(happens often), I use lot of cuss words inside my car(unless kid or parents sitting inside). This cools me down. Not a very civic tactic I would accept.
4. In cities I pray to god for returning without scratch every-time I venture out.

[Kottayamkaran]

Well i must confess that i am not a sedate driver and have had my share of ego fights on road. Looking back, i feel ashamed at how i let my ego cloud my judgement capabilities. Being from Kerala, i do most of my driving on two lane roads with no medians in between. One particular thing i hate is the slow drivers hogging the road going at 30-40kmph and these persons do not heed to our indications to give way such as horns or headlight flashes. It really pisses me off. But i always anticipate while driving and try to judge and conclude the actions of other drivers. I have not got into any accident till now in my 15 years of driving *touchwood* even though i am a fast and not patient driver. I believe my action of anticipation of the other driver's action can be termed defensive driving.

[dv1009]

Fantastic thread. Good initiative to bring this into discourse.

In my observations and learning over the years, I have learned that majority of first-time car buyers especially those that have recently migrated to an urban city are more pre-disposed to reckless driving behaviour on the highways or even within city-limits and residential areas. The concept of 'Live and Let Live' isn't the typical default when doing something new, there exists a misplaced sense of entitlement since they have finally bought themselves the 'powerful' car that have always dreamt of. Come to think of it, even the concept of personal transport vehicles is still young to India. Barely two generations ago, most of our population didn't have cars or motorcycles, only few bicycles. Now that sudden jump within a generation to efficient and powerful cars (with all bells and whistles) can't get the country to keep up with traffic etiquette. People follow rules when they actually understand and appreciate the need for them, more than merely being driven by the fear of consequences of not following the rules.

The advantage that the developed and western nations had is the gradual evolution in cars and the concept of traffic, it wasn't sudden. They had time to refine rules overtime, however imperfect they are. Now this will happen even in India, but the society can't mature at the same pace as newer generations of cars are unveiled. We need to give it time and educate fellow citizens, starting with family members and friends. I was no saint when I started learning to drive, but overtime I have lessons learned and continue to do so even today. But I can say this for sure, if you master learning safe driving with good traffic etiquette in India then you can learn to drive anywhere in the world. I had the fortune to move countries and lived in the US for a brief period of 5 years before returning to India. And in that time, I have come to appreciate the nuances and history of many traffic rules, the dynamics and the driving behaviour specific to local contexts.

There'll always be bad apples, but we can't let them brush our ego. Patience and intent is key. I have driven powerful cars such as the Dodge Challenger SRT, but I have always yielded to anyone who wants to pass ahead. There is a time and place for enjoying powerful cars, they are called race circuits or race tracks. This discussion more than anything makes me think that there is a real business opportunity in setting up access-controlled race circuits across the nation. I understand more than most, that yes, there'll be days where you just want to hit the pedal to metal and feel that rush. But you just can't let that happen on public roads.

Live & Let Live.

[GKR9900]

So I was going through the comments made under the video I had posted and came upon this particular one. Tried my luck explaining, but wasn't successful. The following pretty much sums up my reaction:


On a serious note, it's scary to think how many people think it's ok to tailgate another vehicle like that

[dv1009]

'Tailgating' and it's consequences is much a far-fetched concept for most Indians.

They typically learn after an accident. Afterall, is there a fine for tailgating? Forget tailgating, is there a fine in existence for slow moving vehicles obstructing traffic dangerously? My guess is that even if these exist, the traffic police don't have any means to enforce it yet.

[bblost]

https://youtu.be/nXPPt4gqTF4

I was driving down the road when I see a bus trying to take a U-Turn.
Instinctively slowed down and moved to the extreme left.

A moment later, there is a petrol tanker which zooms by and narrowly misses colliding with that bus. Then another bus squeezes by in that gap.

Defensive driving is the key to surviving on our roads. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had not slowed down and left a huge gap.

My windscreen has a stain from some tape. It was not in my line of sight but unfortunately messed up the video. But the video is still a good enough reminder on just how close a call it was.