[true_sedan]

I almost always give way to those drivers who drive erratically on the road. What irks me the most is they honk like there is no tomorrow even when there is sufficient space to overtake me.
To avoid ego getting in my way I’ve made it a policy to enjoy the drive, have good conversations with co-passengers or listen to some good music. And that is what I recommend to those reading this. At the end of the day your safety and your family’s safety is more important than anything else in this world. SAY NO TO EGO!!

[NomadSK]

I think, once we are not the driver of the vehicle we are in, we don’t have the same attachment to it. So, this means in general, we don’t love “cars”, but we love “our cars”. In our cars, We are cocooned in a metal box and feel like a king. This gives our ego a virtual kick, which gets eventually reflected on the roads. We think that our car is great, our driving is great and it’s the other moron on the roads that are at fault. The fact is that we are all bad drivers at some point of time. We need to detach ourvselves from our cars a bit and attach ourselves to others, or simply bring in "Empathy" in our driving.

It’s a vicious cycle which in general ends with an accident/incident. In my opinion, ego is one of the contributing factors among many. For unsafe acts, I would rate Over speeding/Distracted driving/Drunken driving higher on the platform. Unsafe conditions are just myriad. Don’t want to delve in that territory.

Next time someone makes an impulsive decision on the road because of an ego, reflect on your choice and ask yourself is this a decision out of haste, why are you in a hurry? What's bothering you ? What could I have done better? This sort of taking yourself to account is the first crucial step in the journey to taming the ego because it allows you to move forward with wisdom and learn from your experiences. And if we love driving, we shouldn’t let ego hamper our decisions.

I'm hopeful of the coming generations to be better/wiser drivers/road users in India. They can relate to the safety on a better context, unlike our generations, who have grown-up watching all the wrong practices and have subconsciously inculcated those habits.

Also big thanks to this forum, which helps to educate people to be better end users. Learning/Education is always an upward curve.

[revsperminute]

Attaching my post from the road rage thread where I had to deal with this specific issue on the highway. Some drivers forget the road is a shared space and no one is privileged over and above other road users.

Egoistic drivers often run out of skill before their feelings and then either they get hurt or even worse hurt someone innocent. This species is best avoided.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...ml#post5556435 (Road Rage - Understanding, Avoidance and De-escalating Situation)

[RGK]

Originally Posted by chandrda

The process of Obtaining license is a joke in India and are also the driving schools.

In our country, one of the reasons is because there is no standard coaching approach for driving. Few people learn to drive in driving schools, through friends, from their siblings, on their own, etc. So everyone believes they are entirely correct (reason for voice raise). There should be a standard manual or handbook used by all driving schools in India, and it should serve as the curriculum for all learners.

[pugram]

Ego and the connected road rage might be the highest contributor for accidents in India. This is not limited to drivers of passenger cars, it is across the vehicle classes. Along with this there is absolute lack of fear of law and sometimes lack of safety for others. To an extent, it is the responsibility of the overtaking vehicle to ensure safety of both his and the overtaken vehicle. I also believe that each manufacturer should provide or show a video to the buyer on proper driving habits with the specific car. A lot of people are upgrading to higher powered cars but without proper training these are potential bombs on the roads. Every time I start from a signal, part of my eyes are on the IRVM to see if there is a racer behind me and steer clear from that racer.

When I made a lateral upgrade to an SCross 1.6 the power upgrade was steep (65bhp to 140bhp (remapped by original owner)), I took my time to understand the engine, throttle, braking characteristics and am now comfortable with the car. Even now my comfortable driving speed is 110kmph on the highways, if the road permits.

Earlier when I used to drive around my Logan DCi on the highways, I would pass a car because he was going slower than me (80's to 90's) and myself @100~110. The moment they see a Logan overtaking they are awakened, now get extra power and vanish off. A few kms down the line I can see the same car again doing the same 80 to 90kmph and myself steady at 100 to 110 and the drama continues till that driver or myself go our separate paths. I have made a note to myself to ignore such drama's and continue on my way steadily. Finally its your safety that is of paramount importance.

Most of the Bus drivers are sensible enough to give way and many drivers actually recognise that you are asking for space to overtake and allow you space at the right time. Only when you torture / irritate them with continuous honking do they try to corner you.

[shankar.balan]

Funny thing is, as illustrated in some other thread here, considering our Indian conditions on the highways between two cities, say Madras and Bangalore, it really doesnt matter if you drive fast or normally, or of you have a super powerful car or not, the traffic and road conditions are a great leveller.
Best one can generally average is about 55-60kmph.
So in all honesty it is better to drive steadily than otherwise.

[SN88]

Some owners of XUV 500, Toyota Fortuner, Mahindra Scorpio really need some counselling and therapy. (I dont mean to offend any law abiding drivers here who own these cars).

I have seen mainly these cars more often on highways and gosh the rage they show once a car overtakes them is scary to say the least. Wonder if adranaline shots come free when you buy these cars.

[silverado]

A car is a matter of pride for us Indians, its not treated like a commodity.
So when someone buys a car, the person should be well aware of the power and responsibility they carry.

But EGO does take over even on people who are mild natured and sane.
It can happen especially when you are young and a bit of recklessness is a thrill ( Not recommending this ofcourse )

Every Bhpian here must have had his EGO hurt and would have participated in a race with other car/bike at least once.
I am 40+ and have learnt its the worst thing to happen to you as you are bound to be aggressive and make mistakes, in some cases it can be fatal.

And i agree that some category of SUV owners ( not all of course ) have inflated ego's due to power and size of their vehicle.
A classic example of bullying is our buses, KSRTC is an excellent example of ego over rules.

Overtaking accidents can be linked with Ego majorly IMO.

[vjbox]

Ego certainly has a big role to play here and I am sure we all have witnessed reckless egoistic drivers on high ways who want to race you.

But then this is also my theory-

India as a developing country is just witnessing a greater influx of cars with higher purchasing power. On the other hand, most of the people in western countries are used to cars part of their lives where its more of a necessity than a want. With a better economic parity there is no need for them to display their wealth ( especially true in many European countries) as its pretty much a level playing field and hence driving a nicer car isn't as glaring as what it is over here. You drive an Audi and your neighbour drives a BMW, you are cool! No need to display any act of power or ego. This coupled with nicer infrastructure, tougher laws/ regulations and an educated population, you have a disciplined approach to driving.

In a country like ours, its not really the case. With so much economic and social disparity, people with higher purchasing power typically end up rubbing their egos on each other and this very well translates to how they behave on roads as well. Cars are still very much an aspirational purchase for many and some of them even opt for one out of peer pressure, pretentious identity, fake display of wealth and what not. This usually doesn't go too well as they end up carrying this attitude when driving. There is usually no other better reason why a Alto driver wants to race a BMW out on the highway. His inferiority complex and insecurity shows up the moment he sees a higher end car and he now wants to prove that his car can still match the Euro car and do speeds of 140+ and in the process doesn't realise his car isn't cut for those speeds and cannot handle like a high end Euro car. Add lack of education and inexperience to this, you have a recipe for disaster.

Then there is the idiotic class who don't deserve to be behind the wheels but still end up getting a car. I hate to say many of the cabbies, arrogant drivers of politicos in their beloved Innova, Fortuners would easily qualify here! I have a special hatred for such guys and avoid them like a plague on the roads.

[matchvan]

Originally Posted by kadanaJ

What triggers my ego is people who break rules getting ahead of me.

Think those who cut in from the left for a right turn, blocking off those who were following rules by being in the correct lane.

Whether what I'm doing is right or wrong, other members can decide.

Greetings Team,

Every person is egoistic, just the degree varies.

Ego has nothing to do with the size or type of vehicle that one drives.

I feel, every one should leave ego at home while picking keys of the vehicle.

We all need counselling sessions on mental stability, how to handle pressure situation, lessons about road manners like in other western countries.

I got my licence in 1997, and only on teambhp i read about how to handle a situation of high speed tyre burst recently.

How many of us had this training.

How many of us learnt CPR while driving licence was issued.

Many things need to be imparted while licence is issued, counselling is one.

Even I used to school errant drivers years ago, but I read in another thread on team bhp that we are not on Road to teach others.

So even though it irks me when someone drives while on phone or jaywalks or the endless list of rule breakers everytime I get on road, it would take ages for me to correct everyone of them.

I don't want to sound selfish but our safety and our passengers safety is paramount than schooling some errant driver on road.

You NEVER know when we will be a victim in someone else's drama.

I quote an example i encountered yesterday:

Took a shared cab yesterday for a 3 hour intercity ride.

I was the only one wearing seatbelt among the 6 passengers.

All of the co-passengers were shouting at the cabbie for adhering to the speed limit of 80.

And all were educated, working people.

Whom to blame here and questioned!!!

I have been irked by cabbies many a times for hurrying and cutting across me.

My point is you never know what their story is.

That said the roads are for everyone.

And we should respect each other when on the ROAD.

Sharing a meme, just read it as " Someone is DRIVING wrong on the Road"

Drive Safe.

[kadanaJ]

Originally Posted by matchvan

We all need counselling sessions on mental stability, how to handle pressure situation, lessons about road manners like in other western countries.

Correct. Let us start with the auto-wallahs and Eeco taxi's who are the biggest offenders. Road manners are too much to expect from them, but at least some basic respect for the rules!

Everyone's time is valuable. If others don't have road manners, and want to cut ahead at the expense of others...that simply does not fly by me.

Even I used to school errant drivers years ago, but I read in another thread on team bhp that we are not on Road to teach others.

So even though it irks me when someone drives while on phone or jaywalks or the endless list of rule breakers everytime I get on road, it would take ages for me to correct everyone of them.

It's not completely about teaching others. It is about standing up for a principal. Very often I am in a situation where someone from the left lane turning right is being a bully, trying to force me out of the way. At that point, I have 3 options.

1. Bully the person on my right, forcing him to bully the person on their right. Which penalises the good citizens who are rule-followers in favour of the rule-breaker.
2. Back-off myself and let the rule-breaker get ahead
3. Do what I do, which penalises the rule breaker, and benefits rule-followers.

The last option I will choose is option 1. I will not under any circumstance create a situation in which those following road manners and rules are wrongly inconvenienced.

It is my fortune that I have above-average judgement, and I can tussle with rougher drivers while maintaining adequate space. Not everyone has the judgement to do so, no problem. I'll do it on their behalf.

I do not believe in this attitude of keep one's head down, focusing only on one's own safety. Sometimes, certain principles require taking a stand, in whatever way, big or small.

If more people were willing to fight for what is right, we wouldn't just have better traffic discipline. We'd have more people raising issues and taking action regarding corruption, governance, and other social evils.

Breaking traffic rules is a very small offence in the grand scheme of things. But it is important to keep a mindset of "standing up and taking action for what one believes in". Whether that belief or action is large or small. I have little respect for those who ignore issues, keeping their heads down and adopt a "chalta hai" attitude.

I don't want to sound selfish but our safety and our passengers safety is paramount than schooling some errant driver on road.

You NEVER know when we will be a victim in someone else's drama.

I should note I do not do the above with passengers in my car. That is when I do back-off. I do not wish to give friends and family members anxiety attacks.

I quote an example i encountered yesterday:

All of the co-passengers were shouting at the cabbie for adhering to the speed limit of 80.

And all were educated, working people.

Whom to blame here and questioned!!!

The passengers are to be blamed. No question about it.

You might not be aware, but there are mandatory speed limiters for 80kmph in commercial/tourist vehicles. Uber/Ola do the same via their GPS tracking.

I took a shared taxi to Lonavala about a year ago. A couple was complaining about the cabbie driving slowly (80 kmph) on the expressway. They were discussing in a normal volume, but in English, so I don't believe they wanted to say anything to the cabbies face. I just said "government puts 80 kmph speed limiters in these commercial vehicles. He can't go faster even if he wants to, heck he's probably more frustrated than we are". Their ire quickly switched away from the cabbie, and towards the government.

Next time you are in such a situation, I recommend volunteering that information. The taxi driver would greatly appreciate you getting the heckling passengers off his back.

[matchvan]

Originally Posted by kadanaJ

Next time you are in such a situation, I recommend volunteering that information. The taxi driver would greatly appreciate you getting the heckling passengers off his back.

That's exactly what I did and told fellow passengers many a times about speed limit and speed guns..And told them that due to toll gates most of the aggressive and passive drivers will eventually catch up at the rolls.

I also appreciated the cab driver for getting us safe and also tipped him additional amount..

Like I said one never knows the other side of the story.

Drive Safe.

[atnyia]

I disagree to this. I also disagree that we can't follow rules or behave good in public arena.

The biggest reason of Indian roads being so deadly is because the driving license system is lousy. It puts no real bar on the driving skills and a majority of drivers that are on road are not road-worthy.

It's incredible that we put a lot of emphasis on road worthy vehicles and nowadays tires too but no attention to the person behind the wheels.

Egotistical drivers are everywhere but the added ignorance to consequences and lack of enforcements are the real culprits. If people get educated and penalised for bad driving behavior, a lot of people fall in line.

Ex., the difference between Delhi Metro and stations compared to Indian Railways stations. The commonly accepted bad behaviour (spitting pan/gutka and littering everywhere) isn't there at Metro rails.

[AirbusCapt]

My two cents on this. Generally its not the owner who drives with an ego. It is the hired help, the driver, the cabbie, the govt bus driver , the hirerer of a big zoom car..these folks are generally super rash, tend to bully and create nusiance.
Its also the people with "smaller" vehicles who drive rashly to keep up with bigger, fast moving traffic. The classic case of the slipper wearing chappri on his scooty who always wants to race a superbike. The local tempo travellers and the dump trucks also have a big ego, cutting and cornering their beastly vehicles to be first in an imaginary race.

[KrisTvpm]

Interesting thread!

Personally I use:
* Bike - Bajaj Caliber: Unlike most desi 2wheeler riders, haven't done much crazy stunts on the road; just adhere to the slow/left lane, within max speed of 50-55 & try to move around inconspicuously! No egos, I know my limitation, can't compete to the mighty bikes nor with 4wheelers.

* Car - Nano: Again, a small underpowered car (in comparison to most others), but I don't get cowed by large vehicles/bullies; just hold my position - don't bother mindless honking or other forms of bullying! Taxiwallahs/bigger cars/trucks often cut me out, perhaps the "L" board meant for my kid or the sight of a woman (my spouse) when she is driving must be tempting them to belittle the bug!

* Car - XUV5OO: I just enjoy driving it, aim is to bring the car back home exactly as it started, with zero dents/nicks! So neither I bully others/do aggressive driving, nor get cowed by bigger/powerful ones. Just because I drive a bigger car doesn't mean I've more rights on the road!

Confession: oftentimes 'am royally p*ssed off when others drive in an unruly manner, cut in/across to get ahead, turn without indicators, weave in/out of lanes haphazardly - sometimes have tried to get even with them with an intent to "punish" them, even when I'm in my Nano. I know it's futile, and trying to come out of this habit!