[gtonsing]

Originally Posted by NPV

Yesterday---------I'm quite sure he had no view of the traffic lights as he was blinded by the bus in front. Please drive carefully -----'

I was in the exact situation years ago at the St John's Hospital junction. The BMTC bus infront of me took the turn (later only realised that it was turning on Amber) and I was right behind. Cops immediately after the signal immediately pounced on me and I had to of course pay the fine for jumping. (Note: I was asked to pay the same fine on Hosur road about a month later on the way to office but unfortunately I had not kept the receipt of the earlier penalty)

[chetancm7]

I cannot just imagine what would happen when all the offices on the ORR stretch open up. It would be total chaos considering that metro work which is likely to begin anytime soon (though we never know when). The government/BBMP should have utilized the COVID duration which was almost entire last year and this half year to initiate the metro work. I know this is a tall order and too much of an expectation from the lethargic authorities and I can only hope the best for my beloved Bengaluru. I keep joking with my wife that at least my daughter would be able to use the metro on the ORR stretch when she goes to work 20 years later!

[airbus]

Originally Posted by Everlearner

If you have to take the car, you can try to get a spot under the flyover immediately after KR market junction.

Originally Posted by audioholic

You can park in unity building and walk till SP Road. Otherwise finding parking nearby is tricky and also risky.

I went to SP Road yesterday and parked my car at Shree Bhuvaneshwari Car Parking, about 300 metres from SP Road. It is a pay and park facility. There were sufficient parking spaces when I reached in the morning but I saw Parking Full board at the time of my return in the afternoon.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by NPV

...I'm quite sure he had no view of the traffic lights as he was blinded by the bus in front...

Originally Posted by gtonsing

I was in the exact situation years ago at the St John's Hospital junction...

I'm noticing another new-fangled trick (or maybe I've only started noticing now).

It's no secret that several traffic lights across the city don't do the proper green-amber-red sequence, and several don't have a working timer either, so it's a guessing game if there's enough time to cross and avoid jumping a red when the light turns abruptly. Some junctions also have lights changed manually to 'manage traffic'.

A nuisance but often manageable with some defensive driving.

These days, traffic cops stationed at such junctions are starting to click pictures of vehicles they know full well got caught by this weird signal behavior and didn't jump the signal at all.

Had this happen last week near Town Hall (the signal after Town Hall Jn going towards Cubbon Park). I entered the junction while it was still green, then it abruptly flips red just as I complete crossing and stop at the next roundabout. A cop walks up to click a picture of my number plate. I roll my window down and tell him in Kannada that I have dashcam footage the light was green when I crossed, and I'll dispute any fines levied. He smirks at me and walks over to the adjacent car.

[Sebring]

Oh, so this is their new fraud. Exactly the same thing happened to me near Forum Mall. Having pulled me aside, the cop himself looked inside and exclaimed ''oh you have dash cam'', and let me go. Rs 1000 ROI on the Cam

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Had this happen last week near Town Hall (the signal after Town Hall Jn going towards Cubbon Park). I entered the junction while it was still green, then it abruptly flips red just as I complete crossing and stop at the next roundabout. A cop walks up to click a picture of my number plate. I roll my window down and tell him in Kannada that I have dashcam footage the light was green when I crossed, and I'll dispute any fines levied. He smirks at me and walks over to the adjacent car.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by chetancm7

I cannot just imagine what would happen when all the offices on the ORR stretch open up. It would be total chaos considering that metro work which is likely to begin anytime soon (though we never know when).

Tell me about it. My office is on that stretch too and I'm desperately looking for jobs elsewhere, willing to take a pay cut too just to avoid the nightmare that stretch will soon become once we all get back to the office. Before itself it was a crazy commute, and now that metro work is imminent, can't imagine what the journey will become. Mental and physical health is more important.

Originally Posted by chetancm7

I keep joking with my wife that at least my daughter would be able to use the metro on the ORR stretch when she goes to work 20 years later!

Probably the reality. Considering how long the other stretches of the Metro are taking to complete, with deadlines overshooting by several years, I don't see the ORR stretch completing anytime in the next 15 years. Once completed it will be awesome, but at least a decade of misery to go.

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

I entered the junction while it was still green, then it abruptly flips red just as I complete crossing and stop at the next roundabout. A cop walks up to click a picture of my number plate.

Originally Posted by Sebring

Having pulled me aside, the cop himself looked inside and exclaimed ''oh you have dash cam'', and let me go.

Pathetic tactics. Each time you want to feel sorry for Bangalore cops and the undeniably tough job they have, they do something like this and make it impossible!

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

I'm noticing another new-fangled trick (or maybe I've only started noticing now).

Got busted in the same trick on ORR, Sarjapur road - Columbia Asia signal . Unfortunately i don't have the dashcam to argue. Someone with dashcam evidence like this, please report to Bangalore Traffic police facebook page to help fellows like us.

[wildsdi5530]

Somehow BMTC buses, Tempo travelers, Trucks, autos, etc seem to jump signals with impunity. Do they just know from experience where cops will be standing and where cameras are installed?

BTW had gone to Hosur and back yesterday for a surgery. Returning late night wanted to try coming under the BETL flyover. It was at least 15 mins faster. Hate going on the BETL now with the 60 kmph speed limit and don't really know where the cams are. I unconsciously drift to 80 kmh which was the old speed limit. Some people seem to know well and slow down only in those sections.

I think apps like Waze have traffic cameras and speed traps marked in them. Are these accurate in Bengaluru?

[am1m]

Used the Bangalore Metro yesterday for the first time since March 2020. Hardly any passengers, felt safer inside than on the streets where the crowd seems pretty much back to normal. Felt much safer using the metro than riding in Bangalore traffic which also seems pretty back much to normal and with all the usual rule-breaking and wrong-side driving/riding!

[allinbalance]

I have been carefully reading the posts on this thread and I have roughly counted major/common observations/complaints about Bangalore traffic.

Ignoring intersecting complaints (same member raising multiple points), and category of vehicles (2W/Auto/Car/Tempo)- focusing only on the human and infra side, the density of complaints is roughly:

1. Driving behavior related: 70%
2. Infrastructure related: 10%
3. Traffic Mismanagement:20%

If this rough calculation is not totally inaccurate, I believe this is the root cause of the mess in the city's streets and a four point action plan can improve things -

a) we all have to exercise restraint and discipline;

b) the authorities need to make the road repairs more prompt (and heavily fine agencies/companies who just dig up roads and leave it to the Almighty to fix);

c) Policing has to be more efficient and heavy fines and traffic education by way of display signage need to be increase across the city.

d) Educational videos through Youtube and ask schools/colleges to play them mandatory for students (10-24 years) at the end of each class (for now online and later offline in classrooms) - I believe the next generation can be transformed by moulding their thinking (thus improve road behavior). I also believe they have a influential voice inside a home - an auto driver is as attached to his kid as us - and students can be change agents.

I believe these four focused steps will lead to steady improvement to our traffic.

[binand]

Originally Posted by allinbalance

1. Driving behavior related: 70%
2. Infrastructure related: 10%
3. Traffic Mismanagement:20%

Note that these three aren't mutually exclusive that their frequencies must add up to 100%. Bad driving behaviour is often triggered by bad infrastructure and emboldened by mismanagement.

Near my old office is the Domlur interchange. There is a small (1 lane wide one-way) connector road for traffic proceeding from westbound OA Road to southbound IRR that skirts the boundary wall of Diamond District / Natasha Golfview. If you take this road on a normal day you will find a steady stream of vehicles coming in the opposite direction - to the best of my recollection, the only category of vehicle I have not seen doing this is the BMTC bus. Why?

* Obviously all those drivers are selfish idiots who couldn't be bothered about the risk they are creating for all road users.

* The reason they all do this is that the "blessed way" to get from the shops and offices on the east side of IRR here in Domlur to Indiranagar 100 ft road is to take a U-turn about 1.5 km away. So an extra 3 km drive to travel to say, 600 metres.

* On days when a traffic enforcement unit is stationed underneath the interchange this wrong-side traffic trickles down to near zero.

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by allinbalance

I have been carefully reading the posts on this thread and...

I believe these four focused steps will lead to steady improvement to our traffic.

Originally Posted by binand

Note that these three aren't mutually exclusive...
.

Do you honestly believe that our police and bureaucracy are not aware of these points? The very fact that they exploit these behaviors and shortcomings to collect their "fines" proves that they understand exactly what is going on.

I would say, look elsewhere. Our rulers want this situation, and until they decide otherwise, we are stuck with it. Makes for a great discussion thread though!

[vinu_h]

Not sure if this was covered. The gist - Despite knowing that it failed in 2020, BTP has introduced it again in 2021. I am unable to make sense of it

13/10/2020 - Source 1

The officers will wear the cameras to ensure proper action against traffic rule violators ..... But over the next few months, the body cams were forgotten and the traffic police went back to their old ways of catching traffic rule violators

18/07/2021 - Source 2

They have had a good impact on the roads. They bring civility to our officers and prompt civilians to be more careful since everything is recorded. They have improved transparency and, when all our officers are equipped with the cameras, corruption will definitely reduce. Documenting road rage and behavioral patterns will help us identify if the fault is with the road users or road engineers. It will help in post-situational analysis. So far, 154 officers have body-worn cameras and the government has approved a budget to provide them to all the officers

[am1m]

Originally Posted by mvadg

Do you honestly believe that our police and bureaucracy are not aware of these points?

Absolutely! We need better roads and zero-tolerance enforcement of traffic rules. That much is obvious. Certainly everyone already knows this but for many reasons, the biggest and most obvious being corruption at all levels, this will not happen.

Originally Posted by vinu_h

Despite knowing that it failed in 2020, BTP has introduced it again in 2021. I am unable to make sense of it

Cameras seem to be the in thing now. Probably some vendor/supplier has lobbied for some plum camera supply contracts. BBMP is also planning to spend 22 crores on 'garbage tracking' cameras. Everyone knows what will happen to these cameras within a year. And with that kind of money available, why not just pay the traffic cops and sanitary staff members better so they will be more motivated to do their jobs efficiently?! But no, how will the politicians and corporators make money then?!

[binand]

Originally Posted by mvadg

Do you honestly believe that our police and bureaucracy are not aware of these points? The very fact that they exploit these behaviors and shortcomings to collect their "fines" proves that they understand exactly what is going on.

Our traffic police shouldn't be a one-trick pony. For a lot of drivers fines aren't deterrent enough because they can avoid payment for as long as they wish (remember all those cases where 25K and 50K fines were levied in one go? For each vehicle caught like that, we can assume 100 more are plying on Bangalore's roads).