Time - 12:00PM
Place - Kodigehalli Junction on Bellary Road (New Airport Road)
What Happened?
As usual, I was driving to work starting from Vidyaranyapura via Kodigehalli Main road and was approaching the Kodigehalli Road-Bellary Road Intersection. The Traffic lights were all green and my usual intention was to take right towards the Hebbal Flyover. The lights remained green for a good duration and traffic was sparse after a few seconds creating a vacuum between the last vehicle that crossed the signal ahead of me and 2-3 cars including mine which were tailing them.
The lights are still green as I just approach the intersection but somehow I could sense a Green BMTC Big10 bus slowly moving ahead (See illustration pic) thinking he can either slow/block the traffic from my side even when we had the right to proceed.
A M-800 ahead of me barely misses the Bus and passes 'successfully' and now its my turn. What follows next was definitely not a heroic deed that I want to present here but an attempt that would not allow the BMTC Bus to take us all (can I say that?) for granted on an everyday basis.
Lights still green for me, I don't show any signs of slowing down and neither does that Bus. I honk, Flash my lights but to no avail. Finally, I had to swerve a little left to avoid a collision but I had made up my mind that I will not resent to that BMTC bus' attempt to jump a signal even if I had to take left and take a U-Turn towards my intended direction of travel.
I stopped my car exactly the way you can see in the picture above. I get down, remove my ID card to ensure that I am not just another IT guy, lock my car (what if my laptop gets stolen in the melee) and I start questioning the driver on his dangerous attempt to jump the signal knowing the fact that the light was still Red for him and green for all of us. All this in a typical, Pure Kannada without any accent, just to make sure that I suddenly don't get overpowered by others as an "outsider".
Now this was the third time from my previous altercations with BMTC bus drivers where the driver doesn't bother to speak/argue and simply waves me to get lost while the conductor gets down and comes to me. I spot 2 cops and wave them to come to the spot to take toll of the situation.
Meantime, I have support and this is really significant and worth mentioning. A Dzire Cabbie from a Hotel who was following behind me and 2 other 2-wheeler riders who park their bikes blocking the Bus and start to blast the Bus driver in all possible ways.
Police arrives, again blasts the Driver in Kannada:
"Nimige thale mele koorisirodikkene intha kelsa maadtheera, naachke aagalva?"
Translated:"Because of allowing you folks to sit on our head you continue indulging in such things (jump signals), aren't you ashamed?"
Then the Dzire Cabbie, the 2 wheeler riders started passing all possible remarks to the hopeless bus driver. Another person, I don't even know if he belonged to any other vehicle, climbs the bus on the driver's side and almost acts as if he wants to punch that driver. (He did this twice but never assaulted him and probably was just showing frustration/ire)
I now ask the cops to take action as the Bus had jumped a signal. The cops had no choice but to heed to the demand at that juncture and challaned the Bus for 400 INR though I didn't notice if he ever handed over the receipt to the Driver of the bus, I assume they would send it to the BMTC office directly.
We were then asked by the cops to move as we had created jam (I'm sorry). I move my car to make way for the bus to continue, traffic clears, I wait for my turn to take right when the light turns green and I move on.
This is not the first time but I had strongly reacted under similar situations earlier with 2 BMTC buses (Volvo then) and hence this isn't a new experience in my everyday commute from Electronics City to Vidyaranyapura (34kms).
The only significant highlight of this entire episode is that the cops were indeed helping this time and so were the other
victims who supported my act and in the end the driver of a BMTC Bus was also fined for this act.