[ajmat]

Only way to reduce autos are to run them out of business. Take Meru's walk, use the "Valvo"! If only the bus signs were also in English, I would be happy to experiment

[sriturl]

Originally Posted by VJ_MAVRICK

Quite rightly this thread will be alive because of the utmost chaos bangalore traffic offers commuters apart from the mindless and insanely driven people all around.

Very true.
Govt need to think about it since by improving traffic enables smooth flow of traffic, give better mileage to vehicles, and there by reducing fuel demand?
There is talk to 10-11% increase in demand for Petrol every year.

If they can regularize the traffic by enforcing rules properly, I am sure demand increase can be 0% (considering 10% increase in vehicles, because mileage improves by 10%)

As said before people having lane divider(white line) in middle of the vehicle instead of one side. That blocks 2 vehicles on both lanes.
If I keep writing all reasons, that will be a huge number.

[shankar.balan]

@ Happywheels - might as well relieve tedium and boredom by expressing one's self by writing!
@ vjmavrick - not really frustrated, more like enjoying the chaos, marvelling at the general idiocies one sees and remaining unaffected as far as possible - easier on the blood pressure.
@ ajmat- good idea to use public transport. Indeed, my wife takes her office bus daily and if shes late at work, takes the Volvo back. Trouble is that they have some vague HR Policies where if someone is entitled to a company car, then to take reimbursements for fuel etc (which are part of their salaries), they simply have to use it. More importantly, there is no recourse from the Government and Income Tax point of view, because there are solid tax benefits given to those who enjoy the perk of company car, but absolutely NO benefits given, should they choose to decline this perk and use public transport/ car pooling/ electric vehicles or whatever instead. Sad but true. Because quite honestly, me and my wife, we dont need to have two vehicles. Just one would be more than adequate for us and our needs. At the maximum maybe a second one like a Reva would be useful but it IS expensive.

[DoNotHorn]

This is what I did when my car and a auto decided to kiss each other. (Honestly it was the autos fault - as usual).

I got out and he started talking a lot. I told him that its his fault and if he does not agree with me then lets go to the police. By then 2 more auto guys joined him and all of them started to argue. I told tthem that I don;t know who they are and I will only talk to the first auto guy(with whom my car collided).

They told that they are his friend and they witnessed the collission(that was not true). I said then its OK for them to talk only after I also call my friends,(with that I pulled out my phone and started to call a friend and told him to come immediately with atleast 3 more friends so that we all can argue), I told them that the friends are in other part of the city and they will be here in an hours time.

They conitinued to argue, I told them to either wait for my friends or go to police station. They said lets all ignore the collision and go home. I ccepted since my car had only a small scratch.

Basically they think since you are driving a car you have loads of cash and will be happy to give them a few notes. They think tha after seeing many auto drivers together we will get intimidated.

What I do is to be calm and tell them that my first preference is to go to police(belive me most of them have issues with their auto documents or their license......and are not happy to go to police), I also give an impression that I have lots of time and I can stand and argue for next 4 hours(most of them will not have time).

I don't know if this has been suggested before, If we can comeup with a Team-BHP sticker, we know we have to help the car driver as he is one of us.cheers:

[madhav]

Guys the reason we Indians cannot follow rules can be blamed on our history. Remember our freedom struggle? What we did there was 'Non Co-operation'! We defied the British and did not follow their rules. That sure did help us win our freedom, but also left us with this wonderful quality to defy all rules since then.

[diabloo]

Was the country in orderly fashion before 'Freedom Struggle?

Originally Posted by madhav

Guys the reason we Indians cannot follow rules can be blamed on our history. Remember our freedom struggle? What we did there was 'Non Co-operation'! We defied the British and did not follow their rules. That sure did help us win our freedom, but also left us with this wonderful quality to defy all rules since then.

[madhav]

I'm pretty sure it wasn't... that probably triggered the idea as well.

On a serious note.... There is a serious lack of fear in people. Unless that is induced there is no way this situation is going to improve.

[snaronikar]

Originally Posted by madhav

On a serious note.... There is a serious lack of fear in people. Unless that is induced there is no way this situation is going to improve.

Yeah. I agree to some extent. But how many people are educated here. Even if educated, we damn don't care for following the traffic rules. This "don't care attitude" has made us very lethargic. Even if caught by police, people know the tricks how to escape from getting fined or getting their vehicle out.

[m3_07]

Date: 3/8/2008 (sunday)
City: Bangalore
Location: Between baptist hospital & CBI - JUST ABOVE THE UNDERPASS

I was driving with my dad at 1630 hours. The road was pretty open with very few vehicles around. There was this mini truck laden with vegetables, on the way to the market. The guy was driving crazy when I happened to cross him before the hebbal flyover. So, i maintained a safe distance behind him.

As we reached above the underpass, there was a BMTC bus, a lone scooter & this crazy truck. Scooter guy was in between the monsters. I was exactly 20 metres behind the truck. The truck took a abrupt left, to avoid a rough patch on the road. This resulted in the scooter being hit. The scooter in a split second went below the rear wheels.............BOOMMMMMMMMM.

I saw the scooter flying at about 4 feet in air and was crumpled beyond recognition. As for the poor driver, I saw him luckily escape the rear weels & he was geometrically at the centre below the axle. I suddenly breaked by vehicle & with a "second thought" got down after much argument with my dad that I need to assist the guy. The argument lasted for 30 seconds & I reached the guy. I have never seen an accident so close & live in my whole life. The scene of the accident was too hard for me to digest. I was the first to reach him & I was alone. His ankle was split open & there was considerable amount of blood oozing out. The guy held his head tightly withering in pain, probably must have hit his head aginst......what??? I do not know. He could neither talk, not could motion anything. It was almost 2 minutes then & there was still nobody to assist me. I was trying to flag down every car/ auto that I could see to stop. But, the morons in the cars were honking at me to make way for them to pass.

There were a couple of bikers who arrived after 5 minutes. We stopped a taxi & helped the guy reach the hospital. I did not accompany the guy to the hospital, but others did. Was the scooter guy wearing a helmet....I do not know, but my dad says he was indeed wearing one, that was probably a reason his head was still on his shoulders.

As for the truck that hit him, it was out of sight. He did not stop & in that confusion, I did not note down the number. The bus, he did not have much options, so had to park sideways.

1. Did he survive? - Yes, as confirmed from the Baptist hospital this morning.
2. How long did it take to reach him for a first aid? - 20 minutes from the time he fell on ground
3. Injuries - Not aware of

The point of posting this thread is not to sensationalise the incident, but to creat awareness as to how insensitive we have become to incidences like these. The injured guy could probably be one of us OR someone who is dearest to us. Don't we then feel that how insensitive people around were to even bother to get down their cars & give us a helping hand. Had my dad not been driving with me, I would have taken him along in my own car & seen to it that he received medication. But I still made an effort to be the "first" to help him & get him some attention. I am relieved to know that he has survived & the guilt in me for not having helped him completely is no more.


I am sure we all can be a bit human towards humans!!

[indianrunner]

Hi M3,

It is indeed very creditable for you to have stopped and helped the injured person. You are certainly correct in mentioning that all of us (me included) have become insensitive to any injustice which happens outside our 'bubble'. No one wants to get involved or stand up. It is not a Bangalore trait but true in any city one might be.

It takes a specical kind of courage to burst through the 'bubble' and be counted and I hope that by reading your incident, this spark gets lit in all of us.

Warm regards

[HappyWheels]

M3,
A very highly appreciated effort in what you have done. It is not often that people get involved in such accident, much in fear of what they might have to go thru later.

And I do not think that the lack of help is something restricted to Bangalore. This can be experienced in any city (in India or Abroad). People just do not have time for others when they are all too busy looking after themselves!

Would suggest that the title be changed to something more appropriate - atleast remove Bangalore.

PS: And M3, you are in Bangalore right, so I now know atleast one person who has a big heart. :-)

[diabloo]

Thats great m3_07 !!

So its only the cars. If bikers can have time, so can car owners. May be the car owners don't want to dirty their cars. So there must a policy of free-interior cleaning of cars which carry accidents victims to hospitals. Maybe the hospital can issue the coupons (and deduct from the victim's insurance). Or any suitable process or work flow can be worked out.

Originally Posted by m3_07

It was almost 2 minutes then & there was still nobody to assist me. I was trying to flag down every car/ auto that I could see to stop. But, the morons in the cars were honking at me to make way for them to pass.

There were a couple of bikers who arrived after 5 minutes. We stopped a taxi & helped the guy reach the hospital.

[srishiva]

M3, Its indeed a commendable job for helping a fellow human being.

Hope your dad is proud of you too (?). I have helped others involved in accidents and have seen lots of instances where people do help others. As a society, we still have a long way to go.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

Would suggest that the title be changed to something more appropriate - atleast remove Bangalore.

Very true. This is a common trait in every Indian, not specific to any region. How many times have I helped anyone on the road ? Proabably I can count with the fingers on one hand. We suddenly find ourselves too busy or simply dont want to get into any bother. But full credit to you for the way you reacted. cheers

[hrag]

Originally Posted by m3_07

Date: 3/8/2008 (sunday)
City: Bangalore
Location: Between baptist hospital & CBI - JUST ABOVE THE UNDERPASS

The truck took a abrupt left, to avoid a rough patch on the road.

This rough patch is the root cause of many accidents on this stretch. Add to that a barricade placed so carelessly to cause even more accidents.

m3_07, I appreciate your efforts to stop and help the victim. Being a Sunday, the number of insensitive people would have been less. I can imagine a weekday situation.