[Gansan]

Originally Posted by gabrielthomas

Earlier it used to take only 30 minutes from Urapakkam to Mahindra City signal.

Not so long ago I have driven from Tambaram clean through to Chengalpet in 30 minutes.

The best way to reach offices in that stretch, especially Mahindra City, is by EMU.

[supremeBaleno]

Due to the unusually heavy winds in the evening, quite some metal barricades had fallen over & lying in all kinds of dangerous positions on OMR and on the road from
Kumaran Nagar to Semmanchery. Add to it the rains and the power failure (OMR street-lights were mostly off) and you might not see these contraptions till it is late.
Drive slow and safe !!!

High time these dangerous barricades were taken off our roads.

[sjcherian]

I enjoyed the drive home last night with all the rain and wind - very few bikers so the roads were mostly only 4 wheelers who for most part drive ok (barring a few).

In this year experienced the following:

• 3 (different) bikers come too close to the front bumper of my Thar expecting me to stop and then been surprised when I didn't/couldn't stop in time and gave them something to think about both from a gentle tap and some choice words.
• Had a heart in mouth instance when a scooter chap did an illegal u-turn squeezing through the gap in the median opposite Ramco on Sardar Patel road and fall just in front of the vehicle. Luckily I was able to stop without hitting him. Was so furious I would have driven over his Activa if I could.
• Auto scraped the rear bumper of the Thar while I was stopped in traffic luckily only a scratch on the bumper, am sure he had a good one on his front as well.
• Biker scraped the back bumper while squeezing through. Again lucky to have had no damage other than a scratch on the bumper. Could only shout inside as the guy sped off without a glance back

[searacer932]

GST between Tambaram and Chengelpet is a nightmare during peak hours. As someone rightly said the period between 7:00 and 10:00 AM in the morning and 5:30 till 09:00 PM in the evening is quite a heavy rush period. Tempos, Share-autos, Autos, Two-wheelers, College & company buses, inter-city buses, trucks and "what else did I miss" occupy the space. 4 lane is simply insufficient and the idea to join the ORR at Vandalur is a bad idea. There should have been one interchange at Vandalur and the ORR should have terminated at Chengelpet.

Also, need another help from the folks. I will be staying in Padur going forward and will need to travel between Padur and Thoraipakkam on a daily basis. I was checking the TNRDC website for the toll rates (http://www.tnrdc.com/itel/html/toll_rates.htm). Is Local Resident Pass applicable for me? How are people who are staying on OMR managing this?

[joecherian]

Originally Posted by searacer932

Also, need another help from the folks. I will be staying in Padur going forward and will need to travel between Padur and Thoraipakkam on a daily basis. I was checking the TNRDC website for the toll rates (http://www.tnrdc.com/itel/html/toll_rates.htm). Is Local Resident Pass applicable for me? How are people who are staying on OMR managing this?

When I moved to Chennai, I was staying in Victoria Towers (Padur) and then I was eligible for the local resident pass. That was in 2012. I guess, they will accommodate folks till Mantri for giving LRP and rules are still the same.

[raghu.t.k]

Few of the barricades are now loosing the wheels or the shapes have deformed, now becoming unstable objects on the road, and a hazard to have on the roads now.

On a different note, has anybody noticed that a large number of signals are non-functional in its true sense in other parts of the city, and in some cases some of the signal lamps themselves are disintegrating.

[sjcherian]

Lastest irritant is the combination of cops stopping traffic at Madhya Kailash on OMR from joining Sardar Patel road in the evenings past 5 and the IIT flyover being one way from Anna University towards Madhya Kailash resulting in HUGE traffic pile up all the way sometimes till even near the Central Polytechnic/ Indra Nagar Station. Took LB road instead of OMR one evening and found it to move much better.

[VW2010]

The pathetic state is the manual breath analyzer in these stops. What did that police do to deserve to smell the breath of unknown, disease transmitting commuters. I feel pity for a country with so much wealth but lack of proper breath analyzer on roads to avoid exposing the police to harm.

Thursday night was stopped at two places one in LB road and one near madhya kailash. Both places had manual breath analyzers*(Means humans).

[Thad E Ginathom]

The pathetic state is the manual breath analyzer in these stops. What did that police do to deserve to smell the breath of unknown, disease transmitting commuters.

Should be rated with manual scavenging! Yes, it must be a pretty disgusting job. I have some admiration for the guys that do it.

[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by VW2010

The pathetic state is the manual breath analyzer in these stops. What did that police do to deserve to smell the breath of unknown, disease transmitting commuters. I feel pity for a country with so much wealth but lack of proper breath analyzer on roads to avoid exposing the police to harm.

Thursday night was stopped at two places one in LB road and one near madhya kailash. Both places had manual breath analyzers*(Means humans).

I once asked a cop who stopped me at the Porur Link road how he is able to put up with this crap and his reply was that they do have the regular breath analyzer but do a preliminary check to screen potential drivers driving under influence and if in doubt use the equipment to confirm.

[Secretariat]

After a long day driving around in T Nagar and Mylapore areas, I am prepared to handover the trophy for the city with the craziest drivers from Bangalore to Chennai ! My city of Bangalore has been the long and proud holder of the award and my quarterly visits to Chennai to test its candidature had thus far resulted in a no contest - Bangalore winning hands down. But after today's experience, I am prepared to eat humble pie and declare that we were beaten fair and square by Chennai. I bow to thee, O Chennaites and hereby declare you as Extremely Distinguished BHPians, if you can survive the road every day and still be driving enthusiasts.

[raghu.t.k]

Originally Posted by rr_zen

I once asked a cop who stopped me at the Porur Link road how he is able to put up with this crap and his reply was that they do have the regular breath analyzer but do a preliminary check to screen potential drivers driving under influence and if in doubt use the equipment to confirm.

Last Sunday, I had traveled to Ernamkulam, and noticed the cops there had a red hand held device, which they asked the drivers to blow at. Not sure how accurate it is, but it saves the cop's nose having to be the breath analyser. Any idea if these are reasonably accurate ?

Originally Posted by Secretariat

After a long day driving around in T Nagar and Mylapore areas, I am prepared to handover the trophy for the city with the craziest drivers from Bangalore to Chennai !
.....
....
I bow to thee, O Chennaites and hereby declare you as Extremely Distinguished BHPians, if you can survive the road every day and still be driving enthusiasts.

T Nagar and some portions of Mylapore are no drive zones for quite some time for those who intend to have a peaceful day. Certain areas of T Nagar are no-go zone even for pedestrians!! We could have an equivalent of an ice bucket challenge, ie. to walk through Ranganathan street from one end to another on a weekend or, around Diwali or Pongal

[binand]

Originally Posted by raghu.t.k

Not sure how accurate it is, but it saves the cop's nose having to be the breath analyser. Any idea if these are reasonably accurate ?

I came across this (it is a breathalyzer-manufacturing company, so please use the salt shaker where needed):

http://www.bactrack.com/pages/are-br...yzers-accurate

I think the right approach (sadly, not what I see used in Bangalore) is to use these devices to pick people who are possibly under the influence of alcohol, conduct a blood test on those people (keep a mobile van at the DUI check spot if possible) and throw the book at the ones that fail this test. Expensive, but pragmatic. And if a driver under influence causes an accident, criminally indict even those who allowed him to drive (restaurants, friends & family, clubs...)

It appears that the direct correlation of alcohol content in breath to alcohol content in blood is not something that can be assumed.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by Secretariat

After a long day driving around in T Nagar and Mylapore areas, I am prepared to handover the trophy for the city with the craziest drivers from Bangalore to Chennai !

As raghu.t.k rightly mentioned, any Chennai driver worth his salt would avoid T.Nagar like the plague, even if it means taking a longer detour (which is still worth every extra km).
Not been to Mylapore in a long time, but it should be more or less like T.Nagar too.

Originally Posted by raghu.t.k

Last Sunday, I had traveled to Ernamkulam, and noticed the cops there had a red hand held device, which they asked the drivers to blow at. Not sure how accurate it is, but it saves the cop's nose having to be the breath analyser. Any idea if these are reasonably accurate ?

Breathalysers are used extensively in Kerala (thanks to Rishiraj Singh IPS) and I would think they are accurate - atleast I haven't heard anyone contesting its reading.

[raghu.t.k]

Originally Posted by binand

I came across this (it is a breathalyzer-manufacturing company, so please use the salt shaker where needed):
..

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

...
Breathalysers are used extensively in Kerala (thanks to Rishiraj Singh IPS) and I would think they are accurate - atleast I haven't heard anyone contesting its reading.

From the looks of it does not seem to be expensive and having a similar size of the sleek pocket radios of good old days, should be something that most constables could carry along with their walkie talkies at night. Was at Ernakulam on a Sunday around 9:00 in the morning, and at 2 junctions they checked our cab driver. Even if it alerts possible cases, they could then be taken for blood tests, rather than having the human nose do the job. Really feel bad for them, and not sure on the subjective part as well. Also various companies could sponsor these on similar lines of Hyundai Accent.

On a different note we need to appreciate Rishiraj Singh for all the changes he is bringing/enforcing. Largely a thankless job when the public do not understand the importance of it, even when its for the safety of all road users. We need more such officers across the country.