Traffic Conditions in Bangalore

Nowadays, we don't calculate the time to reach from point A to point B in minutes, it is mostly hours.
It is all thanks to the roadworks, the railworks (Metro rail), Autos, Taxis are the ones who are causing this.

The roadworks in Bangalore! It is so nice of the powers that be that they get great ideas and the results are just too good. One day, a road is neatly asphalted, we are all happy commuters! Couple of weeks down the line, the other civic authority digs up roads and start laying new drainage pipes. What is left of the road is not even half of what was available before. You never know when they will fix the road again.


Oh, yes. We have seen lot of hollywood movies and bollywood movies where you have these trigger happy cops and thugs who are drawing their guns at every opportune moment. We have honk happy drivers who just keep honking for no real reason. It is like one hand is glued to the horn button.


Now, just think of this scene for a moment. You are patiently waiting for the signal to turn green at the traffic signal. The signboard says, no free left turn which means you can't take that turn unless the signal turns green. Then, there are these taxis, autos, buses who are honking with all their might and literally pushing you to break the law by forcing you to turn and if you don't, then, be ready for all the #$%^%&@#^* that they swear at you and your entire family tree.

Oh, when the signal is just turning amber, it is like watching a start of F1 race, in this case, engines roaring and additional music thanks to the horns. In fact, some of the taxis, cabs have these noisy honks that go on and on at the press of the button. These are illegal, but who cares!
 
I stay in west side of the city and have to travel to the east for work. All the entry points from west to east, we have metro rail work going on now or someone is laying power cables. The traffic is choatic. Everyone is in a hurry, everyone fights for space, everyone wants to get ahead of the other - end result is a bottle neck and a deadlock. And then there are really some great people out there, from extreme left they would want to go to right, from extreme right, they would want to go to left and the guy who wants to go straight does not know where to go hahaha!

Now, this is not just the autos (the 3 wheeler cabs) or Taxis, I am talking about Audis, Mercs, BMWs, Hondas, Toyotas, GMs, Fords, Suzuki, Hyundai........ There is nothing wrong with any of these! What is wrong is the mindset of the people who are driving those!

People used to be calm and cool in this place. Now, we have people fighting with cops, going to the extent of even trying to beat them up!  Oh yes, recent times, there have been instances of drunk women attacking police who were just doing their job. Some guys have gone to extremes of running over the cops who have tried stopping them. The cops have had to run for their lives but not all of them have got lucky. There have been a few unfortunate ones who paid with their lives. These incidents have brought in some measures and they seem to be working.


I have seen the very same people follow all the traffic rules, signs when they are driving abroad and back home, they are back to the same old devices.

I used to enjoy riding my motorbike and taking my car out for drives. I have really started hating the thought of driving nowadays. Hopefully, all the pain that we are going through will go away soon thanks to Metro rail. At least that is what I think.

We have few good jokes for you.

1. People in the USA drive on the right side of the road, people in UK drive on the left side of the road. We,  drive on what is left of the road!
2. The movie "One Flew over a cuckoo's nest" made Jack Nicholson famous, The roads in Bangalore have made the song from the movie even more famous "One went left, one went right, one went over the payment and another went down the open drain".
now:

Oh, before I sign off, I almost forgot to tell you how cops are using technologies to catch offenders now!
Our cops today have Blackberry's, Speed radars, speed cameras, cameras at major signals..... So, dear Bangalorean, if you think you got away by bending the law, and you thought no cop saw you, beware, you are going to be in for good surprise! You will get a nice warm letter coming home from the law authorities. Well, you can even go see all of it here: http://www.bangaloretrafficpolice.gov.in/

Thanks for reading all my ravings and rantings.