Rules of the Road
Don't look.
That's the motto I have adopted when it comes to being driven around Pune. I have honestly never experienced anything like it... for want of a better phrase it's organised chaos, like a shoal of fish moving in an erratic but mostly coordinated manner. It's noisy, dangerous, and downright terrifying to newcomers to the country, especially ones who have been trained to obey traffic signals, lane markings, and to use general common sense when it comes to roads. In less than 2 weeks in Pune we have:
Now while this seems like anarchy to me, it would appear to be the absolute norm to most Indians on the roads here. Rather than getting hot under the collar and full of road rage as most Brits or Americans would when faced with these sort of challenges on the road, the Indian drivers seem calm and composed throughout. Maybe there is an unwritten rule book I am unaware of? I expect it goes something like this...
RULE OF THE ROAD - left hand driving, except when the opposite side of the road looks less busy and then you can simply drive into oncoming traffic as you please.
LANE MARKINGS - pointless lines of paint on the road. Completely futile and therefore can be disregarded.
YIELDING RIGHT OF WAY - Every man, woman, child, and animal for themselves! Why wait for a gap in the flow of traffic when you can just pull out and let the oncoming traffic figure out how to avoid you?
FOOTPATHS - optional extra lanes when traffic is congested. Can be driven on in either direction.
HORNS - to be honked almost constantly and used like a bat's echolocation.
SEAT BELTS - mostly worn by the driver (to avoid a ticket from the police) but also a cause for consternation if requested by passengers.
VEHICLE CAPACITY - Pah! A family of five sharing a single motorbike ... nothing. 17 children squeezing into a single rickshaw for the ride home from school ... easy.
PEDESTRIANS - people who blithely step into oncoming traffic muttering, "I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me".
DOGS - fearless creatures who laugh in the face of danger and who like to curl up to sleep in the middle of a busy road.
COWS - rulers of the roads. Completely oblivious and don't give a s*** about the traffic chaos caused when they stroll nonchalantly across the road.
It can be summed up with the following mantra: "Good horn, good brakes, good luck!"
That's the motto I have adopted when it comes to being driven around Pune. I have honestly never experienced anything like it... for want of a better phrase it's organised chaos, like a shoal of fish moving in an erratic but mostly coordinated manner. It's noisy, dangerous, and downright terrifying to newcomers to the country, especially ones who have been trained to obey traffic signals, lane markings, and to use general common sense when it comes to roads. In less than 2 weeks in Pune we have:
- reversed into oncoming traffic on a busy dual carriageway road because my driver missed a turning.
- turned out of a side road into oncoming traffic at every opportunity (this is actually the norm for all vehicles!)
- had a bicycle carrying two teenage boys collide with the side of the car. Luckily it happened in very slow moving traffic and they were unhurt.
- ignored a lifetime of practicing "Clunk, Click, Every Trip". It's now a novelty to find a vehicle with a complete set of working seat belts.
Now while this seems like anarchy to me, it would appear to be the absolute norm to most Indians on the roads here. Rather than getting hot under the collar and full of road rage as most Brits or Americans would when faced with these sort of challenges on the road, the Indian drivers seem calm and composed throughout. Maybe there is an unwritten rule book I am unaware of? I expect it goes something like this...
RULE OF THE ROAD - left hand driving, except when the opposite side of the road looks less busy and then you can simply drive into oncoming traffic as you please.
LANE MARKINGS - pointless lines of paint on the road. Completely futile and therefore can be disregarded.
YIELDING RIGHT OF WAY - Every man, woman, child, and animal for themselves! Why wait for a gap in the flow of traffic when you can just pull out and let the oncoming traffic figure out how to avoid you?
FOOTPATHS - optional extra lanes when traffic is congested. Can be driven on in either direction.
HORNS - to be honked almost constantly and used like a bat's echolocation.
SEAT BELTS - mostly worn by the driver (to avoid a ticket from the police) but also a cause for consternation if requested by passengers.
VEHICLE CAPACITY - Pah! A family of five sharing a single motorbike ... nothing. 17 children squeezing into a single rickshaw for the ride home from school ... easy.
PEDESTRIANS - people who blithely step into oncoming traffic muttering, "I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me".
DOGS - fearless creatures who laugh in the face of danger and who like to curl up to sleep in the middle of a busy road.
COWS - rulers of the roads. Completely oblivious and don't give a s*** about the traffic chaos caused when they stroll nonchalantly across the road.
It can be summed up with the following mantra: "Good horn, good brakes, good luck!"
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