I have been absent for a fortnight here as well as in visiting you all regularly. I, alongwith my wife, had to visit Chandigarh for some family commitment. On return I could not get back into right frame of mind to do what I love. This is what happens when you are eldest in the family and have to attend to so many issues. I will take a couple of days to catch up with all pending posts from each of you.
We had decided to go by car and what an experience it was. It was raining very heavily most of the time necessitating caution in driving. There was lot of water at a number of places on the road as well as around. There were a lot of diversions at many places due to work going on the road. The drive was enjoyable but it also set me thinking about driving courtesies. I know we all are in hurry to get where we are heading for but I wish to share some of my observations which if followed may enable easy flow of traffic :
1. Stick to one lane as it helps those who want to overtake. If you drive keeping the dividing line of lanes in center of car, this will make others impatient as they will not be able to overtake.
2. Maintain steady safe speed.
3. Observe right of way rules.
4. Overtake only when safe.
5. In case of traffic jam due to any reason, stick to your lane even if the next one moves faster as it will disrupt the flow.
6. Never go over to the lane for oncoming traffic as that will cause severe traffic jam as none of us are willing to reverse and even if we wish to the vehicles who followed us make it impossible.
7. If you have to stop for any reason, like asking for directions, make sure that you do not block the flow of traffic.
8. If you have to use your mobile phone, draw on side leaving the busy road and talk.
These are few things which came in my mind and these are not only for highway driving but on driving at any time anywhere. We all are aware of such simple courtesies and curse others ahead of us if they are not following any of these, but do we really care for it when we are at wheel?
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10 comments:
I agree..!! Half of Delhi is jammed because its so hard for people in delhi to stick to their lanes..!! And then they complain about traffic snarls..
Very true. Happens here too. The authorities are at fault too because they do not strictly implement traffic rules nor discipline violators immediately. So these drivers get the idea that it's okay to violate traffic rules cos nobody notices nor cares.
jack uncle we travel the pune mumbai expressway regularly...honestly i must say over the last few years lot of traffic sense has improved..except for a couple of dumb people around i think its nice to see Indian roads so safe
Wow...if only half the world was as cautious while driving as u have mentioned here...my driving trips would have been so much less frustrating!
Especially in towns of my dear Uttar Pradesh...
There is absolutely no road sense...and driving, which is otherwise such a relaxant, turns into a nerve wrecker...
Not to mention a dangerous one too!
I wish Indian traffic police will come up with some strict traffic rules. Most of us are not good at following rules unless we are made to. In US, people follow all the rules you've listed because if they don't, they will immediately get stopped over by police and get a huge, huge fine. This would also lead to increase in insurance premium and if one gets too many of driving tickets their license will be suspended.
I have seen the same people driving in totally two different ways in India and US!
These days when I go home, many times I close my eyes out of fear (of course as a passenger)..specially if I am riding a cab or autorickshaw :)
SAKSHI :
So true and frustrating, isn't it? Take care
ELLEN :
Sense of discipline, traffic or otherwise, needs to be inculcated right from school time. Not harshly but with proper explainations and examples. Take care
SULAGNA :
Isn't it something to be proud of? Very heartening. Take care
SURUCHI :
In early 1980s I was in a town in Panjab where either you avoided a pothole and hit a pedestrian / stray cattle or you kept them safe and bumped into pothole as you could not keep your eyes on both place at the same time. Take care
P :
What a shame! If we can do it there why not here too? But of course strong deterents are needed to start with. Take care
Dear uncle, by now I hope that you are settled in your daily flow of activities. Its a very inspiring post for the reckless drivers and hope each one of us can follow the rules or principles of maintaining a healthy living. Its very important to be the role-model yourself to set goals and examples for others so that no one can get an opportunity to point their finger at you. Being the eldest family member demands lot of commitments and only a well-disciplined person can meet with the demands of the family, I am sure that you are one of them committed member, for your dedication speaks for itself.
I think if only point no.6 is followed then traffic jams can be avoided to a great extent.
C B :
Thanks for your support. I agree one needs to be a role model if one wishes others to be good. Take care
CHANDRIKA :
I agree with your suggestion. Take care
Well, this is another issue close to my heart! Why people think it is so dumb to follow rules, I wonder?!
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