…is what it takes to drive in India!!!
Cars, motorcycles, taxis, auto rickshaws (3-wheeled taxis), bicycles, three-wheeled carts, buses, lorries (trucks with long open beds), scooters, carts pulled by cattle – what do all these things have in common?? They are all considered modes of transport – some are universal and others are unique to the country. But nonetheless, they are all used for transport. Now throw into this mix, random cows and Indian buffalo, beggars, orphan children, foot traffic and fruit and vegetable vendors….Welcome to
At some point during the day, you will see and experience many, if not all of these transportation methods vying for space on the roads. The width of the road does not play into this equation – the challenge is how many vehicles and people can all fit in at the same time and still move – not always in the same direction. This is what one experiences everyday while commuting to work via the public roads. In all fairness and honesty, one should not fail to mention the construction crew and materials that are strewn along the path, in open and sometimes oncoming traffic with no cones or barricades indicating that there is work going on.
None of this would be worth experiencing if you were devoid of the auditory pleasure of interminable honking which leads many to believe that the louder the horn, the faster you move or easier to clear the path. Therefore, leaning on one’s horn is an almost friendly warning to say, “I am coming, please move 3 inches to the right so that I can squeeze in the hood of my car and that would lead me to believe that I have made some progress.”
Given the fact that everything is turned around here as far as driving goes and way the traffic works, it is no wonder that one who has spent a considerable amount of time abroad in an organized country, would suffer from temporary spatial delusion. One would always try to get in the driver’s seat since that is usually the side that the passenger sits in other countries; one would inadvertently call the dickie – the trunk and the bonnet – the hood. The Indian car manufacturers do not believe in trunks or trunk space in cars. In fact they do not believe in spacious cars that we so enjoy in the Unites States of
Gas stations are trying hard to model themselves after the
Rarely do people and car manufacturers believe in seat belts or safety. The traffic laws fail to include the obvious fact that children are supposed to be in car seats and only in the back seat until a certain age or weight versus on the lap of the passenger with no safety restraint for neither the adult nor the child. In fact, a newborn being transported atop the lap of its mother, who is seated with both legs one side of a motorcycle, and is holding the baby with both arms, which means she is not holding on to anything else to support her, is a normal sight.
In
The main roads in
With all the traffic that is on the roads all the time, you can have the fantastic opportunity to be in a gridlock even at 11:30 pm depending on where you are going at that time. This does wonders for the air quality all day and all night – wonders as in “I wonder if I will get out of this auto rickshaw alive?” “I wonder if I could find those face masks like the ones Michael Jackson sports all the time?” “I wonder how many seconds I would need to sit in traffic before my face is caked with dirt and dust?” The poor quality of the air leads to so many illnesses and the people suffer to recover as they are constantly exposed to it every day, with no break.
With all this said to give you an insight to traffic in
