Bangalore Traffic – Driving Ethics

Why is the traffic on Bangalore roads so unorganized? Have you ever thought about it? I am sure, each one of you would have taken a moment some or the other time to blame the *bad* drivers or infrastructure or may be even the traffic cops! If you think you are a perfect driver, think over again. The chances are more that your driving skills might have been Bangalored to an unknown devil within you!

Over the past couple of months, I have encountered a number of incidents and here is an excerpt of some of those. It was a bright morning on a saturday and I was waiting in my car for the traffic signal to turn green. There was less traffic and as usual I was on a strict routine to abide by traffic rules. A school van comes behind me and starts honking frantically. All this was happening when the traffic light was still in RED. For the first 2 honks, I chose not to respond and kept myself calm by looking at the traffic light. The driver of that van honked the horn again and shouted at me to move ahead. I pointed him to look at the red light and didn’t move an inch. Looks like the driver got really pissed off and started to honk again non-stop! I moved my vehicle only upon the green signal. Most of you may feel this incident to be funny, but it isn’t in reality. Well, my point here is to stick to traffic rules irrespective of traffic movement. I have observed many folks who tend to jump the signals when the traffic is less during the early mornings. Imagine a situation where in you jump the signal and all of a sudden a vehicle comes from some other side… You are not only putting yourself in danger but you are affecting others as well. At the same time please do convince yourself that honking horns upon the red light changing to amber or amber to green doesn’t help anyways. I still fail to understand why people honk unnecessarily when the traffic is about to move.

There was another incident where in I saw the green light and started moving my vehicle. All of a sudden a student, probably rushing for his tuition classes on a two wheeler comes in at an astonishing speed from the opposite direction by skipping the traffic signal. Distance was more or less about a meter or two between his 2 wheeler and my car! I had no other go but to apply brakes hard, otherwise it would have been a head on collision. This kid skids on his two wheeler and somehow manages to stop his vehicle without losing the control, there wasn’t a helmet on his head either. He comes close and starts yelling at me as if it was my mistake. I know for sure that it was his fault for having jumped the signal, yet he doesn’t want to accept the reality. At that point of time, my temper was just about to burst. Without indulging in any battle of words, I told him to stick to the traffic rules and drive safely. Here, I wouldn’t blame this kid. It is the sole responsibility of parents to teach their kids about traffic rules I feel. Buying a vehicle for your kid may be a good option for you, but you are unfortunately ruining your own kid’s future if you don’t teach them about traffic rules and safety norms.

It just doesn’t end there, many drivers cross the line into opposite lane and cause traffic jam at signals. Why would you want to do that? There is no respect/safety for the pedestrians either! People still tend to jump the signal even after the installation of those noisy sirens. I am glad that the Bangalore Traffic police have installed the tracking cameras across various junctions to capture traffic violations. There is a team of 40 people working at any given point of time to monitor such violations and they will be penalizing all those *bad* drivers. Think twice before opting to jump a traffic signal from now on. I can only wish the penalty becomes so hefty that no one should ever think of violating traffic rules. May be even the ticketing system where in an individual exceeding any 3 violations over a specified time should be rewarded with the cancellation of his/her driving license for life time. Come on folks, it needs to start within each us. Lets follow the driving ethics religiously.