Lane Driving = Insane Driving!

I was traveling with a friend who recently returned to India for good after staying abroad for 20 years. Don’t ask me the reason – is it love for the soil? Or is it the bad time in US currently? This note from me is not about this. So let’s not deviate from our theme of driving around in Delhi and Gurgaon (supposedly the happening place in India – that’s what he mentioned when he came back).

Coming back to his driving – he started on a positive not with reversing his car from parking; I asked him why he is not honking while reversing; he said it’s rude as I have already given the indicators. Before I could react his car was almost missed by 2-3 cars on the road as no one stopped for him to reverse. So after lot of struggle and me out of car helping him to reverse by stopping the traffic he could take out his car out of parking. So here we began the journey. We started from the ring road in Lajpat Nagar. He mentioned, beautiful roads and then corrected himself soon; asking, why people are not travelling in lanes. I said probably they are rushing that’s why. But soon he discovered than lanes are just some white lines on the road (while he asked a person in the car next to him while stopping on a signal that why he is not following lanes; the guy retorted “what lanes”; on telling the lanes on the road – the person said “oh those white lines on road; I don’t know what are those”.

Our friend stopped before the zebra crossing on the signal and allowed people to cross the road. When the signal turned green, he did not move; I asked him why – he said people are still crossing and the traffic from the other side has not stopped. The traffic behind us was getting impatient and he was amazed by the extraordinary music of horns behind him. Reluctantly he moved and said that’s not right; as we could have hit someone. I said if you don’t move then someone will hit you from behind. He asked what about the training to people about traffic rules while granting the license; I told him that I know of many people who never sat on a wheel and have license to drive! (He did not believe; until he did an informal survey of around 50 people on road and realized that almost 99% drivers did not know what the traffic signs are)

So with some struggle, we reached NH-8 which will take us to our destination Gurgaon. And all this while I was really scared as my friend was not using horn at all and at many instances we were almost hit by many objects on road like rickshaws, cycles, bullock-cart, auto-rickshaws, hand-carts, all size trucks, racing buses and the zoo on the road (yes the cows and the dogs)

He mentioned that he has read about this express-way to Gurgaon from Delhi and it’s really cool! Soon he was sweating about his own statement and asked why buses and trucks are on all the 4 lanes of the road; aren’t they supposed to stick to their lanes. To his horror trucks were swaying like snake on all the lanes with such heavy loads. Then he saw lot of motorbikes on the NH-8 just moving dangerously in all lanes of the expressway (where 2 wheelers are not allowed – at least as per the traffic signs). He again asked why people are not giving way when he wants to use the fast lane. I said you honk; he said but they are supposed to choose their lane based on speed. I said, may be no one knows about the speed & lane concept.

He mentioned that it’s very dangerous, looking at the way traffic is increasing almost daily in Delhi and NCR. I said, yes it is. He again said that why government is not doing anything. I said they give lot of traffic tickets to offenders when they decide as special drive. He said, it requires a lot and lot of training and educating people to not only learn the lane discipline, but also about how to respect others on road and also respecting pedestrians.

After waiting at Toll-plaza for almost 15 minutes we entered Haryana and Gurgaon (the most happening place of India!). Why so much time on toll plaza – because it was designed for almost 1/10th of the actual traffic and people here also do not stick to the right lanes.

He saw beautiful architecture and said; yes this is the place I will keep my office. This place is really nice! But here to the comments were short lived; as we left NH-8 and entered the side lanes of Gurgaon (New Gurgaon); the road was almost shattered near the beautiful “ship building”. He struggled for almost 30 minutes to get the right parking as he did not want to block the road as done by almost 100s of people, while parking on the roads in Gurgaon. He was shocked to see such grossly poor quality of planning by the administration here. No proper roads; if roads there, 100s of cars parked on the side (as the builders did not plan for parking while creating beautiful highly priced buildings and administration never asked them why they have not!); many more animals on road than just cows & dogs; much variety of traffic (trucks almost the size of airplane zipping in Gurgaon all the time on the roads, supposedly designed for the colonies and that too all the time of the day); no public transport (rickshaws add to the beauty of the millennium city); school traffic parked on the road; signals not working (as Gurgaon has an average 8 hour power cut daily!!); call center driver’s road rage and many more amazing things of the millennium city called- Gurgaon.

So coming back to my friend – he again asked few traffic policemen in Gurgaon, why they are not managing traffic; they answered “hum kya kar sakte hain, hamari duty to yahan nahin hai (what we can do, our duty is somewhere else)”. There is no desire from anyone to improve. People in administration who can, are not doing anything (they are more bothered about other issues of politics and votes); common public do not know how to manage as no one ever taught them; corporate who can join hands and improve are not doing as its not their job to improve a city.

So who can help this city or this nation – Only GOD, and that too when he has time to bless us!

So to end - After few months, my friend after lot of trying and reaching to administration to improve has joined the normal public of the city and relaxes on the back seat while his driver drives with no lane discipline and lot of honking; as they say “When in Rome; act like Romans!”
-Puneet 28 Feb, 2009