India is a pretty dangerous place to drive in, and by dangerous I mean, “walking-to-a-temple-and-eating-chicken ” dangerous. Yes, it will get you killed.
According to Road Safety in India Status Report, the number of death in accidents was around…look the point is many people die on a regular basis on Indian roads. Some of the things that annoy me the most are
1. Peekaboo Pedestrians
Zebra crossings, despite being there, are not visible by the pedestrians because those are occupied by premature accelerators, people who start their engine when the countdown timer hits 20 and start moving when it’s 10. By 0 they’ve already gone to the next signal and are ready to do the same thing all over again. Then from where do pedestrians cross the road you ask? Well, wherever they feel like! They find a spot where no one from the oncoming traffic could see them. They are like the reverse ostrich in that sense. They think if they can see the oncoming traffic so the oncoming traffic can see them. These pedestrians start crossing the road as soon as you’re close to them. You push hard on the brakes to save them, your vehicle skids and hits a nearby pole, BOOM! GAME OVER!
2. That truck driver who has been driving for 20 hours and can’t tell between a city and a desert.
In India, most of the goods transportation is done by trucks and so truckers have to drive on the shitty roads for days to get to their destinations. Bored of the traffic these truckers don’t even slow down in and around the cities, resulting in many accidents. The sight of a truck-crashed-into-a-car-and-people-beating-the-crap-out-of-the-cleaner-who-was-sleeping-when-the-accident-happened-while-the-driver-fled-away is very common on Indian roads. If you see trucks in and around the city just stop till they’re 2 km ahead of you.
3. The Government
India is a densely populated country and it often restricts the development of the it. The government can’t ask its citizens to have fewer kids, so what does it do? It starts constructions on an already narrow road without putting any warning signs. PROBLEM SOLVED! Thousands of people die on Indian roads due to ongoing construction that goes on for years and years, people come and go but the construction goes on.
4. High beams
This bad habit of Indian drivers often leaves me facepalming while riding at night. The self-centered nature of drivers is often revealed through their headlights at night which has become a cause of concern on city roads. High beams are solely responsible for many accidents that happen at night on narrow city roads.
5. Angry fellow road users
The road is one place which gets people triggered very easily. As Indian roads are filled with people who are bad at handling stress and are often ready to fight and die for it. If you find yourself in these situations please get in your vehicle and drive away, instead of throwing punches!!!
A light hearted rant