Returning to Bangalore on Sunday evening we encountered this rather interesting (and adventurous?) mode of public transportation!





These photos were taken at the Nelamangala Traffic Signal, where the traffic policeman seemed not to notice this blatant violation of traffic and safety laws.





If that was not enough, look at the first photo closely, to notice that the registration plate is BLANK! No license plates!

An Open Letter to the Bangalorean who Drives:

Dear Bangalorean,

I have a question for you; A question I have been meaning to ask anybody who will listen.

How do you drive? More importantly, how do you sleep -- knowing you drive like the way you do?

You hold no qualms for traffic rules, and go where and how you please.
You offer no respect for pedestrians, and treat them the same way you would while playing Carmegeddon -- scum who deserve to be driven over.
You offer no courtesy to vehicles smaller than yours, pushing them off your path and the road -- treating them like they are mere obstacles in your path.

All in all, you drive like you were in a cross-country rally (the roads being in line) on Devil's own mission - to damage as many vehicle and human life as possible.



Shocked? Well, I hope at least some of us are.

I can't help but wonder what has transpired in our social environment that has detached us from the ultimate value otherwise accorded to a human life. We have 'learnt' to treat other vehicles on the road as just that - machines, attaching no human significance to the people inside!

We blare our horns, shout the choicest of swear words, zip in-and-out of non-existent lanes, push anybody close and slow enough off the lane (better still the road), and still manage to take two hours to cover a 15-20 kilometer stretch!

Traffic Signals are a snarl, thanks not only to the bad road management of the authorities, but equally due to our utter contempt of traffic rules. 10 seconds after a signal turns red, we refuse to keep at bay, and try to squeeze through non-existent spaces.

And God forbid the day that the traffic policeman is not at his traditional post - for then it is a free-for-all, ain't it? Except free would be a misnomer -- stuck-for-all-eternity is more like it.

And this is exactly the way it was at 7:30 AM today at the BTM traffic signal. The traffic policeman was AWOL for 10-odd minutes that seemed like eternity. And there we were: Everybody trying to everywhere, when in fact nobody could move an inch for the next twenty minutes; Till the policeman returned to take control of the situation.



And this forced me to think out loud: Why are we like this? Have we lost all sense of civility? Have you an answer or a thought?

Nakul

CNN IBN in B'lore's highway to success jammed! says:

[...] Bangalore's traffic nightmare can be well defined in a few lines.

Bangaloreans say that while in the rest of India drives on the left of the road; they drive on what's left of the road.

In the rest of India, there's no flyover with a traffic intersection; in Bangalore, they have a traffic signal and criss-crossing traffic atop a flyover.

In the rest of India, one-way roads mean traffic can only move one way; in Bangalore, there are two ways traffic can move on a one-way road.

Over the years, Bangalore has been criticised for its traffic.

The city that adds 600 to 800 vehicles to its girdle everyday, (that is, nearly two-and-a half lakh vehicles every year) has just 1,800 policemen manning it.

Obviously, something's just not right. [...]

May I suggest a small correction?

In the rest of the world, there's no flyover with a traffic intersection; in Bangalore, they have a traffic signal and criss-crossing traffic atop a flyover. Also, the only flyover that closes to traffic at 8:30 PM, as the traffic constable has to go home...! (Entry from Richmond Road)

Will Bangalore's traffic woes ever end?

Nakul

As if the Whitefield-Marathahalli stretch (Airport Road, if you insist!) was not congested enough. The road has been dug up thoroughly on one side (see picture), murdering any possibility of smooth vehicular movement.

The result: After 65 minutes of travel, we reach the infamous Marathahalli bridge! And to think the workplace is barely 2.5 kilometers behind!!

Is there any glimmer of hope in all this infrastructural darkness?

Nakul

This is what I have been seeing from the taxi for about an hour now...

One major accident on Sarjapur ringroad has crippled the traffic totally and completely. Rumours are that people are carrying out a dharna (strike) at the accident spot.

Bangaloreans: Avoid Marathalli-Whitefield RingRoad.