How to drive in India (2015)
theforeignchallenge.com
theforeignchallenge.com
Rented a scooter and began to experience India roads directly (i.e. not as a passenger in a taxi/tuk tuk). Was chaotic, but certainly doable if you paid attention; that is, until a giant black bull cow came charging through oncoming traffic directly at me.
I steered sharply to my right to avoid getting killed, which was effective in terms of saving my life, but not so effective in terms of preserving my ability to walk. Lying in the sweltering hot afternoon sun with a complete fracture of the hip, a few kind locals dragged me to the side of the road, where I lost consciousness, leaving this body/mind for some eternal realm that I cannot describe.
Eventually I came back to this world and an ambulance arrived, whereupon I was refused surgery at the local hospitals (3 in total) and summarily shipped down to Delhi on an 8-hour hell ride, with the young drivers smoking hash and pumping the loudest Indian hip hop to provide some ambiance.
Really, it was the stuff of movies, but it was real life, and somehow I came through it all -- am more or less back to normal, walking, just with a bunch of metal in my hip.
In hindsight the entire experience was like India: extreme, full on, and holding nothing back -- hang on, it's going to be a wild ride :)
did they say why?
The last and largest/most modern hospital in Rishikesh agreed to do the surgery, provided the US Embassy signed off on it, or a family member was present. The latter wasn't possible, and neither was the former ("we don't authorize surgery for our citizens").
First, they fear the overzealous police who might ask for bribes because they admitted an accident victim.
Second, they fear mob violence. If even a small thing goes wrong people tend to go on a rampage - breaking stuff and harassing people.
Third, lack of awareness and general apathy of law. Most cases in India tend to run for years altogether. So, while there is a legal framework for such cases many hospitals are not aware of it or they just want to avoid making court trips for years.
I get that police look for any excuse to pick up bribes, but what's the reason for hassle over accident victims?
if the hospital doesn't draw up a mlc document then they can be sued for malpractice. But if they do and these things go to court they have to make multiple appearances to provide details of the case.
This fact is used by the police to pick up bribes.
The interesting thing is that even hospitals are not above trying to extort people. MLC filings are supposed to be free but hospitals like Apollo etc charge extra 2-5k to admit a MLC case.
Never get into an accident in India. First, if you driving a car mob will surround and harass you. Second, in case you get away from the mob, police will come and harass you. And things get worse if they perceive you as an outsider.
Here's an anecdote which happened with a friend:
While taking one of these mentioned u-turns and ensuring that he was honking constantly, a bike coming from the wrong side hit his car. A mob quickly formed and people started abusing him for being a reckless car driver. He makes it to the accident site with difficulty. There were two people riding the bike. Both had bruises. But the pillion rider was not wearing a helmet, something which is against the law in Bangalore.
He took both guys to the hospital. After X-rays and brain CT scan (for the pillion rider) it turns out the rider was fine with some minor bruising and gets first aid. But the pillion rider had a fracture. So, the bike rider's family started to threaten my friend. When he pointed out their mistakes - coming from wrong side and not wearing a helmet, they change their tactic and demand money instead.
Now, in India most of the time accident cases are settled on-spot with cash. Even the authorities, police etc, also force people to settle by paying cash to avoid work (and they take money from both parties too).
But the amount demanded by family is too high. "You are an IT guy" they tell my friend which is an euphemism for ultra-rich in Bangalore. My friend refuses to pay any money and asks for police to be called for due process.
Then these guys started shoving and verbally assaulting him. And because of the language barrier it is difficult for him to ask anyone nearby for help, not that anyone wanted to help.
So, he tells them to allow him to go home and get money. He went back and hired a lawyer to save himself. But, two weeks since, he still gets threatening calls. Police is not interested in the case and tells him to settle "amicably".
(that's also why most politician or people in high places get a driver)
Definitely don’t drive in India, get a driver.
I actually quite liked them! (I know, this sounds crazy).
It's absolute and utter chaos, but the thing is -- people pay attention. Drivers are not dazed off listening to a podcast or fixing their makeup or texting. They're keenly aware of the space around their vehicle and they react quickly to (the constantly changing) road conditions -- it's a matter of Darwinian survival.
I actually found driving back in the US more frustrating once I returned. There's just so much ... indignance. If a car needs to cut across 2 lanes (which happens!) - other drivers in the US flip out: they lean on the horn, they shake their fists, they rage. "How dare that driver do something I didn't expect!"
I think we'd all be better served if we were forced to be more active and aware while behind the wheel.
They might pay more attention on average, but I've seen plenty of distracted drivers plowing through traffic in India. I've also had "drivers" where I discovered it was only their second or third time ever driving a car and here they were driving me through the heart of Mumbai. There's plenty of driver negligence on Indian roads.
> If a car needs to cut across 2 lanes (which happens!) - other drivers in the US flip out: they lean on the horn, they shake their fists, they rage. "How dare that driver do something I didn't expect!"
It doesn't matter where you are, abruptly and unexpectedly cutting across two lanes of busy traffic is dangerous. It doesn't matter if it's the norm in India -- if it increases the likelihood of an accident, then it's dangerous. Don't forget that India has 10x the number of traffic fatalities per vehicle count as the United States and 20x the number as the Netherlands, Germany, etc.
IMHO, not accepting reckless driving behavior and "flipping out" to let them know it's not OK is a good thing in moderation.
So when it comes to u-turns, cars won't do a u-turn if there's a van or bus coming from the other side, but a bus will have no problem starting a u-turn if there's only a flow of cars and motorcycles coming.
Motorcycles are just expected to flow around, make their u-turn small and fast.
Same thing when it comes to overtaking on small roads, or when there's those traffic police barricades at the entry/exit of towns, which reduces the road size to only one way. At those barricades, people will rarely have to come to a complete stop: they just look at how big the vehicle in front of them is, and if it's bigger they'll slow down to give it priority.
For overtaking, in Western countries we'd just consider whether there's enough space/time to safely overtake (unless you're a driver from the mountain regions), but in India they also consider who would win if there was a frontal crash, and the would-be loser will slow down if needed to make sure the bigger vehicle on the other side can finish overtaking.
The equivalent of the sailing boat in term of priority are the cows on the road: they get priority over any motor vehicle
This is how it works everywhere in the world. In any given ship yard small fork lifts yield to service trucks which yield to semis which yield to large fork lifts which yield to freight trains yield to ships. It generally works quite well unless you ask pedestrians and cyclists in wealthier urban areas in the west (and I say this as someone who rides trains and walks for my commute).
1 - http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/pedestrian-cross...
AFIACT, the only practical difference between this story and self-driving cars is that it involves human labor. However that's cheap in India compared to the West.
The masses however can't afford cars, let alone self-driving cars.
Your argument is as stupid as it comes. Not everyone is upper class and can hire a driver.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/2002-hit-and-run-case-s...
This so much in South Africa.
Thanks to Lyft and Uber, I rarely drive when I'm in cities anymore, so I don't know if it's still a thing in the U.S.
Back in the 90s this would routinely happen at English football grounds. The ‘watchers’ were the local kids - at Roker Park in Sunderland, in my case.
The point is that your car is guaranteed to be scratched if you don’t pay the fee.
I've had this happen at a large city in the midwest US.
They basically said, "most people here will break into your car. give us a few bucks and we'll make sure no one does." I didn't want to, but I figured its a few bucks and gave them it.
I got out of the concert and went back to my car. They were still walking around. They ran up and talked to us a bit, said nothing happened, thanked us again for the money and offered us a hamburger from McDonalds.
I'm not sure if they were "good" guys or bad guys yet, but they are around.
Then I went to Egypt. I've been picked up by a local friend on the Airport at night and I was shocked that once we came upon one of those north/south highways, the first thing he did was to turn off the lights! From then on he used them only to blink at the traffic coming towards us. Which made the whole situation even worse as it was pitch black outside in the desert. But everybody seems to be very chilled about it This day I learned: there is real madness on the roads out there but I'd be happy to witness (and survive it) all. Especially in India and certain other Asian countries where "driving" seems to be a different way of flowing with the rest but also somehow similar to a German Autobahn where you can flow with 200kmh and every small mistake may be the last one you witness.
Haha, so true. I remember coming to skidding halt in taxi, in a rural area, at 2am. And directly out of the passenger door, was a pot hole. When I say pot hole, the entire middle of intersection had been torn up. And at the bottom of the pot hole were three men fixing a pipe, by the light of a fire.
Of course there were no barriers, signs, tape, nothing to show work was going on.
The worst part is people can build speed breakers at their will with their own spec. I know a person died because an illegal speed breaker was built with much more than standard height and no marking. The condition is bad, the accident rates are much higher and not all accidents are reported.
Apparently, nobody seemed to regard this as particularly unusual.
So true. The policemen know for sure that they'll manage to find _something_ that'll enable them to ask for a bribe. Even if one were to insist on paying the fine in case of a real violation, they'll ensure that they don't end up issuing a ticket and grab money _unofficially_ so that they can pocket it.
> Driving at India is similar like driving all the way with brakes applied. It’s slow, unpredictable and tense.
Driving in India is stressful. But walking on the roads is even more so. You may be walking on a one-way road and suddenly a bike travelling in the wrong direction might run into you. What's worse is that the guy is more likely to be abusive than sorry.
It's as much a window into Thai culture as it is a guide to driving and contains a few 'aha' insights for those who've ever been perplexed by some of the traffic etiquette in Asia.
> The most important factor that influences all Thai traffic behaviour is what I call a Thai driver’s ‘Range of Responsibility’. A Thai driver’s Range of Responsibility is what he (should) pay attention to in Thai-style, basically it's all that appears in his eyesight without turning his head.
> Because of the Range of Responsibility is a Thai driver's implicit leading principle, everything else depends on it. "You're in my sight so I adapt to you" is the practical solution that Thai traffic society has adopted.
> Hindering traffic flows is common....time isn’t as valuable as in Western societies, there is less of a hurry, there is no concept of opportunity costs, and you’re supposed to adapt and accomodate each other rather than claiming your rights.
> Cutting corners is a habit (or skill!) that Thai people have...the focus is not on doing things the correct way, but on getting your things done the easier way. Another way to understand this behaviour is to realize that it is the flow that goes before the rule...expecting others to stick to the rules doesn't work, you better watch the situation as it occurs and adapt.
> When you engage in Thai traffic, be prepared to take on a double work load: think for yourself but also think for others around you.
> Sometimes traffic doesn't flow through and just parks in the middle of the intersection. The U-turn is Thailand's response to that, it allows traffic to gently blend in with the current flow, in other words: it is the Thai alternative to let people interact more harmoniously and it is much more suitable to Thai culture than open or guarded intersections.
I'm in Atlanta traffic every day. This is how I drive.
This is the opposite of my experience in Bangkok. We were stuck in a taxi in a traffic jam and all the cars were honking, and the taxi driver was fuming.
But then Bangkok may be different than Chiang Mai.
New York driving experience: 90% of the trouble is caused by Uber drivers (T&LC plated), 9% is caused by yellow cabs. 1% is caused by everyone else. Those 99% are overwhelmingly immigrants importing their subpar driving culture into the US.
Driving through the blizzard earlier this year was a dream primarily because the Ubers were gone.
*edit: "find it to be"
So don't drive, hire someone. The worst thing for a stranger is to have an accident in such places, between the family of the "victim" and the police you'll be royally screwed.
People here wouldn't realize that the situation in Kanpur is far worse than one would guess from description. :)
For e.g, When there is a change from green to red at one end, there must be a time gap in order to make sure all the vehicles have cleared the passage before changing the signal from red to green at the other end. This doesn't seem to be the case. I saw at least three minor accidents happen because of this in a time span of four days while I was in India few weeks ago.
As trivial as it may sound, I think it would help regulate the traffic more if they implement a better traffic signal system which takes this into account.
Quote from the article:
> Do not assume that traffic lights will keep order on junctions. Red light is just a beautiful color which makes everyday life little more colorful.
The way to approach this is: 1. Create a company, build a small DB of rules in UK (the closest road cousin to India), Australia and US. Maybe Hongkong to understand dense cities
2. Get estimates of costs required to stripe lanes, put traffic lights, green road signs
3. Make a list of 10 rich cities/municipalities. Approach their roadworks dept and propose a plan
4. Profit
Developing countries these days are willing to throw money at this. They just want someone to do it efficiently and at low cost.
To see how this worked before, look at Jakarta, Indonesia.
But an entire population wouldn't learn what it means to drive in a lane unless there are real lanes. Simple as that.
The problem is with people and everybody are in a hurry.
Following traffic rules makes it slow, building bigger roads is not possible because lot of shops from streets are to be closed, even though the land belongs to government's.
People follow traffic signals only when there is a traffic police, rest of the time they don't.
Accident rates are much normal, they don't happen in high rate considering such a huge population.
The first time I got in a car when I landed in India, I had to insist that my driver pull out the seat belts. I don't think he even knew what the seat belts were for!