Hacker News Reader

That still doesn't explain why they honk at red lights when no overtaking is going on.

When I spent 3 weeks in Hyderabad in 2008, the red/green lights were completely ignored. As were lane markers and any other attempts at regulating traffic.

It was a complete free-wheeling anarchy. It somehow worked quite well, though I understood why I was given a 24/7 driver. I could maybe have survived driving, but I would probably have killed someone else, by not following the unwritten rules.

It remains one of the most astonishing things I have ever seen!

Because with enough honking, they can get the crowd to ignore the traffic light and start to inch forward anyway.

If the lights start spending 2x longer often, surely that will push people to defy the light itself more than they did before.

Using group punishment to curb individual behaviour is always at risk of undermining group obedience.

I wonder what variables affect most whether the policy will be successful or detrimental.

If they're already so frustrated, some powerful force must be preventing them running red lights. That force is obviously very strong so it probably works on double-frustration pushiness too.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com