Traffic and me.....
i recently commented to someone that I drive like a lunatic ....
do I really ??????
i mean come to think of it ....
I dont jump signals (no its not rarely ... its never!!!) I get promptly abused by all and sundry about it ... few have wagged a prominant middle finger at me ... few have cast aspirations on my manhood ... few have dumped the same on my parents and at times grandparents .... but my handbrake doesnt come off till the signal turns green...
to the extent that I do get abused by my friends who happen to be in the passenger seat !!!!
I follow the lane system where it exists and always flash my indicators when turning ... not at random ....
my car bears scars of two years of mad pune traffic ....
a dirve down from aundh to SB Road (5 km) takes 40 minutes ... worse if you have to take the ITI road .....
What is it about the average educated puneri that makes him do crazy things
Its like getting on 2 wheels / sitting behind the wheel of a car turns perfectly intelligent ppl into stark raving lunatics !!!
my fav peeves about puneri traffic:
Pune Traffic Rules
1. Rules are meant to be broken .... so what if the poor dude who actually stood patiently at the red signal finally gets a green ... you have the rite of way cos ... rules are meant to be broken
2. driving at 20 kmph on a clear road in lane 1
3. going straight at a junction from the extreme right ... at 20 kmph ... so that the guy following you who had to take a legitimate right misses the signal and has to wait another 120 seconds
4. Did i mention rules are meant to be broken
5. Construction dumpers ... doing just that dumping stuff on the road ..
6. Talking on the mobile when riding / driving
7. Switching on the indicator after you turn.
ps:the "Pune Traffic Rules" was put simply to see if Google picks this page up"
Incidents:>(Under constant updation)
1. 21st April 2006
A middle aged guy in a crisp white pinstripped shirt with a Persistent sticker on his silver Santro decided to take a right turn comming from Univ onto SB Rd.
The guy was probably a manager in Persistent (one of the best s/w dev companies in pune)
Taking a right was absolutely fine .... So did I ....
Now the guy was probably blind cos he did not see my 1.5 m tall, 3.7 m long and 1.7 m wide car and cut rite accross me 1 mm away from my frnt bumper ... for a blind guy he has skill cos then he promptly started honking and nudging the two wheelers in front of him to get a move on... predictably we had a red signal ...
2. 15th May 2006
Situation ... me taking a left turn from the road leading from Deep Bunglow Chowk to Om Super towards SB Road. something black flashed on myleft and all I saw was the bumper and number plate of a
Black Ford Fiesta
Had I had a left side mirror, he would have happily devoured it.
I was pissed and with one hand on the horn dropped a gear and gave chase .... till I came to the conclusion some 1.5 km down the road that it wasnt worth the bloody aggravation !!!
And yes ... for that 1.5 km strech ... I was driving like a lunatic ...
my poor car suffered rpms of 4000 to 5000 in second and third gears ...
sorry babe !!!
ps: The noise an indica makes at 4000 rpm is something to be scared off !!!
do I really ??????
i mean come to think of it ....
I dont jump signals (no its not rarely ... its never!!!) I get promptly abused by all and sundry about it ... few have wagged a prominant middle finger at me ... few have cast aspirations on my manhood ... few have dumped the same on my parents and at times grandparents .... but my handbrake doesnt come off till the signal turns green...
to the extent that I do get abused by my friends who happen to be in the passenger seat !!!!
I follow the lane system where it exists and always flash my indicators when turning ... not at random ....
my car bears scars of two years of mad pune traffic ....
a dirve down from aundh to SB Road (5 km) takes 40 minutes ... worse if you have to take the ITI road .....
What is it about the average educated puneri that makes him do crazy things
Its like getting on 2 wheels / sitting behind the wheel of a car turns perfectly intelligent ppl into stark raving lunatics !!!
my fav peeves about puneri traffic:
Pune Traffic Rules
1. Rules are meant to be broken .... so what if the poor dude who actually stood patiently at the red signal finally gets a green ... you have the rite of way cos ... rules are meant to be broken
2. driving at 20 kmph on a clear road in lane 1
3. going straight at a junction from the extreme right ... at 20 kmph ... so that the guy following you who had to take a legitimate right misses the signal and has to wait another 120 seconds
4. Did i mention rules are meant to be broken
5. Construction dumpers ... doing just that dumping stuff on the road ..
6. Talking on the mobile when riding / driving
7. Switching on the indicator after you turn.
ps:the "Pune Traffic Rules" was put simply to see if Google picks this page up"
Incidents:>(Under constant updation)
1. 21st April 2006
A middle aged guy in a crisp white pinstripped shirt with a Persistent sticker on his silver Santro decided to take a right turn comming from Univ onto SB Rd.
The guy was probably a manager in Persistent (one of the best s/w dev companies in pune)
Taking a right was absolutely fine .... So did I ....
Now the guy was probably blind cos he did not see my 1.5 m tall, 3.7 m long and 1.7 m wide car and cut rite accross me 1 mm away from my frnt bumper ... for a blind guy he has skill cos then he promptly started honking and nudging the two wheelers in front of him to get a move on... predictably we had a red signal ...
2. 15th May 2006
Situation ... me taking a left turn from the road leading from Deep Bunglow Chowk to Om Super towards SB Road. something black flashed on my
Black Ford Fiesta
Had I had a left side mirror, he would have happily devoured it.
I was pissed and with one hand on the horn dropped a gear and gave chase .... till I came to the conclusion some 1.5 km down the road that it wasnt worth the bloody aggravation !!!
And yes ... for that 1.5 km strech ... I was driving like a lunatic ...
my poor car suffered rpms of 4000 to 5000 in second and third gears ...
sorry babe !!!
ps: The noise an indica makes at 4000 rpm is something to be scared off !!!
posted by Umesh at 5:26 AM
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