The system here you could say is very chaotic at best and at worst very dangerous if you do not have your wits about you. It is probably as a result of the men usually doing all the driving but that is not substantiated!
Like the UK, Indians drive on the left however comparisons end there!
There are familiar lane markings but they are largely ignored and are therefore indications of the general direction of traffic.
There is no concept of give way. If you do, you will get nowhere as it’s each person for themselves. When you think about it, traffic should be able to go where and when it wants. Two cars in two lanes is far to sensible when you can fit four cars/riks/motorbikes there easily.
There now follows a version of the Indian Highway Code
1) Honk your horn at every opportunity to indicate your presence
2) When you come to a junction, you do not stop and wait, you now go and merge with the traffic going in your direction
3) If you go past your junction and should have turned, you should reverse back and correct yourself. It does not matter about oncoming traffic they just honk their horns and get out of the way.
4) You may bring traffic to a halt in the direction you’re going when turning right.
5) Cows are sacred and have free and unhindered access to the road. You must stop whilst the cow is on the road.
6) Lights are required but do not have to work or be on at night.
7) Overtaking can be done n any way which gets you ahead of the person in front of you.
8) You do not have to travel on the left hand side of the left side of the road (no matter what speed you can achieve)
9) You may overtake and force oncoming traffic to swerve to avoid you on a two way road.
10) If you approach a queue, say after an accident, it is acceptable to overtake the vehicle in front of you on the inside or outside if space permits.
11) Any number of people or amount of goods are acceptable to be carried for the journey.
12) For motorcyclists a helmet is advisable for the driver only. It is not necessary for passengers.
Possibly the best feature if traffic in India is the fact that at traffic light controlled junctions there is a countdown to when the lights change. It should be noted that it really spells the start of the race!
Tuesday 6 November 2007
Saturday - Trip to Mumbai part II
After the boat trip we then went to the Cottage Industries Emporium where the goods from various local trades where available for sale. The payment process proved to be very trying as you first of all had to take the goods that you wanted in the department to the desk where you then received a note. Once you had been round all the departments you then took all your notes to the cashpoint where you paid for your goods. In the meantime your goods where being sent and packaged to the despatch point where you received your goods once you had produced your receipt. For the few items that I bought this took 20 minutes as I had to queue three times! Patience is indeed a virtue!
After the excitement of the initial shop we then went for a coffee except that the lads decided that as one of them had to purchase a hand bag for his dearly beloved he had better go shopping. After a debate in the shop that may have lasted 5 minutes, a bag was safely purchased. On the way back we also took the opportunity to buy some jewellery as well! You could palpably feel the frustration at the lack of manly activity for 4 residents of the West of Scotland so we reverted to type and went to the café for a drink!
The girls by this point had taken the taxi home and so we were left in Mumbai. The taxi home proved long and eventful as the rush hour had started. We left the centre of Mumbai at approx 6:30 in a taxi which when it rained had the driver wiping the windscreen with this hand to clear the rain to not much effect. After an hour or so of crawling along the taxi driver decided that to get to Thane we need extra petrol however the petrol station that we turned up in would not accept his voucher that the driver had. So this taxi journey had to end and after a period of negotiation we settled on a figure and then had to find another taxi that would take us to Thane. Adam was beginning to get a little worried as the first two drivers did not want to go at the meter rate but then we found a driver and we eventually got in the door around 9:30pm!
After the excitement of the initial shop we then went for a coffee except that the lads decided that as one of them had to purchase a hand bag for his dearly beloved he had better go shopping. After a debate in the shop that may have lasted 5 minutes, a bag was safely purchased. On the way back we also took the opportunity to buy some jewellery as well! You could palpably feel the frustration at the lack of manly activity for 4 residents of the West of Scotland so we reverted to type and went to the café for a drink!
The girls by this point had taken the taxi home and so we were left in Mumbai. The taxi home proved long and eventful as the rush hour had started. We left the centre of Mumbai at approx 6:30 in a taxi which when it rained had the driver wiping the windscreen with this hand to clear the rain to not much effect. After an hour or so of crawling along the taxi driver decided that to get to Thane we need extra petrol however the petrol station that we turned up in would not accept his voucher that the driver had. So this taxi journey had to end and after a period of negotiation we settled on a figure and then had to find another taxi that would take us to Thane. Adam was beginning to get a little worried as the first two drivers did not want to go at the meter rate but then we found a driver and we eventually got in the door around 9:30pm!
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