Ive you've read my earlier post about getting caught driving fast in the US, you wouldve inferred that I did drive in the US. Now that I'm back in Madras, the difference between the american and indian ways of getting places is just so apparent.
I landed at Anna Intl airport and walked out to the road at 3am. As with any 'foreign return' flight, a huge crowd of drivers and anxious family members had gathered to welcome the 'foreign returns'. In this case, 'Amreega returns'. Anyways, I dragged my overloaded trolley out onto the road to look for my contact person. The agreement was that Id wait near an airtel Phone booth. Sadly, my contact had other more important matters of national importance to attend to. (snoring to glory inside the car in the parking lot).
This gave me about 35 minutes to look around and observe. I noticed when I landed in the US how everyone diligently follows a lane discipline, ie sticking to lane on the road and indicating when lane changes are about to be made. In good ol madras, its a free for all. I saw 3-4 ambassadors speed and screech to a halt in front of the departure terminal, only to be screamed at by a huge family waiting there. Meanwhile, several auto drivers took the opportunity to squeeze their monstrous vehicles of doom in the gap between the family members in order to overtake the ambassador. its like theres some adrenaline induced frenzy to stay 2 feet ahead of guy in front of you in a packed road. Frankly, it defies all logic.
After I met my elusive contact, my journey home began. In short, it was like sitting in a crash test vehicle. After every 15 seconds of fast driving, a near sudden brake would be made since the car's overtake attempt was foiled by the angry SUV driver in front.
Yeah, there are stupid people in the US too, but our country needs an overhaul of traffic rules. People should start making petitions, actively campaigning for some sort of system level change. This is all the more important when considering the sheer number of vehicles our cities have in comparison with the width of the roads.
I landed at Anna Intl airport and walked out to the road at 3am. As with any 'foreign return' flight, a huge crowd of drivers and anxious family members had gathered to welcome the 'foreign returns'. In this case, 'Amreega returns'. Anyways, I dragged my overloaded trolley out onto the road to look for my contact person. The agreement was that Id wait near an airtel Phone booth. Sadly, my contact had other more important matters of national importance to attend to. (snoring to glory inside the car in the parking lot).
This gave me about 35 minutes to look around and observe. I noticed when I landed in the US how everyone diligently follows a lane discipline, ie sticking to lane on the road and indicating when lane changes are about to be made. In good ol madras, its a free for all. I saw 3-4 ambassadors speed and screech to a halt in front of the departure terminal, only to be screamed at by a huge family waiting there. Meanwhile, several auto drivers took the opportunity to squeeze their monstrous vehicles of doom in the gap between the family members in order to overtake the ambassador. its like theres some adrenaline induced frenzy to stay 2 feet ahead of guy in front of you in a packed road. Frankly, it defies all logic.
After I met my elusive contact, my journey home began. In short, it was like sitting in a crash test vehicle. After every 15 seconds of fast driving, a near sudden brake would be made since the car's overtake attempt was foiled by the angry SUV driver in front.
Yeah, there are stupid people in the US too, but our country needs an overhaul of traffic rules. People should start making petitions, actively campaigning for some sort of system level change. This is all the more important when considering the sheer number of vehicles our cities have in comparison with the width of the roads.
3 comments:
Yeah... Everytime i drive at chennai, i wanted to have my bike to have big tanker like protection at the front so that i could smash everybody who is trying to cause an accident..
haha, imagine driving around in a monster truck :D ..
you are talking like one 'US return' now. poda. what, you didn't think it was chaotic before? it's not like you had to go to the US to realize and then come back and compare to call for a change. plus its not the same road conditions to compare.
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