How insane could traffic get? I mean just how difficult could it be to get to office from your house? I was naïve enough to believe that since I came from the gigantic Mumbai, living in Bangalore and more importantly commuting to office would be manageable here. I thought I would have great flexibility in using my bike and getting to places without being dependent on the public transport! Well it’s been eight full months since I relocated to this place and I still can’t believe things can be so bad!
Roads here are bursting at the seams and choked with two, three, four and four plus wheeled vehicles. Bikers zigzag through the roads with pride thinking they own the whole road. And don’t you try and tell people here about the traffic rules. How one is not supposed to overtake from the left. No. Anybody who is marginally ahead of you has all the right to move about in a 180 degree range. And no one is going to so much as glance into the rear-view mirror to check on the traffic behind, who has the time? You need to anticipate it. You need to ensure that your bike is in the gap of the cars in front of you so that when either of them hit the brake you can maneuver your bike easily. When the traffic light hits orange, you need to raise your hand (and people diligently follow this here) and request the vehicles directly behind you to refrain from running you over.
The situation gets funnier on the roads. The roads are full of pot-holes. At first, I thought that it was just the monsoons. But the rainy season has come and gone and things have not even become slightly better. And it is not that the authorities are not bothered. I am sure after much hue and cry from the public and a dozen of accidents on each spot they do take the effort to fill out the holes with mud, but the wind and the heavy traffic play devil. The holes get uncovered within a week. If the authorities are considerate enough to try tar, then sadly new holes come up. I mean with a shaky government and scams running around the year, how much attention can they devote to the roads!
What is worse than the pathetic infrastructure is the attitude of the people on the roads. Cars parked at the side of the road (illegally at that) would suddenly start up and swerve right at you when you are trying to keep your lane and drive straight. Not to add, the auto-wallahs who slow down right in the middle of the road should be avoided like plague. Never overtake them from the right. They would most probably take a sharp right turn or take a complete U-turn. But surely they would display an indicator, you think? Awwwww, how old-fashioned of you!
And please beware of the aunties! The slightest distraction like a speed breaker 50 m away can make them shoot out those two legs on to the ground. They would then either do a hard-brake and stand still or brake and continue ahead with a wavering grip and an equally shaky confidence which, believe me, is very scary. All the short aunties and the young damsels seems to have a fancy for the powerful bikes - Activa, Pleasure or Access, but dear madams, don’t you realize that for your own safety and also for the safety of those poor mortals on the road, it is vital that you are able to get a good balance on your bike, that atleast your feet touch the ground without requiring you to jump off from the bike when you need to halt. Why can’t you buy something that matches your height and strength?
If this wasn’t enough, the authorities have others ways of torturing you. Its like a challenge. I think they dare us to step out of our houses and brave the adversities every day. So when you get familiar on a route and can predict the 90% of the pot-holes (even on arterial roads like CMH road), the cops will spin a new tease. They manually operate the signals! So there is no point keeping the ignition on, just wait for the traffic to move. And thanks to their kind consideration, you need to halt at every signal on your way home (and people like me are fortunate to ride only 18 km one way) because all the well planned coordinated timing has really become a joke!
Finally, all I can say is that please make sure you have a good insurance coverage before taking to the roads in Bangalore. And keep your eyes on the road ahead of you, behind you, below you and watchout for obstructions above you. Good Luck!
