Driving in India is quite an adventure. I once asked Kyle which side of the road Indians drove on. He responded by laughing while telling me that the rule of the road is to drive on the left, but no one really follows the rule of the road in India. Seriously, he wasn't kidding. And, his descriptions of the roads in India could not prepare me for the reality.
He told me drivers drive on the left side of the road but they share the road with carts and bikes and busses and construction vehicles and pedestrians that all feel they have the right of way and that all travel at completely disparate speeds. Makes for an interesting congestion on the roads. But, not to worry because no one really needs to "follow lane discipline" as the road signs here implore people to do.
On a daily basis I witness most cars pull into traffic without stopping to make sure it is safe to do so - everyone has the right of way after all. Who needs to make sure it is safe to move when you are always in the right. Also on a daily basis I witness four or more vehicles riding side by side and passing each other on what appear to be two lane roads - they only appear to be two lane roads because there are no actual lines to determine lanes. If the vehicle in front of you is moving too slowly go around it. No need to make sure there are no cars coming in the opposite direction because you have the right of way. And, it is possible to pass a car that is at the same time passing a bus. Why wait for one car to pass when two can do it at the same time. Throw in cows, goats, street dogs and pedestrians and the roads are chaotic at best.
Adding to the confusion, everyone beeps all the time. It isn't the angry "lay on your horn" type of beeping that we are used to in traffic in the states. It is a more polite "hey, i'm passing you make sure you don't move an inch to your left or we'll crash." But it happens all the time. So much so that hotels catering to foreigners have installed barriers to deflect the noise.
It is said that one has arrived in India when they can ride in a vehicle passing a bus with another bus barreling down on them in the opposite lane without flinching. Well, I've arrived. Somehow I just trust that my driver is going to sneak into the tiny space between the bus and the car whose bumper the bus is nearly touching just in time to avoid the oncoming bus that doesn't care we are in the way. Even scarier, one of those busses is likely carrying school children. That isn't to say that I haven't held my breath believing that if I make myself skinnier it will somehow make the car skinnier and we will be able to better fit in the ridiculously tight space that the driver is driving through.
Once one gets comfortable in the car it is possible to take in the sights around the roads. It is amazing the things to see - never a boring moment. We've witnessed people walking their cows, families of four or more traveling on motorcycles, people carrying ladders and gas tanks and other dangerous cargo on their bikes. Most surprising to me are the families because the father is almost always wearing a helmet, but no one else is. In the photos below you can see the back view of a motorcycle and if you look closely you'll see the mother is holding a small child. The second photo is a side view of the same family and you can see the child's arm holding on to her mother.
Families get used to this type of travel I guess and it just seems normal to them. The crazier things I've seen usually happen before I can get my camera out to take a picture. But today I was able to capture two men on a motorcycle with the man in back carrying a large stool of some sort. I don't know how they manage to weave in and out of traffic and not lose whatever is being carried. Crazy!!!
Never a dull moment in crazy India.
He told me drivers drive on the left side of the road but they share the road with carts and bikes and busses and construction vehicles and pedestrians that all feel they have the right of way and that all travel at completely disparate speeds. Makes for an interesting congestion on the roads. But, not to worry because no one really needs to "follow lane discipline" as the road signs here implore people to do.
On a daily basis I witness most cars pull into traffic without stopping to make sure it is safe to do so - everyone has the right of way after all. Who needs to make sure it is safe to move when you are always in the right. Also on a daily basis I witness four or more vehicles riding side by side and passing each other on what appear to be two lane roads - they only appear to be two lane roads because there are no actual lines to determine lanes. If the vehicle in front of you is moving too slowly go around it. No need to make sure there are no cars coming in the opposite direction because you have the right of way. And, it is possible to pass a car that is at the same time passing a bus. Why wait for one car to pass when two can do it at the same time. Throw in cows, goats, street dogs and pedestrians and the roads are chaotic at best.
Adding to the confusion, everyone beeps all the time. It isn't the angry "lay on your horn" type of beeping that we are used to in traffic in the states. It is a more polite "hey, i'm passing you make sure you don't move an inch to your left or we'll crash." But it happens all the time. So much so that hotels catering to foreigners have installed barriers to deflect the noise.
It is said that one has arrived in India when they can ride in a vehicle passing a bus with another bus barreling down on them in the opposite lane without flinching. Well, I've arrived. Somehow I just trust that my driver is going to sneak into the tiny space between the bus and the car whose bumper the bus is nearly touching just in time to avoid the oncoming bus that doesn't care we are in the way. Even scarier, one of those busses is likely carrying school children. That isn't to say that I haven't held my breath believing that if I make myself skinnier it will somehow make the car skinnier and we will be able to better fit in the ridiculously tight space that the driver is driving through.
Once one gets comfortable in the car it is possible to take in the sights around the roads. It is amazing the things to see - never a boring moment. We've witnessed people walking their cows, families of four or more traveling on motorcycles, people carrying ladders and gas tanks and other dangerous cargo on their bikes. Most surprising to me are the families because the father is almost always wearing a helmet, but no one else is. In the photos below you can see the back view of a motorcycle and if you look closely you'll see the mother is holding a small child. The second photo is a side view of the same family and you can see the child's arm holding on to her mother.
Families get used to this type of travel I guess and it just seems normal to them. The crazier things I've seen usually happen before I can get my camera out to take a picture. But today I was able to capture two men on a motorcycle with the man in back carrying a large stool of some sort. I don't know how they manage to weave in and out of traffic and not lose whatever is being carried. Crazy!!!
Never a dull moment in crazy India.
Hey guys! Glad to hear about your adventures in India! Thanks for sharing with our family!
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