Can we improve Hyderabad traffic?

Hyderabad is a great place to live in, and both Sheetal and I are reasonably fond of the place. However, every place has its share of problems, and Hyderabad's bane is its traffic. It is an experience (rather frustrating at times) to drive in Hyderabad, especially if you are amongst the minority that follows the rule book. Consider the following scenarios, all of which are almost accepted as normal practice in Hyderabad traffic, that drive me nuts:

• The best lane to take a U turn or right turn is the left most lane as it gives the maximum turning radius!
• If the lanes going in one direction are stuck in a jam, go ahead and drive down the opposite lanes till both sides are deadlocked!
• If the divided road doesn't have a break in the divider for the next kilometer, go down the opposite lane till you reach your destination. So what if you are driving a truck!

A few weeks back, Tata Motors announced their plans for a Rs 1,00,000 car to hit the Indian roads later in the year. This announcement led to a rather peculiar set of mails on one of our company mailing lists. Some gentlemen expressed concerns that this would increase the number of cars on the roads, and should therefore be banned or taxed heavily! Naturally, and quite rightly, people moved in quickly to point out the inherently elitist and hypocritical nature of such statements, where people driving cars to office themselves are cribbing that less privileged members of the society are getting to drive cars as well. In the end, the thread degenerated into a bitching session about the traffic, roads, politicians, India etc.

Anyway, those mails provoked a remarkable mail from one colleague, who took exception to people cribbing about the Hyderabad traffic but themselves break the traffic rules given the smallest opportunity. He called out that things each one of us could follow to make sure we are doing our bit to help ease the traffic problem, basically asking folks to drive the way they want others to do, in the hope that at least a few hundred cars following the rules everyday might have a small impact:

1. Respect signals. STOP if it is yellow.
   • Yes, you have to wait for your green signal. Yes, Even if the other side made you wait for 20 seconds of your green.
   • Don’t take a steep right ‘U’ turn from the extreme left. The traffic pushed you there, tough luck – go take the next U turn.
2. Give way to pedestrians on road junctions. We don’t have zebra’s everywhere in hyd. But at the same time, don’t jump into the roads everywhere. Go to the next junction – people usually slow down here – and they are expecting interruption.
3. Give way to ambulances. I know many of the fools driving ambulances think it is cool to run flashy flashy – but this could save lives.
4. Honk less :)
5. If you are in a accident, get to the left and fight it out to your heart’s content – don’t do it in the mid of the road. Same if your car is stalled – get help to move it to the left asap.
6. Don’t drive on the wrong side. If the U turn is 500 metres away, tough luck. Next time find a house with a nice two way road in front – but for now, go for the U turn. Yes, even your teeny weenie TVS 50 has to follow this. ffs, even cycles do.
7. Respect lanes wherever possible.
   • No, You cannot straddle the lanes to figure out which one moves faster. If you end up on the slower lane, next time don’t choose to follow that 32 wheel truck. There is a relation between speed and size – go figure.
   • Yes the lorry drivers driving on the right are idiots. But I guess they can’t do it on the left lane because that is all taken by all the other idiots who feel that they have a right to park anywhere to ask directions / take cell phone calls.
     • No you can’t speak on your cell phone while driving. If you are in a signal fine – but don’t do it when you are moving.
     • No, Don’t ask for directions from the main road itself. Don’t do it by maintaining equal speed with a 16 tonne truck and chatting up the driver either – park on the side and ask.
8. Drive slow. You are not going to die if you miss the opening sequence of the 500th episode of saas bhi…
9. Be friendly – give way to people. Let the lone person from the left lane go if your vehicle queue is 250 metres long – someday he will do the same for others and the world will be a better place.

I found the mail a good reminder and moral support to continue to follow the rules. It is difficult to follow the traffic rules at most times- we get honked and yelled at for stopping the car when the light is yellow/red or because a disabled/elderly person wants to cross the road. It is tempting to get down and give a piece of your mind to the honking person, but I gave up on that and other forms of road rage once I realized that the only person who gets affected is me :(. So while I don't try to correct anyone, his mail reinforced the belief that at least I should not stop following the rules.

Unfortunately, in a sign of things to come perhaps, the responses to that mail were along the lines of "It’s extremely tough to maintain lane discipline when none does it" or "It is impossible to lead by example with people who don’t even realize that someone is following the rules." or even better "I’m already disappointed a lot from attempting this for XYZ years and I almost have stopped doing it (correcting others in the roads) and if you are attempting it these days, good luck and I hope to see you joining me soon"!

It is a tough road ahead by the look of things!

-Phani