There is a saying among Hyderabadis that if anyone learned to drive in the city, they could drive anywhere in the world.In my childhood, I was surrounded by bicycles ( we had the second largest cycle population next to Denmark) and rickshaws, interrupted by an occasional tonga. In those days, even if we walked on the road, we came to no harm. Fast forward to the nineties, when the pedal driven vehicles gave way to Japanese two wheelers and Bajaj's three wheel autos.Bollywood and Tollywood heroes ruled the roost. A new release simply packed up the theatre parking yard so much that there was no space for bicycles! Suddenly everyone was riding one. Then came the small car revolution and formerly wide roads seemed like tiny lanes.
Driving a car or two wheeler today is a gamble with your life. You never know when you will meet with an accident and get injured, or possibly cause loss of life, even lose yours.The local TV channels and the print media are eager to publish gory pictures of accident victims or smashed vehicles.The road transport authorities merrily register new vehicles without checking the condition of the roads that cannot take the load.
Getting a driving licence is supposed to be a two step process with a computer test and a live one on a test track. You should also be able to reel out answers to random questions about the rules and relevant laws.
Once you get the licence, what happens then?
Every traffic is broken with impunity and utter disregard for the rule of law in Hyderabad. Sometimes the offences take place right under the noses of the watchful policemen. Stopping for signals before the stop line, following the centre line, not crossing the yellow double lines, using indicators before turning, keeping to your lane, triple riding on a bike, 12 people in an auto meant for six, driving on the wrong side, crossing the median to go across to the other side, using cell phone while driving, parking at no parking areas, wrong parking.... Almost every rule is broken.
The most infamous one is the menace of drug induced/drunken driving. Hyderabad has never known prohibition ( except for a rather brief 18 month period) and drinking is the norm rather than the exception.A major factor in a number of accidents is drunken driving.
What can be done? The Hyderabad police have done a lot to book the culprits and force them to attend remedial driving lessons. The roads are policed by watchful CCTV cameras and traffic policemen who catch a snap of the offenders and send a challan home. But a vast majority go about without care. The road rage we hear about in Delhi is slowly creeping up in Hyderabad, where words turn into blows in quick time.
There is a proposal to revise the fines sharply to deter the rule breakers. Unless there is a system where an offender gets his vehicle impounded for a week and has to pay a hefty fine to get it released, where he cannot wiggle out by naming some big wig ( the names of some MIM MLAs and the lone MP are freely bandied about by those who have been caught). If a bigger fine is automatically levied for this, maybe we will have a semblance of order in traffic.
Till then all we can do is pray that we return home safe and in one piece.
Driving a car or two wheeler today is a gamble with your life. You never know when you will meet with an accident and get injured, or possibly cause loss of life, even lose yours.The local TV channels and the print media are eager to publish gory pictures of accident victims or smashed vehicles.The road transport authorities merrily register new vehicles without checking the condition of the roads that cannot take the load.
Getting a driving licence is supposed to be a two step process with a computer test and a live one on a test track. You should also be able to reel out answers to random questions about the rules and relevant laws.
Once you get the licence, what happens then?
Every traffic is broken with impunity and utter disregard for the rule of law in Hyderabad. Sometimes the offences take place right under the noses of the watchful policemen. Stopping for signals before the stop line, following the centre line, not crossing the yellow double lines, using indicators before turning, keeping to your lane, triple riding on a bike, 12 people in an auto meant for six, driving on the wrong side, crossing the median to go across to the other side, using cell phone while driving, parking at no parking areas, wrong parking.... Almost every rule is broken.
The most infamous one is the menace of drug induced/drunken driving. Hyderabad has never known prohibition ( except for a rather brief 18 month period) and drinking is the norm rather than the exception.A major factor in a number of accidents is drunken driving.
What can be done? The Hyderabad police have done a lot to book the culprits and force them to attend remedial driving lessons. The roads are policed by watchful CCTV cameras and traffic policemen who catch a snap of the offenders and send a challan home. But a vast majority go about without care. The road rage we hear about in Delhi is slowly creeping up in Hyderabad, where words turn into blows in quick time.
There is a proposal to revise the fines sharply to deter the rule breakers. Unless there is a system where an offender gets his vehicle impounded for a week and has to pay a hefty fine to get it released, where he cannot wiggle out by naming some big wig ( the names of some MIM MLAs and the lone MP are freely bandied about by those who have been caught). If a bigger fine is automatically levied for this, maybe we will have a semblance of order in traffic.
Till then all we can do is pray that we return home safe and in one piece.
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