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Traffic

Driving - what are the chances ...

What are the chances of you reaching the destination in time and alive if you are driving and followed all traffic rules?

In defence of the traffic police!!

In the "unlocking bangalore" debate I come from 2 or 3 contexts.

a) I believe there is at least 30% capacity on our roads which are wasted by non adherence and non implementation of the law( both traffic laws and a myriad of civic laws )

b) I believe that of the various enforcers/government bodies out there ,the traffic police is one of the better ones , but who are are always at the worst end of the stick, tremendously underresourced and unempowered.

BMIC updates - Guv proposes, EC disposes


It probably started in late March (28/3/08), when Supreme Court issued notices asking Karnataka government to respond as to why the SC order on BMIC is not implemented. The notice was returnable in six weeks. Fast forward that much time, and on May 7, we were told (TOI - typically pro NICE) that government has issued a go ahead on BMIC:

"... the government has paved the way for completion of the peripheral and link roads, which were stalled by the H D Kumaraswamy government. Besides, an empowered committee headed by chief secretary Sudhakar Rao has been asked to take all necessary steps for early completion of NICE's projects ..."

Can Insurance laws strengthen enforcement?

Over an year ago, I was driving not so fast not so slow, near the hard median of a road, when I spotted a bold biker riding on the 'wrong' side. Right around then, an impatient cab (Sumo) following behind decided to pass me from the left, the overtaking action putting him on a collision course with the wrong-way biker. The biker sensed trouble and tried to 'filter' through us. But in between his confused maneuvers, the bike slipped, fell, and I found the man and machine directly ahead of me. Hard median to my right, heavy-metal Sumo on my left, I didn't have much to do or think, I braked hard, real hard, and stopped just short of the fallen human and machine waiting to be crushed.

BRTS – Certainly Possible & Can be Seamlessly Integrated too !

Planning BRT Corridors along narrower /congested roads & areas can be done by using up only one lane about 12-ft wide for one-way flows whilst using a similar lane on a different road for the return journey. This also has the advantage of wider coverage thrown in for the benefit of commuters. On wider roads, Syamese-twin pairs of bus-ways can be planned with overtaking facility at some bus stops for express /skip-stop services (20 ft width corridor would be required at bus stops for this, but they can be staggered on up & down directions to prevent 40’ width of the road at any given point from being used up).

Naan nimmana touch maadna? Tragic consequences.

Challenge anyone driving fast in a residential area and chances are you will get this response - naan nimmana touch maadna (did I touch you?) as if that is the only measure of safe driving.

Here are the tragic consequences of this sort of attitude. One life snuffed out because of some idiot who thought that driving fast is his birthright and as long as he does not touch anyone (more precisely he has not hit anyone so far) he is driving perfectly safe. These people were not running across a road or crossing a highway. They were walking on a pavement in a residential area.

Decongesting Bangalore City Centre

In today's Devana Yelli? seminar organised by Bangalore Mirror, the general consensus in terms of connectivity to Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) was getting TO Hebbal flyover, once beyond it, things are rather smooth.

Last mile Connectivity

There has been numerous opinions expressed on transit systems and also the last mile connectivity(from home to station) has come to question here time and again. What are our options:

1. Skateboards - there will surely be lot of leg injuries

2. Free small busses to doorsteps - Budapest does it...but not practical for Blr

3. Bicycles - Arguably the best way to do the trip, again Budapest gives free parking for bicycles

4. Walking - the best..but limited to 1-2 kms

Public Bus Transport – The Fare /Quality Nexus


Unlike international practices, public transport, mainly bus services in India being a low-income country, have generally been governed by low fares at low levels of service. One type of low-quality service was acceptable to all then & even now, except for the better off cities (such as Bangalore, Mumbai & Delhi), public transport is generally based on these principles. As a result, there had been leakages – keeping fares low to assist poor travelers & low-income groups involves a leakage of benefits to better off passengers. The lower the fare, for a given level of service, the higher is the leakage. Conversely, for a given fare, increasing the level of service will also increase leakage. Most public bus operators in the country are thus, deep in the red, with increasing subsidies.

Ambulances need preference

Why dont the motorist respect the hoot of the Ambulances on the Road?  Is it that the motorist do not know what their responsibility is or is it just take it easy attitude?  Instead of allowing the ambulance to pass through, we wait for the ambulance to come abreast of us and then follow it through the thick of traffic.  Is this fair?

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