One Wednesday afternoon, I noticed a kilometer long jam around a tiny intersection on Varthur Road at Marathahalli. The photo doesn't tell you much, but watch the video (below) and guess the reason for the chaos I captured:
One single strategically parked truck, and so much chaos! Very small number of disorderly particles in the system can break the order. Hopefully the video will make some things we discuss here a lot clear to those who don't believe in the power of small measures.
Enforcement matters a lot more around these tiny intersections where small roads merge into major radial roads. First of all, key to speeding up a radial road is to reduce such small road merges (aka access) - make small access roads merge into major access roads, and have fewer larger access roads merge into radial roads at well managed intersections - this how sort of how river/tributary systems function. Few of them or many, when you have an intersection on a radial road, you got to have a signal, and enforcement of no-parking zone at the corners and "T" spots. Simple stuff.
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This is why fines have to be punitive
In this case, the truck driver will maximum getaway with paying a bribe of Rs. 100 or less - which is peanuts. Sometimes, he would not even pay the bribe.
We have to email this to NDTV / CNN-IBN / TIMES NOW to do a report of such dysmal enforcement of traffic rules.
I miss bangalore
Yep, the guy doesn't realize
Poor chap was having some trouble with this truck. So he stopped for a quick checkup or a trouble shoot. He went about his chore for 6-7 minutes. What was interesting was that for the first few minutes, nobody yelled at this truck driver. Everyone seemed to just "take it in" and move on. Once a few folks took a few seconds out of their "busy schedules" to tell this driver what he had caused, our man fired the engine, moved 10-15 meters ahead and carried on with his engine tune ups.
No point yelling around. Most people just don't realize the mess they cause (are sort of innocent in that sense) Why?
Punishment, fines etc come next, after above two points.
Whitefiled area is utter Chaos
Fines is one thing, but if you notice the Whitefield area, especially one the Whitefield main road (Varthu road, trust me gets a royal treatment compared to this road - because of all the big shots in those villas on that road ;) ), there are absolutely no sign boards, indicating no parking zones. This road is a complete mess.
All that is needed to screw up the traffic on this road is one parked lorry. It is like this Butterfly Effect, one vehicle parked wrongly and a catastrophic effect of 2-3 KM of traffic jam. It is extremely bad on this stretch.
Fines can be increased
He seems to be happily spending hunderds of crores on fancy projects such as B-TRAC and B-TIS. While these projects are good, he needs to interact with BBMP more to put in better traffic signs.
During the BMLTA summit, Arvind Jadhav, the Infrastructure Development Department Secretary remarked the PPP (Public Public Partnership) is as important as PPP (Public Private Partnership).
Mr Sood is unable to interact extensively with the necessary counterparts at BBMP for better infrastructure.
BTP can increase fines
It is not the amount of fine that is a big detterent. It is the prospect of it. Just like death penalty, which acts as a detterent for future prospective crimes.
IMO, the policeman who fines the offender, could get 95% of the fine. It therefore eliminates need of the policeman to take a bribe.
For example, if I go driving without my license, i am liable to be fined some Rs. 300 or so. I can get away by paying a bribe to the police man of Rs. 100. Worst, i know it is a paltry amount and do not obey rules in the future.
If the fines were increase to say Rs. 2000 and if 95% of it goes to the policeman, the policeman would have less inclination to take bribe.
Designing political institutions is all about learning how human nature functions and arranging incentives and disincentives in a manner that would allow the institution to function well. Having high disincentives for erring traffic is going to act as a detterent.
Praveen Sood is an apt candidate for an official who runs a "soft state". He is not able to manage well.
This is in contrast to his boss, Mr Shankar Bidari who is very bold and strict.
There is some disconnect
For the sake of it lets assume that most of the fine that is collected goes as bribes. Something surprising is, if this is the case the market (fines markets) is vastly under tapped. For example if the cops were stand at each road leading out of MG road Bridage road region on every Friday night and check for drunken driving, they can make a fortune for themselfs. But that is not happening. Even the huge bribe money does not entice them to catch the offenders. I dont understand this disconnect.
Is this because the police department is highly understaffed? Or have they lost the zeal to make money? Or is it that the money the make from the current system (of bribes) is so huge that they dont feel the need to make more money?
I dont mind for once if the police people catch offenders and keep the fine money for themselfs. Atleast then they might earn some descent pay and instill some fear into the minds of offenders.
This sounds radical, but police should try and outsource fine collection (to start off may be just for drunken driving or for parking enforcement). They can just auction off this process to the highest bidder. The winner should be allowed to collect fines and probably share a percentage with the government. The only catch here should be that they should record the offense in a centralized database and report repeat offenders.
Considering the vast market opportunity, i would certainly want to participate in the bidding process ;)
Prajasevaka :)
Police ratio is very less
As a corollary, TN and KL are less corrupt that KA. It is a fact we have to digest hard. TN and KL are ahead of KA in law and order enforcement.
Police to Population ratio in TN is about 1:632 and overall India is 1:780 TN's police budget is higher than average.
This is why i had emphasised that having higher fines would enable expansion of Bangalore Traffic Police.
A cess on petrol and diesel sold in BBMP limits could also fund an expanded Traffic Police Force for Bengaluru.
Traffic nonsense!
I observed :
1.0 The median opening is about 25.0 to 30.0 mts.
2.0 Traffic slowed down because of the road roller running in the fast lane.
3.0 The Truck did not move an inch.
Now if simulate a new scenario:
1.0 The vehicles instead of turning at the beginning of the median point should have turned at the end of the median point. Whould that have facilitated a smoother flow?
2.0 The road roller should have been stopped and made to stand at the beginning of the meadian opening so that the total length decreases and the vehicles automatically turn at the end.
From the median design point of view there should be storage lanes for turning of vehicles.
nJ
-nJ-
919462900144
www.nitinjhanwar.biz
Why blame the trucker
No concept of giving way and right of way adds to the lack of traffic lights.
All those vehicles taking U turns - they are the real cause of the traffic slowdown.
Now let me guess - soon Bangalore authorities will want a magic box to solve this problem.
ASJ
www.driving-india.blogspot.com
traffic jam
In west, any traffic jam
Silkboard and ASJ are right
Blame the truck driver too
Also there is a rule (i suppose) which prohibits the use of goods vehicles older than 10 years. Most of these trucks are not fit to run on roads. No wonder they keep stalling.
Most often police turn a blind eye or take a small bribe and let them off.
Again the problem is - *enforcement*.
disappointing
If I were the AdCP, traffic, and I had a free hand, I could have improved the traffic scene in the city to a considerable extent, using just the same resources, a bit of common sense, and the kind of inputs from PRAJA. Actually, there can't be a better person to do the job than Mr Sood himself. But for all that, I personally, wouldn't rate his performance very high. Perhaps he has his constraints. One wonders what they are! But, if he can't free himself from them, well, how different is he?
May be PRAJA should carry out an opinion poll amongst its members on his performance. An adverse rating can either spur him into action, or lead to his ignoring us totally. We can't lose much either way, right?
Muralidhar Rao
Lack of road design is equally to blame
As ASJ and Nithin have pointed out, if there was a turning lane along the median, with ability for 4 to 5 cars to back up (I think Nithin refers to this as storage lanes, also can be referred to as shoulder), we wouldnt have this issue, EVEN if the truck was parked as it was. One lane would have been free, provided those waiting in the turning lane tried to turn only after the lane was free.
Am assuming there is enough space for two lanes on either side, and a central lane to be used for turning. It looks like there is sufficient space.
Really, the cars wanting to turn, their half poked noses were causing a lot of blocking.
Again, as ASJ points out, for this junction, a signal light was neccessary. Maybe 75% for straight and 25 % for U turn and the rest, whatever ratio is appropriate so that it does not slow down straight traffic.
Suhas
Suhas
Another potential project for Road ahead on road project
I was thinking of this junction as another candidate. Have not had the time, but will try and post some images layouts used in UK in these situations, obviously we will need adapting locally - as much is not known i.e. road width, traffic flows / counts etc.
I note a lot else is missing - no footpaths, parked car (red car on otherside of the truck), no lane markings, no pedestrian refuges......and of course no traffic lights (much needed).
ASJ
www.driving-india.blogspot.com
Not surprising
1. Make proper footpaths
2. Make roads useable till the kerbs.
3. Enforce laws - especially concerning one ways and No parking.
4. Put an adequate number of traffic lights
5. Makes most small roads one way and limit access to major roads. Keep the inner neighborhoods quiet and safe from traffic.
6. Put in some thought about the flow of traffic.
What I have noticed recently is that B-TRAC has put up a lot of new signs, which is a good sign. One only hopes that people will obey them.... I think one problem is that there is no fear of the police. I've realised that the only reason I park properly, drive carefully etc. is because of years of living out of India. Elsewhere since the police actually enforce laws a certain amount of fear of being towed/ticketed etc. has developed within me which still continues to reside within me and makes me obey the law.
Added to this one learns basic defensive driving and learns to be a little more polite and less selfish while driving - or if not selfish one realises that short term gains do not help in the long run - for example, going on the right lane when there is a traffic signal or level crossing etc only jams the situation and delays everybody - an notion that still seems to be lost on the majority of the driving population of our fair city.
Part of the solution
This is Uxbridge road (right outside a hospital I once worked) -
The road with entropy obviously needs manh other changes -
Its a T junction and hence traffic lights cycle will include additional phase.
The road should be red routed (no stopping unless at red lights, question of parking does not even arise) at least 30 -50 meters either side of the junction.
Simpler solutions of options 2/3 above will not work given the number of vehicles wanting to take a U-turn and option 1 is better. Also our drivers have no clue about concept of GIVE WAY (and admittedly driver education is equally important but another project in itself).
ASJ
www.driving-india.blogspot.com
The Solutions are Hard
Hi All,
The city is becoming more & more messy as the days pass, with no end in sight.
Roads are being widened, dividers get shifted, traffic signals get replanned (if they exist) , right turns get barred, etc. etc. in this constant flux of changes as traffic keeps increasing on each road in every locality. As a result, make-shift dividers & barriers are a common sight in many places.
Whatever is planned now will become outdated within a few months, if not weeks. The real permanent solution is to find ways to reduce the no. of vehicles, or at least to keep volumes stagnant, if this were possible, but until we have good public transport facilities, this might not be possible.
Violations must be dealt with severely - as mentioned by some, the amounts for fines must be increased to an extent where it hurts pockets for not just the common man, but also the car owners. In addition, say three such fines within a year (from 1st offence to 3rd), & license must be revoked for a certain period, say three months & an additional higher fine imposed to recover the license.
This is sure to lead to increased corruption, but at least, there might be far better traffic control, overall.
we can improve the infrastructure , but . . .
Observations in the 1st photo:
1. The U turn taking line is longer .. i.e many vehicles waiting to take u turn.
2. The vehicles which want to make the u turn do not take the other two lanes, they wait for the vehicle in front to take the u turn and then when their turn comes, they make a move.
However, from what we have seen in our cities, Since the U turn lane has a traffic signal, all vehicles will pile up at the junction, spilling onto the other two lanes, causing a block for the vehicles going stright.
Example: Sankey tank road. The signal at the chowdiah memorial junction being a long stop, lot of vehicles pile up at the signal going towards cauvery junction from sankey road.
But due to the long line formed, a lot of impatient vehicles cross into the opposing lane[ even 4 wheelers !!] and cause a jam, obstructing vehicles in the opposite lane, coming from cauvery junction towards IISC.
We can improve the infrastructure to any extent, unless we change our attutudes of not respecting rules, we will still be facing all these problems.
Bommanahalli to Silkboard Flyover
30 minutes to travel from Bommanahalli to Silkboard flyover. Date and Time: 24-Aug-2010 from 06:45pm to 07:30pm. Root cause : Vehicles going towards BTM layout occupying all the lanes of Hosur Road( Remember: Its 3 lane clearly visible markings.).
Merge & Exit
Remember: Its 3 lane clearly visible markings
Yes but the exit is abrupt with a cavity in the service lane fence. Additionally the exit shares the cavity with traffic merging to the bridge as well. Nothing to say even after all this we will behave but thats what we have police for. How many tickets were issued in the above situation for obstruction of traffic? I bet none.