Report from India, Part 8: Traffic in India

While on our way to the 'department' store on Day 1, our driver, who does not speak all that much English and is actually from Agra not Delhi, kept asking other open-rickshaw drivers how to get to Janpath (the area of town where this store was). He would roll down his window either at a red light—or while driving(!)—and ask the driver next to us. At one point, one of the passengers in a rickshaw said that he was going in a similar direction and could show us the way if we 'didn't mind' that he get in and ride with us. So we let him and our driver was grateful for his translation help.

As we left the department store there was another man who invited us to his tea shop. He helped explain to our driver where we wanted to go next and mentioned that his new tea shop was conveniently near the temple. He offered to come with us and show us afterward. He drove with us, gave our driver directions, waited for us while we were in the temple and then led us to his tea shop (see Post Day 1, Part 1). It seems getting from point A to point B in the most efficient manner isn't the prime concern; you can always ask someone for directions on the way or some knowledgeable someone may join your party mid-trip.

Traffic in general is an adventurous undertaking. For one thing, they drive on the other side of the road. (This preference for the left side holds true with pedestrian traffic too—which means that we often inadvertently walked against the stream.) Therefore a left turn is easier to make than a right turn. And roundabouts run clockwise instead of counter clockwise. Try merging into that!

Oh, and those painted lines on the road? Purely suggestion. Even if it seems like 3 lanes are painted on the road, be prepared to have 2 cars, 2-3 rickshaws and a motorist or two traversing that stretch, all trying to get around a large slow bus or a small delivery truck.

And horns. What is your opinion of honking your horn? What role does it play in traffic? In the U.S. it seems like a way to vent frustration. In Germany it seems like a way to reprimand others for not following The Rules correctly. (Thus it is often just a short, pert Toot!, a “You shouldn't have done that” sort of honk.)

See that? "Horn please" is on the back of many trucks..crazy.

But we are in India and other 'rules' apply. Several of the rickshaws and trucks even have “Honk please” painted on the back. There are several types of honks: the general “I'm coming so don't drift over into this lane!” as well as the “Watch out, motorist, you almost ran into my mirror” and the “I'm now turning into your lane of traffic so beware!”

This last example really does happen. It looks like/feels like “Goodness, we will now be broadsided”..but it doesn't happen. You inch your way in until you are blocking enough lanes of traffic and then you can drive across. It works out great. :) (We are just SO glad not to be doing the actual driving!)

Hooray! (However, that they need to post such a sign shows that that the opposite case is a problem...)

Traffic light phases have countdowns—for red and green. Everyone can therefore judge just how safe it is to dash across. Yes, pedestrians like to join the general traffic fun too. Crossing 6 lanes of traffic? No problem? No red light yet? Don't worry. Just stretch your hand out, 'scold' the car you are crossing in front of and you'll be fine.

At the red lights there are also several people who weave in between the cars selling coconut slices, pop up houses, dust mops or even begging for money for their little babies. I am sadly uncomfortable and unsure what to do in this situation. The poverty is depressingly prevalent here. There was even a young girl who came along asking for money, knocking on the windows. When she saw that we were not Indian she even said “Banana!” with a nice minion accent :) Well done, Dreamworks, you have made it to the beggar children in India.

And 3 more vehicle notes:

-there are both bicycle and motorized rickshaws. The motorized ones have a 3-wheel tricycle model and are called “autos”.

-Motorcycles or scooters can hold as many people (with or without helmets, regardless of age) as will fit. The same rule applies to rickshaws—although there you generally get more bang for your buck.

-And in this car there are only seat belts in the front seats. Or rather there are belts in the back (and I always go to grab them) but the buckles at the other end are non-existent. Of all traffic locations, it seems like this would be a great place to have functional seat belts... 

(Update: On the safest part of the journey—the highway—I finally found them. They'd been there all along—just hiding!)

p.s. Here is one of the videos I took after the traffic had calmed down a bit (sadly no sound..just imagine honking every 1-2 seconds) This was on the day of the festival in Agra, so you see people covered in chalk, trucks covered in speakers and even more-than-usual numbers of people walking on the street.

p.p.s. Here are just a few pictures, but..if you want to get more of a sense of the crazy, I uploaded some (i.e. over 300...) pics to dropbox. They are not necessarily all in good focus or well set-up shots, but it helps you get a bit of an idea what it's like to drive through Delhi/Agra...so much to see!