Ahmedabad Traffic Rant

This was loooong overdue. I always thought of posting something about the Ahmedabad traffic. Below is a slow motion video for the uninitiated, 'cause they'll die of a heart attack if they see a regular motion video.

I've been driving a Kinetic Honda for 3 years in this city. The traffic was never good to begin with, and I've seen it getting worse in 3 years. It's not limited to speed demons on bikes. Regular people like you and me - they drive on the wrong side, honk like a wedding orchestra, drive zigzag on a straight road. Bicyclers ride parallel to each other instead of behind each other, blocking half the road.

The helmet rule, which was supposed to be a boon, has turned into a hazard because Amdavadis believe that you're supposed to wear a helmet only when you approach a traffic signal, and take it off after you've moved ahead. Bikers and other 2-wheel drivers wear and remove their helmets while driving. A couple of number plates of speed demons - Gogli (meaning to say Googly) and Govt. of Goga (Gogaji is a Rajasthani snake-god). No numbers, no GJ-xx-xxxx or RJ-xx-xxxx or MH-xx-xxxx, just this.

Then there's cars speeding on a road where a two wheeler hardly can, there's cars speeding towards you on a road without a road divider. There's bright headlights on roads without any street lamps, so that you can't see what's in front of you. The list goes on and it is getting longer everyday. Like 3 years ago you would rarely spot a female speed demon, today the species definitely exists.



Kids you can understand, they have a need to be idiots. When we were kids, we were idiots. But when 40-50 year old men cannot drive straight and don't use brakes at crossroads, you know something is rotting in the driving culture of the city. Now you tell me, am I wrong if I say I'm scared to drive a Kinetic Honda in Ahmedabad, let alone drive a car?