6 rules of an Indian motorist

“Road rules, what is that?”

Calling Indian traffic chaotic is an understatement. People don’t follow rules or laws; they just do what they please and go where they please. ‘Just blame others and move on’ is the only law that seems to exist. The 1,35,000 road accidents which happen every year are always someone else’s fault.

We thrive on showing blatant disregard for rules and others. Below are examples of how we do this:

“Lane discipline is overrated!”

There is a long-standing enemity between queues and Indians, judging by the consistency in which we refuse to maintain any discipline when it comes to maintaining a line.

“It’s more comfortable to risk my life!”

Wearing a seatbelt or a helmet is so inconvenient that we would rather break our heads or fly through the windshield.

“Overtaking is my birthright, not yours”

We have always been told to stay ahead of the race, so if you are slow, overtaking from any side we please is our right. It does not matter if the other person is inconvenienced by it. They should be vigilant, but when someone does the same to us - “Do you even know how to drive!”

“See pavement - must ride on it.”

Pavements are just shortcuts to get ahead when the road is blocked during traffic. Why do people need to walk anyway?

On Indian roads, everybody is in a hurry. We don’t care if our disregard of rules lands someone else in trouble or causes them harm, because, let’s face it, with the way we are, neither ambulances nor the police can reach anywhere on time.

It’s easy to complain about the system and compliment “foreign countries” on how well disciplined they are and how efficient their traffic is. However, we fail to realise that our own civic sense is lacking in many ways. We would rather point fingers at each other than change ourselves. Is it possible to progress with this attitude?

If you have any thoughts or opinions on the same, please write to us at jaagorein@gmail.com or tweet to us at @jaagoRe.