The Indian Driving Experience! 🇮🇳

I’ve seen hair raising footage of Indian city driving on the tv so knew that I wasn’t in for a leisurely ride! Jon tells me that Mysuru is quiet and “tame” compared to other cities and Lokesh our hotel’s rickshaw confirmed this when he told us that Bangalore’s traffic was much busier.
Hold onto your hats… and bags and remember to put your eyes back into their sockets after some of the unbelievable sights and manoeuvres! Sometimes it’s best not to look right… or left… but maybe just straight ahead. Until out of the corner of your eye you see a motorbike or auto rickshaw come hurtling across the junction cutting you up!

There appears to be no system apart from driving on the left. Oh, and that isn’t strictly true either as motorbikes and rickshaws will drive the other way down the road! Very disconcerting!
I don’t think they know of the outside over-taking lane either as under-taking is certainly de riguer. Oh and I’m sure I spotted the “weaving” lane too!

Then there’s the cacophony of horns! They’re incessant! Where did I leave my ear plugs? It appears that you toot your horn just to let the person in front of you know that you’re approaching them or if you’re going to over-take them. Consequently horns sound constantly!

What I simply cannot understand is why most of the drivers and passengers fail to wear crash helmets. Absolutely crazy. I wonder about the death rates on the roads here. Certainly the neurosurgeons won’t be out of a job… or maybe it’s straight to the mortuary?
Flippancy aside, what absolutely shocks me is to see children hugging onto their Dads or wedged between Mum and Dad without any form of head protection! Unforgivable.
If you don’t value your own life as an adult that’s your choice but do not endanger your child’s life. It’s a child protection issue and I cannot understand why the police don’t fine on the spot where a child’s life is at danger.