The daily drive to the office begins. Today I am somehow more irritable than usual. I am driving through a fairly narrow stretch of the road, stuck behind a fully loaded tractor that is barely making 30kmph. There is a steady stream of traffic from the other side, making it impossible to overtake the tractor. My patience is running thin when I spot a momentary gap in the oncoming traffic, giving me just enough time to overtake. However, a guy on a motorcycle moves to the right of my car, doesn't move fast enough and prevents me from overtaking. My blood boils. I honk and move my car threateningly close to his bike. This infuriates the bike rider, who gives me a mouthful, receives some from me as well and moves along. Not the best start for the day.
By the time I reach Koramangala I have cooled down completely and am driving much more sensibly. At an intersection without traffic lights I am about to make a right turn, when I notice a motorcycle coming into the intersection at a very high speed from the road to my right. The guy sees my car and quickly realizes that he is in trouble as he isn't sure he can stop in time. I stop my car immediately and let him through. I notice that the guy has a smile on his face as he waves to me while passing through the junction.
Later in the day I am driving back home. One of the roads in BTM has a steady stream of traffic during these hours. The drivers are pretty aggressive and crossing the road at this time is not for the faint at heart. I notice an elderly gentleman, may be in his late seventees, trying to cross the road. He makes an attempt to cross ahead of a few cars in front of me, but the car driver blazes his horn and prevents the man from crossing. I quickly glance at my rear view mirror and notice a long chain of cars behind me. This man is not going to cross the road any time soon unless he risks his life or limbs. When the man is directly in front of me I stop my car and ask him to cross. The driver of Tata Sumo behind me goes mad with anger and blares his horn. I stay calm. The elderly man says a big "Thank you" after he crosses the road. I hear him trying to give some advice to the driver of Sumo as I pass.
Looks like I ended the day with a net positive: I did more right than wrong on the road.
It is difficult calculate the net gains.
ReplyDeleteThe first motorcyclist, you irritated might have irritated many more on his way, triggering a mass outburst of rude drivers.
glad to see you back posting on the blog. Nice one made me think about my driving pattern.
ReplyDeleteReply to Manju:
ReplyDeleteDriving in the US is for wimps. The real drivers relish driving on the roads of Bangalore ;)