King of the Road

Is it just me or is behavior of people and vehicles on the road similar to way nature behaves, survival of the fittest, the quest to be on top the food chain.  Is there a prescribed protocol that we as people of a society should adopt and learn to live by?  Currently each person thinks that they always have a right of way. For example

·         A pedestrian always thinks that the cars take up so much space on the road and since there isn’t always a footpath to walk on they are completely entitled to occupy one lane on the road.  As a pedestrian I agree, but if I were in a car, I’ll be tempted to run me down.

·         Any car driver will tell you that the most annoying fellow motorists are two wheelers and auto’s.  I agree to that completely, and I’m certain 75% of all accidents involve two or three wheelers. Such a high percentage is largely because they try and squeeze into every gap there is in a traffic jam and they ensure that the cut lanes at the rate of 2 lanes every minute (that’s a conservative estimate).  Flip the coin over and when we travel in an auto or by bike, you love the fact that while cars have to wait in line at the signal you can squeeze and nudge your way to the front of the pack while the ‘rich pricks’ are waiting in their a/c cars.

·         The worst drivers in my opinion are truck and bus drivers who seem to only want to drive in the fast lane.  As someone told me a few years, ‘truck and bus drivers are frustrated car drivers’. I love it when a fully loaded truck tries to overtake another fully loaded truck, it takes so long it’s like watching cars overtake each other in super slow motion.

Given the awesome infrastructure in india and the umpteen zebra crossings where cars magically come to a stop so that  people can cross (snap out of it, your dreaming). Sorry, so as I was saying the lack of infrastructure and the attitude of people where everyone thinks that where they need to get to is more important than where the other person needs to get to we have turned into such a selfish society that if one guy stops his car for someone to cross the road, he gets shouted at by the person behind him (in some places in india, he might even get shot!!!!)

On a side note: Road rules that I find insanely funny

·         The helmet rule, where only the rider is required by law to wear a helmet and the pillion rider is not required to wear one? (is it coz he’s more thick skulled?)

·         The drink and drive rule, in certain states once you pay the fine you’re allowed to drive your car home. (what? How is that possible? Is blood alcohol somehow connected to how much money is left in your wallet?)

·         The awesomely painted pedestrian crossing or really inconvenient foot over bridge that is never used. People seem to want to cross only 10 meters before the crossing and 10 meters after it, but never on it.

Back to the main point. So who really is the king of the road?  The answer, whatever mode of transport you are using at that point in time.