Thread: Basic rules of the road - a rant

This doesn't apply to everyone, obviously, and is less of a problem in some parts of the country than in others.

However, When Pulling Out Into Traffic, CHECK FOR ONCOMING TRAFFIC FIRST BEFORE MOVING! This morning, some idiot on a Pulsar Avenger pulled out from the side of the road without looking as I was going by, and rode right into the back of my car. I saw him start to move, as I was about 10 meters away, going about 30kph. He never once looked over his shoulder or checked his mirrors. I sounded my horn, and moved further right (I was already in the right lane of a two-lanes-each-way road) to go around him. Somehow, he managed to ignore the horn, and ride from the shoulder to the center of the road and into the back corner of my car. He wasn't going that fast, so the only injury was to all the tacky chrome he had festooned his bike with, and to his dignity. He didn't even have the level of riding skill necessary to do a panic stop when he must have realized he was about to hit something (I was already mostly past him when he actually hit my car, and my car is *not* small, so he had to have seen me by the time he realized he was going to hit).

All motorcycle riders should know that they have to take responsibility for their own safety on the road. Yes, there are circumstances where, in an accident, the other driver is at fault, but the rider MUST do everything in their power to be safe. You cannot assume that being the smaller vehicle is going to absolve you of any need to protect yourself, and knowing you were "in the right" does you little good if you're dead. Know how to handle your bike, so you can stop or evade when you need to.

You also cannot ride as though you are either
a) the only vehicle on the road or
b) some sort of VIP to whom everyone must give way.

Get out of the habit of "splitting lanes" i.e. riding up between cars, either at intersections or especially when traffic is moving. Bikes don't have some sort of special right-of-way privilege that lets them ride like the rules don't apply. Encourage other riders you know to do the same. With the ever-increasing volume of cars on the road, especially cars that can out-accelerate most Indian bikes, you are no longer the most agile or quickest vehicle on the road, and if you try to cut between cars, you are very likely to just run out of room and get squished. I have seen this happen, when a rider cut up between a bunch of cars leaving an intersection. Everyone was all bunched up, and there was no room to maneuver, and the rider ended up bouncing off the two cars he was trying to get between.

Rant approved.

I don't have eyes on my back. So, traffic on main road should watch out for me

Bikes costs less=used by mango man=special right of way

Government is for mango man. Therefore mango man=government=VVIP=special right of way

car=rich man=humilty Should be your virtue=always 'pehle aap'

yeah roads are filled with idiots,the idiots are young rider with their steeds riding like hell-raisers,the commercial carraige drivers,the arrogant car owner who thinks that two wheeler are just shits on the road,the pedestrians who think foot path as well as 4 lane highways are also their movement corridor,the cyclist who himself doesn't even know that cars and bikes are whizzing past him at speed of 60 while he is riding on the middle of road,the dogs and cows who suddenly pop up infront of you to check if you have either enough braking skill or abs,ebd,traction control.
i think our driving licscence test should be made stricter,laws should be stringent.[well these are all bull-shits cause this is india]

p.s. for threadstarter's info in our city traffic even splendor can make a suv bite dust,well it's my observation.and sometimes cars make 2 wheelers cut through them leaving an impression on the driver that the chap on the 2 wheeler is rash-riding .

Well, I want to rant so bad about this sterotyping one biker to the rest is bad enough ...

I would like to say, You car wala bhaiyas need to learn road side maners before us Biker guys due to what we see in Mumbai everyday.. Most car drivers think they are beasts when it comes to overtaking from left or right without the merit that a biker is riding in one lane, you guys would just go soo close to us that the wind that breaks from your cars might misbalance us for a sec.. You never thought of that huh?? Since we are on 2 wheels of course you didn't...

Next is, When we drive fast and you try to cover the distance with your 4 wheels, you horn and horn and horn and we dont move.. you know why?? Because while you just look at us and try to overtake us, we actually have to think of others whos on the left side, whos on the right side, whos in the back (of course you car bhai is there) and in the front and if the risk is worth taking.. So before you car wala bhai jaans try to rant for a small issue, that a bike hit you, if i was the car wala bhai.. I would stop my car, come out and make sure that the biker is ok or not.. remember he is the one on the 2 wheels, not you.. Atleast show bikers some love and help them out.. talk to them about them hitting you.. Maybe just maybe, instead of ranting, you can go ahead and get your car repaired from the money the biker could have given and also say sorry in return of your niceness..


Remember, we are on 2 wheels, give us the special right of way, and always horn when crossing lanes where you think a bike can come out of.. Horn is cheaper then a dent in your car, im sure..

I have nothing to add to the car-bike war that generally goes on..however i would consider the positive side of this discussion and thank 'The Mountain' for bringing this up..

I whole-heartedly agree with the points brought up...infact whenever we have to stop by a road..make sure we park outside the white/yellow line and stand/rest outside the same line. When in a group, park one behind another and not in a parallel way...

How to..




How NOT to..

The Mountain - I'm not surprised & infact getting little frustrated these days hearing these kind of rants from all the online forums & social networking sites. All of us rant or complain, but none of us come forward to clean up the mess & to clean up this mess & hence I stopped complaining!!! Even with a very serious effort, it might take upto a century to clean up all this, unless we all get into a revolutionary mode of transportation!!!

The root of the issue lies with riders/drivers education & the lack of enforcement which you, me & my 2 year old knows - CORRUPTION!!! Unless the system is cleaned up, nothing will & until then, all these & much more are bound to happen.

PS - Pls wait...the worst is yet to come

come-on people grow up, there discussion is not a war. its like some riders and also some drivers on the road ride/drive so rash that they don't respect anybody on the road. Yesterday itself when i was coming home on bike from office a bike fellow alongwith pillion on Ambition just broke the signal and came in way of a car, the driver somewhat manage to evade the accident but the biker was least bothered about it and riding his own. It was his fault but he never apologised to him. i have both a bike and also a car, so i can judge it as i can feel both the feelings. I also ride fast but it depends on the traffic conditions, also i have seen many people don't honk when you need to alert someone and then just come in between to create a accident like situation. its just like you need to be more responsible on road, but there are also some idiots on road.

shouldn't we guys take advantage of the small dynamics of 2 wheeler by cutting through traffic sensibly?well i have seen[done the same]people stuck up in the traffic using pavement on the side of the road to reach the stop line at the front of the signal...........,so much for the mini-motogp at the signal,no one wants to be left-out.

Originally Posted by rakowli

come-on people grow up, there discussion is not a war. its like some riders and also some drivers on the road ride/drive so rash that they don't respect anybody on the road. Yesterday itself when i was coming home on bike from office a bike fellow alongwith pillion on Ambition just broke the signal and came in way of a car, the driver somewhat manage to evade the accident but the biker was least bothered about it and riding his own. It was his fault but he never apologised to him. i have both a bike and also a car, so i can judge it as i can feel both the feelings. I also ride fast but it depends on the traffic conditions, also i have seen many people don't honk when you need to alert someone and then just come in between to create a accident like situation. its just like you need to be more responsible on road, but there are also some idiots on road.

jumping signal is a bad thing.about the apologise part i once accidentally came infront of a car[my fault,i was noob then],he had to brake hard,i apologised ,he adressed me with slangs and even tried to beat me,i escaped the scene of crime with my trust-worthy steed.