1-Day Helmet Mandate

So it is true! The government or someone associated with them have made all the money they needed through the sales of helment. Its been just over a day since the mandate came into effect and now that they've made the money they need the government goes ahead and advises cops to not fine people for not wearing a helmet. Instead cops are to catch hold of them and make advise #-o. IT CAN'T GET ANY MORE OBVIOUS THAN THIS :). A state government sponsored spam, thats what this is - in the name of public good. Absolutely brilliant, about 500-1000 bucks from each household that runs on two-wheelers. Yet again its the tolerant middle class which gets punished.

People talk of one government being corrupt and the other is not. BS. This government is equally corrupt if not more. I wish someone bring up an investigation into this and bring to light what happened in the background if not to justice.

Helmet day

Today was a nice day to go on the roads :). I could see most of the 2 wheeler driving people wearing helmets thanks to the mandate in effect from today. And of course my own share of fun out of it >:).

Many of the adults were wearing helmets that don't quite fit to their head. Finding a helmet that fits a head is like finding a dress that fits a woman :p, only the former is applicable for both sexes :D. It was funny watching ppl whith HUGE heads wearing a helmet the bottom of which only comes down until their cheeks ;)).

And ladies (not chicks) wearing em :p, my goodness! ROTFL! They look like alien being who have landed from some other planet ;)) peeping through as if trying hard not to pass out. To top it all are those flabby people who after a big struggle successfully get their head inside the helmet. Little do they know how much they could affect an on lookers. Their skin would literally be squeezing out of the open areas as if waiting to burst. Quite gross actually.

And btw, its not gonna be long before people again start using the trick they did a few decades back to void the effectiveness of such a mandate. I don't want to mention that here and help make void something good. And as before I expect to see sect oriented PIL's being filed in a while such as sikhs not being able to wear it with their turbans and such.

Actually this move makes me wonder if the government struck a deal with helment manufacturers. Further, if a helmet is not carefully choosen it could be quite harmful to the driver in case of an accident. I am not too sure about this but I'v heard that with your chin unprotected there is a good chance of breaking ur spine depending on how you fall. Besides it saved me once from a bad head injury when in fact I was only driving at about 20-30kmph. Contrary to what most people believe you don't have to be driving fast to have a fatal head injury, coz it depends on the way you fall and what lies in the path.

In case you still havent picked one yet, please pick one which has a chin and not the one that all open to the front. And please don't buy the excuse that the sweat will cause baldness. Its just a belief and its genetics thats more towards baldness than sweat.

The good thing about this move is that I am considering getting a bi-cycle for my frequent travel within 3-5km radius which I do pretty often. Clean and Green! If I do, this time I'd go for a geared one which *doesn't* luk like a BMX bike.

Safe driving! to all the bikers out there.

---

Just 24 hours and I already see some people making use of the workaround :). Wonder how many people out these would spot it. The face of Chennai roads would be soo different then.

Honkers worse than hookers

Indian roads and me just don't get along well. I invariably loose my temper pronto everytime I set out. The most irritating thing that ticks me off is those incessant bleady honkers. I believe in much of the rest of the world most people honk to let know one is doing something wrong or is causing inconvenience to others. Fundamentally I thought people rarely do that (honk) to catch immediate attention in case of emergency and such.

But down here a whole lot of idiots think they are some maharaja and keep honking all through so that people make way for them. Seriously challenged I say. Since we have tropical weather down here its easy to irritate people. Honking is not used to warn but to incite another guy into doing something he/she wouldn't do when in the realms of sanity. So the thumb rule here is that you irritate fellow drivers and get through.

I remember once when some young guy with his car audio blaring was driving behind me and started honking to get me off the road, obviously by irritating me. It wasn't a wide road and not a place to do stunts, but this guy was on adrenaline. So I choose to give it back in kind >:). I made sure that he couldn't get past me and was driving pretty slowly right in front @ about 40kmph nicely enjoying the wind and getting the pleasure of that guy going nuts honking to get rid of me ;)). The guy finally overtook me at a turning (yeah people do that while turning here) after some skidding and got past and accelerated in roads where it was pointless. Anyways he went past my home and I effortlessly got past him on my bike despite his crazy driving.

Indian traffic is such that despite the spead at which you drive the time you take to reach a destination doesn't vary more than 5 / max 10 mins. So why get you BP up honking and why irritate fellow drive. Some crack pots would sure be there. I own a bike which can blare too but I seldom honk (once or twice in a week's drive). Like wise these busses, autos and even some smart (as they think they are) two-wheeler drivers honking at your back as you wait at the stop line for the seconds to tick from 5 sec to 0 before the signal hits green. They literally barge into the road before its their time not giving consideration for a person probably comming perpendicular believing signal green = road path. I feel a little bit of patience and consideration for fellow drivers can make even driving through traffic a not so bad an experience. Unfortunately I ain't hitler to change peoples mind.

I notice a similar disregard for others when people park their vehicles. Sure you'd be annoyed if someone parked their vehicle in a manner that you can't take yours out. Nevertheless that is how people park. My own dad did it y'day and fortunately he saw me annoyed as I complained and parked it in a more acceptable fashion.

I don't think this is too much to ask or too difficult to do. I believe if the police and traffic officials create awareness amongst people as much as bullying them things could get much better on citizens and them. Maybe they don't probably thinking that their job depends on trouble makers. I have come to agree the fact that you can't drive without breaking any rule in chennai, and so do traffic police. But at the least we can make it more tolerable to one another. Being nice to other ain't too much to ask or is it?

OMP: Open Manhole Protocol

This is for the benefit of those who are not very familiar with India / Chennai :P way of things. In India most things work only by mean of a mutual understanding and not rules. Traffic is the easiest e.g. to quote. Road rules don't quite apply :). Your survival skills does not depend on you driving skills but on your ability to judge what the others on the road or upto =)) ROTFL.

But this picture, you might not be familiar with. This is how open man-holes are marked down here ;). These guys are so cost efficient *phew*. All it takes is a few branches from a nearby tree to mark the danger zone. You might wonder, what if someone just mistook it for a broken branch on the road. But not too surprisingly, people seem to understand as to what it signifies.


If you think this is crude, then you should watch the news channels during the rainy season. Once in a while they get into act and cover such hazzardous situations where open manholes are unmarked on flooded roads. And yes, there have been incidents of childeren having drowned, although I don't remember one from the recent past.

So, if your in India, don't ignore such cryptic warnings. But I still appreciate the guys creativity, instead of not leaving it open :p.

Circus'a Nijemma?

I couldn't believe my eyes :-o.

I was enroute to Adayar (fortunately as a pillion rider) and as I was going though <> rd I noticed this.


Mr.Hero on the "Namba Oooru Vandeeeee TVS XL ... college, match cinema, ellam manage pannaren idhu takkar ..." was going with his wife and two kids. One of the kids sitting on the lady's lap snugly.

Just take a look at the other. No he is not that short, but he is sitting on the footrest along the frame of the vehicle, his legs anchored to the knee guard. An impossible feat I should say.

Imagine what a sudden brake could do. Considering chennai traffic this definitely constitutes to a dare devil stunt.

I couldn't get a much clearer shot on the move. Besides did'nt wanna irritate them. This was at the end of the bridge outside IITM. Dad and I were just amazed at his valour =)).