Driving teaches you a bit

WHEN YOU DRIVE, YOU LEARN ABOUT PEOPLE

As messy as it seems, driving on Bangalore roads has taught me a bit about people, about human behavior. Especially when traffic is heavy and there is a jam. By watching people drive, certain typical characteristics emerge. I’ve tried to group them into certain categories and analyze them. Here are a few:

1. Bulldozer: Always in a hurry, this guy doesn’t care for rules. He’s on a mission or maybe someone’s in the hospital. Whatever. He drives/ rides (in case of a two-wheeler) like a madman. And of course ensures he has his way as others around him are scared of an impending accident and make way for him. Make way for the bulldozer!

2. Couldn’t care less – Unlike the Bulldozer, this guy is arrogant. Most often, he’s driving a SUV and the music is loud. He thinks he owns the road and has to drive fast, be the first at the signal, even if all his antics lead him to a traffic jam! He’s not bothered what others think of him. He’s rude and most probably involved in road rages. I detest such drivers!

3. Perennial honker – He wants attention! Please give it to him! All the time. He keeps honking till it drives one crazy. He’s impatient and gets easily irritated. Road rage and he go hand in hand. The only way you can stop him from honking is to put up a ‘Silence’ board.

4.        20kmph, always – As the title says, he doesn’t drive beyond 20kmph, even if the roads are empty. Maybe he doesn’t know that vehicles can go faster. His mantra, ‘chill maadi’. The vehicle is only meant to take you from one place to another, not from here to Pearly Gates. If ‘Perennial honker’ is behind this guy, you can be sure you will hear only honking!

5. Zigzagger – Thinks that every bit of space has to be filled up, with his vehicle that is. Most common with two wheelers, he is a show off, showing off his driving ability. He’s a pain to watch and a terror on the roads but a delight to women pillion. He’s an opportunist to the core!

6. F1 – “Life is a race and if you do not run fast, you will be like a broken anda” is his funda! The traffic signals are like interruptions and while waiting for the signal to turn green he is constantly accelerating and will ensure he is the first to speed off as it turns green. He has no time to stop and smell the roses, literally. Has he seen anything on the way? No sir, he hasn’t. Did he slow down when he was passing a women’s college? No, of course not! He was trying to show them how fast he is on his machine! Most often he would have remodeled his vehicle (at Shivajinagar maybe?) and it no longer looks like the one he got out of the showroom.

These categories probably change a bit when they are off the road but at the core they remain the same. With every situation they face in life, they react the same way as they do on the road, either bulldozing or being careless. What type are you?