The reason they aren't dented is because they don't survive the first
accident. You haven't seen anything until you've seen the aftermath of two
Tata (I don't think I spelled that right) giant primitive-looking trucks
after a head on collision at high speed. If you travel outside the cities
you'll see the aftermath of at least one horrific crash every hundred or so
miles. You'll also see people living and working in the road. Not just a
little bit in the road, a lot in the road.
You'll actually see crashes. Big ones. Think about it--how many times in
your life have you seen a crash. Spend two weeks in India and you'll see at
least one. Very high fatality rates too. No seat belts. They blast through
the windows and wind up a hundred feet away.
It's like pedestrian accidents in Rio. I saw four in a three week stay. Two
fatal, all messy.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-fot@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-fot@autox.team.net] On Behalf
Of malaboge@aol.com
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 8:36 AM
To: fot@autox.team.net; vintage-race@autox.team.net
Subject: Race drivers????
Why arenbt there more Indian racecar drivers? After a short trip to the
country (yes I was there for the "big wave") and seeing the driving style, I
remain impressed with the abilities of the locals. I noted that most of the
cars are not dented/beat up, which astounded me after witnessing their
"style". The other memory of riding around in traffic is that my right foot
got very tired and sore after having bent the floor on every cab I was in!
Stop signs are few (the government has learned where to save a buck) and
absolutely no one stops for one anyhow. Ditto for red lights. In fact a few
times we were forced to stop at a light, but as soon as there was any
weakness shown by cross traffic, we entered the fray without regard to
lights or protests.
Herewith are a few "rules of the road" from observations of the indigenous
drivers:
1) You can ALWAYS merge.
2) Intimidation is the rule, brakes are for the fool.
3) An inch of clearance in any direction is normal. Two inches is not
clearanceb&itbs a passing opportunity.
4) To make something invisible, make it red, give it 2 wheels, make it
octagonal or make it light up.
5) Keep your mirrors folded up tight against the car body. See rule 3.
6) When not in heavy traffic, straddle the dotted line. You never know when
you need to protect your line.
7) When any gutsier driver attempts a pass, move as far as you can into his
lane and force him as close as you can to the inevitable 3 wheel cab. See
rule 2.
8) Pass everything whenever possible. If you can gain one car length, even
if the lane ends or there is a family banquet occurring which includes large
pack animals ahead, go for it. See rule 1.
9) If, heaven forbid, you should have to stop, itbs OK the go 6 cars wide
from a 2 lane road. See rule 1 and rule 8.
Other than the "monkey sh*t" incident, it was a interesting trip
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