Indian roads can really test every sense in you. You know, your hand-eye-leg-brain coordination, your sixth sense, your sense of patience and most important of all, your reflex actions. There are several issues you’d face as a pedestrian.
Horn, ok, please
Imagine walking down the road and being startled by a loud honking! Yes, our Indian drivers love honking even if it’s unnecessary, and as a pedestrian, it’s enough to throw you out of balance. You don’t know whether to move right or to strut towards your left and all you end up doing is freezing to the very spot, looking dumb and earning the wrath of all other drivers who are in too much of a hurry!
Colourblind?
There is a reason why many of the bigger road junctions have traffic signals. When the pedestrian sign goes green, the traffic signals go red. What does this mean? In an utopian world, this would mean that the vehicles need to stop and people can cross safely. But like I said, in an utopian world. Even if the pedestrian signal goes green, vehicles don’t bother to stop and you’d be left dodging all the Tatas and Birlas who’ll incur crores of losses if they wait for a second. Or maybe they’re just colourblind.
Pavements are roads?
Very often, you’re are asked to use pavements when you walk on the road. That is so that you’re not hit by any of those speeding vehicles. But, whenever there’s a traffic clog, most two wheelers think it’s their birthright to use the pavements to avoid the mad rush. Dear two wheelers, if you drive on the pavements, are people supposed to fly?
Zig zag zoom
There’s no set pattern for drivers. You, while crossing the road, if you’re thinking you won’t encounter a vehicle from your left or right, then you’re wrong, of course. Vehicles will be zooming past you from left, right and every other possible direction, so much, that you’ll much more time to reach your destination than you had calculated!