superczar
Keymaster
Here is a story from my Monday evening commute back home.
I was driving from Tidel Park to Velachery and was on the Taramani- Velachery road.
Most people from Chennai would perhaps already know that this stretch is any/every driver's nightmare with lorries, trucks , buses , pedestrians, cycle, bikers and cars jostling for every available inch of space on this 1.5 (barely) lane road, and yet a lot of vehicles manage to drive at 60+ speeds on it :O
Additionally, like everywhere else in Chennai, most bikers and some autowallahs drive under the assumption that overtaking from the left is the accepted mode of overtaking and this day wasn't any different either.
(Most of you would already know how this works), you are driving along, and a biker would suddenly overtake you from the left, ignore your presence altogether and cut in front of you forcing you to brake....
Once in a while (perhaps once a week or so), i get in a situation where while a biker is overtaking me from the left, there would be a lorry/bus speeding towards me head on in my lane leaving me with no option but to brake to a crawl, give the left signal, let the biker overtake and veer to the left , maybe get off the road to let the truck/bus pass.
Same thing happens yesterday and this time, there was not one but two bikers and the oncoming vehicle a jittery MTC bus...Anyway, I braked but still no room to veer, fortunately, the bus guy also braked well in advance (probably his high vantage point helped him see that there was no way I could have given way)
Anyway, cursing those jokers under my breath, I started off again, while the two batbrained brats had already sped away.
now typically in a situation like this, if you were to meet the objects of your wrath right that moment, you first reaction would be to blow their heads off..right? so would I have...but yesterday was different
After driving another couple of kms and reaching close to my house, I stopped near a small shop to pick up some cigarettes, and spotted the bikers taking a break there, smoking and chatting
So I walk up to them, and very politely tell them this:
"Sir, You may not remember, or probably not even have noticed that you overtook me from the wrong side a few minutes ago,
what you would certainly not remember is there was a bus coming onto me that very moment.
Unfortunately, in a situation like that, the only option that remains from me is to cut to the left , and in the process, crash into you or whoever is overtaking me from the wrong side.
Now for a moment, imagine the kind of grief and woe you and your family would undergo if that were to happen.
Also, I doubt if you can, but try imagining the kind of scars such an incident would leave on me!"
And I walked off....The stunned expression on their face was priceless!!!!
The satisfaction i got by doing this instead of shouting at those jokers (and boiling my own blood) ..priceless again!
Perhaps it were the time gap between the incident and me getting a chance to vent my anger, I don't really know, but all I can say is this road rage experience for me was far better than any other
I was driving from Tidel Park to Velachery and was on the Taramani- Velachery road.
Most people from Chennai would perhaps already know that this stretch is any/every driver's nightmare with lorries, trucks , buses , pedestrians, cycle, bikers and cars jostling for every available inch of space on this 1.5 (barely) lane road, and yet a lot of vehicles manage to drive at 60+ speeds on it :O
Additionally, like everywhere else in Chennai, most bikers and some autowallahs drive under the assumption that overtaking from the left is the accepted mode of overtaking and this day wasn't any different either.
(Most of you would already know how this works), you are driving along, and a biker would suddenly overtake you from the left, ignore your presence altogether and cut in front of you forcing you to brake....
Once in a while (perhaps once a week or so), i get in a situation where while a biker is overtaking me from the left, there would be a lorry/bus speeding towards me head on in my lane leaving me with no option but to brake to a crawl, give the left signal, let the biker overtake and veer to the left , maybe get off the road to let the truck/bus pass.
Same thing happens yesterday and this time, there was not one but two bikers and the oncoming vehicle a jittery MTC bus...Anyway, I braked but still no room to veer, fortunately, the bus guy also braked well in advance (probably his high vantage point helped him see that there was no way I could have given way)
Anyway, cursing those jokers under my breath, I started off again, while the two batbrained brats had already sped away.
now typically in a situation like this, if you were to meet the objects of your wrath right that moment, you first reaction would be to blow their heads off..right? so would I have...but yesterday was different
After driving another couple of kms and reaching close to my house, I stopped near a small shop to pick up some cigarettes, and spotted the bikers taking a break there, smoking and chatting
So I walk up to them, and very politely tell them this:
"Sir, You may not remember, or probably not even have noticed that you overtook me from the wrong side a few minutes ago,
what you would certainly not remember is there was a bus coming onto me that very moment.
Unfortunately, in a situation like that, the only option that remains from me is to cut to the left , and in the process, crash into you or whoever is overtaking me from the wrong side.
Now for a moment, imagine the kind of grief and woe you and your family would undergo if that were to happen.
Also, I doubt if you can, but try imagining the kind of scars such an incident would leave on me!"
And I walked off....The stunned expression on their face was priceless!!!!
The satisfaction i got by doing this instead of shouting at those jokers (and boiling my own blood) ..priceless again!
Perhaps it were the time gap between the incident and me getting a chance to vent my anger, I don't really know, but all I can say is this road rage experience for me was far better than any other
hyeah:...smooth work 
. That stretch is quite bad, but sadly i too use it atleast 2 times a week (arnd 9 am ). 
