Driving in India...or...Why we have a Driver

The traffic here in Hyderabad is not gridlock like you may expect in a city of 6+million people, perhaps because we live in the 'burbs, and perhaps because we don't go anywhere when it's really crowded with vehicles. Even without gridlock, there are plenty of frustrations. The assortment of vehicles is staggering: subcompact cars, motorcycles, bicycles, auto-rickshaws, bull-pulled carts, the ubiquitous Toyota Innovas, white Tata Indica taxicabs, huge and highly decorated "Road King" trucks, tractors pulling various carts and trailers, water buffalo, and pedestrians-we can't forget those brave souls who intersperse themselves in the mele. The honking of horns is heard from every direction and often goes unnoticed.

In addition to the moving hazards, the roads themselves pose their own threat. Instead of closing a road when it is under construction, a common method of blocking off, for example, a freshly dug hole, is to place bowling ball size rocks in front of the precipice. No signs, or warnings, just rocks. On other occasions, one might see huge piles of sand or gravel instead. It is the responsibility of the driver to avoid these literal pitfalls, and swerve, oftentimes, into the oncoming traffic lanes. The oncoming traffic is accustomed to this and is completely unfazed. In the truest sense, everyone really does "Share the Road".

Click here for a great youtube video showing the organized chaos we experience every day.

In the face of this insanity, there is a small daredevil part of me that desires to join in the fray. That would mean both driving on the left side of the road (and car) and driving a standard transmission car, which, in my defense, I can do-although not well. Imagine the freedom of no real traffic lights, stop signs, and driving lanes! While driving standard transmission cars, I have the most difficulty going from stopped into 1st gear, so here I could feasibly only need to do that once per outing! Once I overcame the left side of the road, and the transmission, I would have to tackle that great unknown: the traffic. So for the time being, my inner daredevil is staying quietly subdued and strapped into the back seat while our trusty driver, Prasad, deals with the chaos around us.