Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Driving me crazy....

The traffic in Chennai is one thing that really gets my blood boiling. It's a topic that I could go on and on about. But as difficult as it may be, I'm going to try to restrict my rants about traffic to no more than once a week. And, instead of lamenting about the state of things, I've decided to put them in the form of driving 'tips'. Who knows, maybe someday they can all be compiled into a little book and made compulsory reading in schools ;) ... so feel free to let me know if you have anything to add.

Starting with the very basic concept of COURTESY. For ultimately that's what good driving boils down to. Every move you make on the road must be made with the comfort of your fellow road users in mind. Anything you do that causes them annoyance or stress, or causes them to have to suddenly brake or swerve - is nothing but rudeness on your part.

And what if you're on the receiving end of this rudeness? As tempting as it is to get annoyed and try to 'get even', I'm afraid the only right thing to do is to take a deep breath .... and let it go. (well okay, maybe you can swear a bit - under your breath). Because if you do anything else, like try to slow them down or cut them off or keep your hand pressed to the horn, that makes you the rude one. It's not worth it. You're better than that. Just let them go (..... jerks )

And remember - driving is not a race. The point of it is to arrive at your destination safely - not to overtake the vehicle in front of you, or accelerate wildly to avoid catching a red light. Stay calm. Enjoy the journey.

I hope I don't sound too preachy. I know it is quite likely that you already know all of this and don't really need me to tell you. If you're already a courteous driver, kudos to you. But maybe you know someone who should read this - your driver, your staff, your friend, your friend's driver....? Maybe you can help get the message out there. Circulate it among your staff, email it to your friends, translate it for the drivers - spread the word.



Next week - Horns and high beams.

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