Saturday, May 24, 2008

The Unbeatable Hyderabadi

When it comes to breaking traffic rules no one can beat a Hyderabadi in either variety or sheer ingenuity. In fact, there are very few things a Hyderabadi can be beaten at. (However, nowadays it happens to be the 20-20 cricket we seem to be getting beaten at regularly. One can say not all of the Deccan Chargers are Hyderabadis. But then, the captain is a Hyderabadi. That alone is sufficient. But that is another story for a later time.)

Here are some of the most common traffic violations Hyderabadis routinely commit. Sometimes it appears a Hyderabadi motorist feels uneasy and restless if he hasn't broken at least one traffic rule every day.


1. The most common traffic violation is driving through the red light at traffic signals. They must be color blind or in a great hurry not to notice the red light.


2. The second most common traffic violation is driving without a helmet. It is several years since the helmet rule was brought in but half the two wheeler riders do not seem to know it. Some really don't know how to wear a helmet and hence carry it with them on their bike/scooters hanging at the back.


3. The third common violation is driving in the wrong lane. Some people don't believe in the lane system. They just want to go wherever they want to go in the shortest way possible even if it happens to be a one way road.


Of course, there are several other rules that the Hyderabadi doesn't believe in- riding triples, drunken driving, driving without headlights in the night, driving without driving licence and so on.


But two habits of Hyderabadis really irk me-One is driving a two wheeler without a helmet with the entire family hanging on to the bike and not stopping at a red light. It shows how responsible parents our Hyderabadi guys are. The other is not giving way to ambulances. I really do not understand why we don't give way to ambulances. It beats me.

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