"Horn OK Please"

Driving here in India is completely different than in the States. Not only do people drive on the other side of the road and on the other side of the car like in South Africa, they have a completely different sense of personal space. I understood that latter part to mean that there is not the 3 feet of personal space that we are used to having between people. But now I realize that it also transfers to driving too!


There is no personal space when driving. Seriously. There may be lanes...sometimes...but that doesn't mean that people drive in them. It is common to float all over the different lanes, cutting off people like it's nothing.

When you overtake someone, you use the horn. You honk when they are in your way. You honk when you want them to move over so you can pass. You continue to use the horn the entire time when you are driving. The funny thing is, it is written on the back of cars and trucks that they prefer you use the horn and honk at them! Crazy, but it's true. "Horn OK Please". I realized that if you are not honking, you are going too slowly and the people are honking at you to get out of the way! At night, though, you get to use your high beams, "Use Dipper at Night." You flash and flash and flash the high beams like there's no tomorrow. Who cares if it is annoying and blinding. It's how you drive here. But don't worry, you can use the horn all you want as well. lol

Now, I thought driving in Mumbai was crazy. But after driving from New Delhi to Agra for the Taj (I'll do a separate post for this), I realize the drivers in Mumbai have a lot of room in comparison! What would be considered a traffic jam in the States would be a normal intersection here. I'm really not joking! There was one intersection where I just watched in amazement as we battled our way through.  At one point, there was a motorcycle with 2 guys on it that was sandwiched perpendicular in front of us and another vehicle. You know it's pretty close when the motorcyclist freaked out for a sec (considering the lack of personal space they are used to). I swear they only had about an inch on either side of them before they would have become a smooshed sandwich. But, they made it through, and then we honked our way through right after.

One of the craziest sights, although quite common, was to see an entire family on a motorcycle! I wish I had a photo to share of this. The father was driving. The little kid (about 2 years old) sitting in front of the dad with his little hands on the tank. The mother sitting side-saddle on the back cradling a baby in her arms.Wow! Then just 10 seconds later I saw the same scenario again. I thought it was the same family, but it was an entirely different one!!