This is a photo from my archives, of a bustling street scene in New Delhi. When traveling in India it is important to suspend disbelief and place complete trust in your driver. Otherwise you’ll be having mini heart attacks several times a day.
The drivers are good and know how to navigate the crazy chaotic traffic. In only a small section of road be prepared to see cars, trucks, bicycles, motorbikes, a camel, an elephant and a cow sitting nonchalantly in the middle of the road. All other vehicles just ride around it. I witnessed this scene with all these vehicles and animals in a Jaipur street. And off course, masses of people on foot.
All road users use their hooters continuously. Below is an extract from my post Hooter Tooter:
An Indian driver hooting is something completely different. A hooter is used in the way a hooter should be used – well… almost maybe! It is used as often as one changes gears. Rather than an alert for danger, its meaning varies from “ready or not, here I come” to “you can slow down if you like but I am not” to “I am turning here you will need to slow down.” It’s the motoring equivalent of “excuse me please.”
The hooter in India is not seen as an offensive, rude or display of annoyance. And these are some of the busiest roads in the world. With so many cars travelling 24 hours a day, the gentle souls of India don’t waste precious time on aggression on the road, they just get on with living in the now!
