Demons on 3-wheelers..

Hi folks.. Well, I always swear by the saying "A pen is mightier than a sword" and here on I make a sincere attempt to pen down my thoughts for the very first time as a blog and being a novice at this, I hope not to put the readers to a deep slumber. :)

After the disclaimer, here is something that I chose to write ,among millions of other things that keeps whizzing in my brain 24x7. With no introduction to the topic,I straight away take you to the core of the issue. Of late,this has been one of the concerns that keeps my brain ticking all the time.

Being a resident of Bangalore, anyone would understand what its like to be stuck on a mind-blogging traffic jam at 9 AM . This is not uncommon ,what's with all the 2-wheelers,cars,BMTC buses moving ahead neck-to-neck to reach their destinations on time. Even then, most of them are aware of the danger that can occur by hurrying up amidst that jam. But there is one category of transport that can slide in across every nook n corner of the busy road being ignorant of all the rules and road manners or whatever it is. And thats none other than the auto rickshaws. I sometimes wonder how these auto-drivers manage to turn their vehicle to a full 90 degrees and get ahead of all the other vehicles just to cross the road once the signal goes green! In doing so,they are least bothered about the 2-wheelers or any other vehicles for that matter,that are behind or front or sidewards.

Auto-drivers sometimes just forget the whole scenario and pretend as though they rule the roads. From my personal experience, I feel so outraged by the behavior of these auto drivers.For example,if an auto is empty and the driver is slowly moving looking out for any passengers suddenly on finding one they speed up to reach the person. But is the person riding behind aware of the auto driver's mind? And yeah,you might think what are the indicators for? Heavens! I dont think the auto-drivers are even aware that exists! All they do is suddenly turn the auto to stop and WHAM! the person behind goes mad. This is not something that only I have experienced,I have seen numerous instances when such a thing has happened. But who is to be blamed? The auto-drivers get off the auto and manage to get their supporters out of the blue..What happens to the person who was hit? He stands there just to witness the cheap verbal talk that the auto-driver throws on him.

Another concern is the smelly exhausts of an auto..Man!Did the auto ever undergo an Emission test? U can see a mixture of all the poisonous and obnoxious gases swirling out of the exhaust pipe of an auto. Ee-yuk! I am so scared of these auto-rickshaws..its just inexplicable. Now,its not only the person who is hit by any auto,I pity the passengers who travel inside too. Once my colleague and I happened to hire an auto from Banashankari to Residency road. Normally,it would take atleast 20-25minutes to reach. But that day we reached Residency road in 10 min! Can you believe it? I felt like I had experienced the roller-coaster ride of my life. Even the one in Disneyland will be beaten thumbs down by this auto. On reaching my office,we paid the driver and asked him to slow down in life atleast for the sake of his family. But it seemed like the message had hit wooden ears! He just strode off without pondering over what we had said.

Nevertheless,I do not say all auto-drivers are demons. There are a good number of people who stick to the rules and carry their passengers as safely as possible. God bless them for that!

As these merciless auto-drivers continue playing with the lives of the passengers,it wont be long before the population of Bangalore experiences a sudden dip. Hundreds are killed everyday.. Apart from the speed factor,fares is another concern. Its not even 7.30 PM in the evening and they demand excess fare from you. This is intolerable. Why should the 3-wheelers exist then,if only its ultimate motive is to cheat people and rip their pockets?Whoever is going to take necessary action against the reckless auto-drivers? The question remains unanswered.

This issue was something that was going on in my mind from many days and I found it's better to write about it. Well, that's all for now. I hope some awareness is created among the auto-drivers about the traffic norms and the safety of people. Then atleast, the traffic woes may cease to exist and commuting will be a pleasure for Bangaloreans.