Traffic
One thing that immediately overwhelms a new visitor to Bangalore is the traffic. Bangalore is a city of 9 million people. Prior to the huge influx of Information Technology people five years ago, the roads of this once sleepy retirement town were able to handle the comings and goings of everyday life. Today, crossing a road, with or without a traffic signal, can be hazardous to one’s health. If the vehicles don’t get you the air pollution will.

Traffic is a steady (35-40 mph) soup of cars, buses, trucks, two-wheelers (motor scooters & motorcycles), an occasional ox or horse drawn cart and zillions of autorickshaws, which are a three-wheeled motorcycles with canopies over the top. We suspect only 1 in about 50 vehicles would satisfy any notion of an emission control test. Clouds of smoke pour from exhaust pipes as well as an invisible cocktail of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and other stuff that would make an EPA agent’s skin crawl. It is a shame that the beautiful weather of Bangalore is under such an assault from the combustion engine.

Driving habits take a sharp departure from those we see in the States. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way. Lane lines are decorative. Although there are the occasional signs imploring “lane discipline,” such an expectation has only two chances of coming true….slim and none. When entering a busy road from a side street there is no pause to check for oncoming traffic. One simply hits the horn and drives into the flow of traffic.For all its chaos, traffic flows with the understood law that all pavement is fair game, left turn lanes from the right side of road is acceptable, and forward movement is the objective of all. And there is constant HORN honking. It can be used to indicate your approach, your displeasure with someone’s speed or road position or to simply announce that you are coming and all should be alert.