City of Drivers

It’s my third week in Mumbai, and I do believe I’m getting the hang of things here. I can actually sit back and relax on the way to work while our driver navigates the streets of Navi Mumbai. Navi Mumbai is what they call “new” Mumbai… north of the bigger metropolis of Mumbai. As is said in the entire Atlas, this is an extremely large city.

Navigating the city is truly an art that should not be attempted by the novice driver – or the experienced Western driver for that matter. My first excursion into Mumbai traffic was my ride from the airport to my hotel in the middle of the night. One would not expect too much traffic on the roads at 1 am in the morning. In Mumbai, there is traffic 24/7!

Our driver on that trip was exceptionally experienced – or aggressive – not sure which is most applicable! The honking of the horn at each vehicle he passed, each motorbike and even at pedestrians was unnerving to say the least. I hung on to the handle in the back of the car as tightly as I could for the hour plus drive to the hotel.

While it has never been my habit to “buckle-up” in the back seat of an SUV, my work colleague explained that, number one it is “The Law” here and number two – well, let’s just say I now ALWAYS buckle up in the back seat of our taxi sedans/SUVs.

I am so glad I had my seat belt on. I don’t think we ever were in only one lane. There are traffic lanes, but as it was explained to me, those may or may not be adhered to. The same with traffic laws – they are there and should be obeyed, which also is optional. Traffic lights also are optional depending on the time of day.

During peak traffic hours, generally everyone waits their turn at the red light. During other times of the day or night, if there is no other traffic, then red lights are definitely optional and you don’t want to be caught waiting for the light to turn green as you will be flashed, honked and honked at some more until you take the plunge! And just as an FYI – pedestrians do not have the right of way! The bumping of a slow moving street crossing person is almost considered de riguer… pedestrians move, hop, jump and run out of our way.

On the backs of trucks, buses and other large vehicles you will see signs telling other drivers to “honk please” – that means to honk so they know you want to pass, go around or move into their lane. And most amazingly, they do! The constant honking is the Mumbai driving anthem.

The brakes on vehicles apparently are very well maintained as each stop is on incredible short notice. When a sign on the back of a truck/vehicle says stay back, it doesn’t mean what we think it means. It means you can get within six inches of the bumper sometimes less during rush hour.

The cars, three-wheeled taxis, motorbikes and all other road transportation flows together like a river over rocks, but none of the rocks bump, hit or run into each other. The sheer number of vehicles on the streets at any one time is cause for fear, yet still there is a pattern to the driving here – it is chaotic yet with a kind of elegance you will never find on US highways and byways.

Cars inch up for space, if there is an open spot that one can squeeze through, we squeeze, if there is just enough room on the inside of the highway, we take it. If there are three-wheeled taxis in front or beside us, the driver honks and they move out of our way. Motorbikers weave their way through cars like thread through a seam of pants.

Those first few days of driving to and from the office were fearsome! I knew that we would crash, roll over a small taxi or crush a pedestrian walking against the traffic. But it didn’t happen. The driver is an artist, he knows how to use his horn, flash his brights and weave his way through rush hour traffic sometimes only inches from the vehicle next to us.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, I am able to sit back, look out the window at the scenery, construction, people (take your choice) or read my paper with some ease, knowing that I will get to the office on time and in one piece.