How safe is travelling within India ?? Take advise fm US Govt website....tis so obnoxious !! i protest Mr/Ms US Govt !! wonder what you guys expect of travel !! if so comfort conscious, why move the a** !! sit at home....
"Travel by road in India is dangerous. A number of U.S. citizens have suffered fatal traffic accidents in recent years. Travel at night is particularly hazardous. Buses, patronized by hundreds of millions of Indians, are convenient in that they serve almost every city of any size. However, they are usually driven fast, recklessly, and without consideration for official rules of the road. Accidents are quite common. Trains are somewhat safer than buses, but train accidents still occur more frequently than in developed countries.
On Indian roads, the safest driving policy is to assume that other drivers will not respond to a traffic situation in the same way you would in the United States. For instance, buses and trucks often run red lights and merge directly into traffic at yield points and traffic circles. Cars, auto-rickshaws, bicycles and pedestrians behave only slightly more cautiously. Indian drivers tend to look only ahead and often consider themselves responsible only for traffic in front of them, not behind or to the side. Frequent use of one's horn or flashing of headlights to announce one’s presence is both customary and wise."
so much for safety of indian roads, but believe me or not, am a diehard fan of driving by road, my car has suffered for almost 45 k kms, still living !!
3 comments:
cant agree more. with sept 11 and others, feel afghanistan or bosnia is as good as americas in the security aspect. sooo live like there's no tomorrow !! live it up !!
Yes and no. They could have written it to be more diplomatic. However, you have to realize that Americans "expect" certain things. In particular, the traveler who can afford to get to India is probably at least middle class or higher. If they've never traveled much outside of the States, it's good to notify them that Indian traffic isn't like the surburban or urban reality they deal with.
I've been to China with a bunch of Americans (it was a cruise). I was amazed at how people freaked out over little things like being approached by merchants in the outdoor markets of Shanghai. I'd been to Shanghai before and, living in Asia, I took it in stride. But back on the ship I had one man just freak out over it. I pointed out he's in a foreign land with different norms, just smile, be nice and keep stepping if you don't want what they're selling. You don't want someone like him in India without a warning that traffic is different in India.
I live in Korea and they drive differently here too. I jumped right in and got a car a few months after I got here, but most foreigners here questioned me saying they could never drive here.
That may or may not be true because it requires you to break out of the mold you were raised in and try to adapt to another culture in a real instinctual way. I'm sure there have been traffic accidents here because the foreigner just couldn't let go of how they drive back home. That's a hard adjustment for a lot of people to do no matter where they're from.
Don't take it personal. The last thing you want there is a bunch of American travelers running about that have not a clue. It's probably dangerous for you.
hi expat
thats very nice of you to remind me that US govt is only doing this to rightsize the expecations which americans carry while touring other countries....
hey, i visited your blog as well, cute one !! you're quite a traveller, keep going !!
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