Do 5 seconds matter?

Scene 1: a typical traffic signal in Bangalore.



The countdown meter below the lights seems to be moving agonizingly slow as it goes below the 10 sec mark. A few rickshaws startup, the two-wheelers hit the first gear and surge, cabbies honk impatiently, the roadside "genvin raybon" seller moves towards the median.

As the clock reaches the 5 second mark, all hell breaks loose. It does not matter if the lights are still red, they will anyway turn green in a few seconds right?

what is it with us that compels us to go for green 5 seconds early?



Scene 2: An Intersection



Traffic is streaming from one direction. you need to cut through the traffic. You can see that the last of the stream is 10 vehicles away and then there is a gap before the next stream starts. But then you decide you've waited long enough and now its your turn to move. So you move, the stream slows down. You have successfully blocked a car. Your next target is the rickshaw next to the car. He relents, although the rickshaw's nose (headlight) seems to be smelling your front tyres ! But you did not comprehend the bus on the extreme lane. He has never given way to anyone not does he intend to do so till his last breath. So you are forced to stop. A few bikies have done a 90 degree turn to get past you and now do not know in which direction they were supposed to go ! By now the gap between the two streams has closed and the second stream is piling up.

Some lugheads behind you decided to follow you and have successfully blocked the stream completely.

Hmm...how do we solve this problem? Simple, blame poor traffic management and bad infrastructure. Cops ought to do their jobs correctly, right?



Scene 3: A long stream of vehicles on a median road waiting to move



Along comes a rickshaw from the wrong side intent on occupying first spot in the queue. Then come a dozen or so bikies vrooming past the "idiots" who are wasting their time standing in line. Why just use the wrong side of the road? let us also use the footpaths, after all, the vehicle population has grown so much that hardly anyone walks these days, right?

Of course, when it is time to move, the "lords" at the top of the queue have the right of way, so the "idiots" waiting in line need to wait longer.