Driving in Delhi is supposed to be maddening; it all depends on the perspective. Having to drive everyday more than 50 kilometers each way from home to work and back everyday pushed me into thinking more about driving and how I can benefit from the long drives through the maze of traffic, the noise, the chaos, the vehicles in all forms and speeds coming and going in both directions on the road.

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The first thing I realized soon was due to sufficient experience in driving, it is more sub conscious driving rather than being conscious of it. It is something like walking or running when you do not plan and take steps; your sub conscious does the job for you. The sub conscious is great, it takes care of our movements and keeps us most of the times out of trouble. In fact the moment one becomes conscious of what one is doing one is prone to make mistakes. So let the subliminal take care of us.

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As with every aspect of life, driving can also help us in the path of philosophy. Here are some random thoughts that I have been having as I drive along the road.

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Right lane-middle lane-left lane on the left side of the road

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Which lane does one drive in; right lane versus middle lane versus left lane? As we drive we clearly see the plus and minuses of the three lanes.

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Right lane: Fastest lane in India but remember there may sometimes be broken down vehicles, parked cars with drivers talking on the mobile or even cows grazing on the grass that has grown on the divider. The problem becomes acute especially at bends when the occupation of the lane is not visible. At the same time, overtaking vehicles have only one choice, to overtake you from your left. That makes it a better choice as we need to worry only about one side of our driving.

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Left lane: Slowest lane in India but remember again that there may be parked vehicles, broken down vehicles, very slow vehicles such as tractors, animal drawn vehicles etc. Also we must remember that the left lane has a higher probability of objects such as nails, broken glass, etc. which may cause damage to the vehicle. Sometimes the road conditions on this lane are also not that good. As to overtaking vehicles you have only your right side to worry about.

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What about the middle path, the middle lane. Seems to be the best choice in terms of speed and driving pleasure. The only problem is we have to live with vehicles overtaking us from both right and left and that needs utmost care. Also the probability of the middle lane being blocked is rather small and hence perhaps the safest.

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Pot holes and memory

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There are roads with pot holes and pot holes with roads! Pot holes on the roads come in various sizes and depths and sometimes there is a single pot hole or a group of pot holes who form a family of pot holes. Some are deep and narrow while others are broad and not too deep. Of course there are also pot holes which are deep and broad which is more like a ditch. So when we drive on the roads it is important to keep track of the pot holes on the route. Some pot holes are permanent features on the route while some appear and disappear. These pot holes help us in improving our memory as we need to remember and recall the positions and dimensions of these pot holes as we drive along the path. This is also a subliminal effect as our sub conscious mind takes control of our driving to avoid many of these old pot holes which are a part of our memory. Some of the pot holes appear in combinations which require us to improve our driving skills so that we can position ourselves around the individual pot holes to save the car’s shock absorbers and also avoid the next one as we approach it.

 

Lane driving versus line driving

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Traffic is supposed to follow lane driving and it is expected that vehicles indicate any changes in the lane before embarking on lane changes. You may have noticed that many drivers follow line driving instead of lane driving. They ensure that their vehicle is perfectly centred on the line and so occupy two adjacent lanes. They are adept at this skill and follow it very strictly as they drive along giving little thoughts on its impact on the traffic on the road.

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Learning psychology while driving

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As we drive along we find different types of drivers; some who are happy driving at a good constant speed, some who zig-zag along cutting through the traffic, some who cannot wait to honk constantly whether required or not and checking intermittently if by any chance the horn has broken down, some who are lost in thoughts and drive at a constant slow speed which is usually the fastest lane, and some who are on their mobile even typing Whatsapp messages or viewing youtube, etc. The way of driving can give us a lot of information about the driver.

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The confident drivers hardly need to honk; they can anticipate very well the traffic as it flows along and adjust their vehicle’s speed and position automatically without having to warn the others. Theyare also the calm people who are almost in control of their lives. They do not get agitated when another vehicle overtakes them or cuts across them. They have a smile on their face and wonder what this hurry is all about, saving a minute or two so that the same people can waste an hour gossiping! We can be quick but need not hurry.

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Then there are those who keep honking and who do not wish to even waste a few seconds to overtake the cars in front. They are under stress and always in a hurry to reach the destination even at the cost of putting their and other’s lives in danger. They think all others are driving too slowly and that they have more important things to do. Intermittent honking is an indication of lack of confidence in driving and shows that they are unable to weave through the traffic keeping others’interests also in mind. It also indicates that the driver is perhaps under stress and looks at the world to be shouted at rather than understood.

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There are the slow drivers who seem to have no cares in the world or have left too early for their destination. They are also least concerned about the jam that they may be causing due to their driving habits. But who cares!

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There are some who cannot take their eyes off their mobiles even while driving oblivious to the danger to themselves and the others on the road. They seem to suffer from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

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On the whole it is a real life video game of driving, manoeuvring, avoiding stationary and moving targets, animate and inanimate objects, and keeping calm not allowing the blood pressure to riseand keeping a smile on one’s face! At many places it is a battle of nerves!

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Right and left

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In some countries the traffic keeps to the left while in some other countries it keeps to the right. In some places in our country right and left are right sorry left! Some people think that even the right lane of the road has a right and a left and so they can drive on the left of the right lane or on the right of the left lane. So you have fractal system where the main road has a left and a right lane.

Then both the right and left lanes have their own right and left which in turn have their right and left and so on. So here is advanced mathematics for the traffic. In all this when one is driving one does not know whether one should be driving on the left of the left lane or the right of the left lane .... At these times indicators or flashing lights of what normally we will conclude as wrong direction driving comes to help. This way the person driving on the right (correct) lane indicates to the person driving on his wrong lane his/her intention and hopefully avoids a direct confrontation with the incoming traffic.

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Music on the move

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Listening to music while driving is enjoyable. Of course one has to be careful in the choice of music. Some music has a calming effect while others may make one more aggressive. I have realised that the calming music can actually increase one’s sense of compassion to others on the road. One starts to feel for the hurrying cars, the honking cars, the zig-zagging cars etc. May be the drivers have perhaps had a bad beginning of the day or the day has been stressful for them. In either case one feels for them and wishes that tomorrow will be better for them and that the honking does not continue into shouting on reaching home or office.

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Driving on Delhi and roads in the National Capital Region provide us with opportunities to improve our memory, make us more aware and attentive, improve our reaction times and makes us more philosophical for which we must be grateful. All these will keep us young in mind. It is all finally a perspective.