During this Indian leg of my journey, I am travelling by train, taxi, tuk tuk, rickshaw and coach. As I write, the sweet dusty rajistan air blows through my hair as we speed along the open highway.
India’s roadways perhaps don’t hold the best of reputations, but maybe the UK’s highway agencies could learn lessons from these so-called ‘hellish’ highways:
– Traffic lights waste valuable fuel by forcing drivers to stop and start continuously. Employ a bloke on a platform to direct the flow from time to time, sure, but otherwise why waste your money erecting them?
– Multiple lane motorways allow for overtaking, but why not keep it to one lane and go Indian styley? As long as there’s a gap of at least three meters, use the oncoming lane to hasten your journey. Just nip back in when you see a haulage truck heading for you.
– Bovine transportation can be fraught with challenge. Instead of loading a truck, consider letting them wander along the road by themselves. It’s not called the ‘free’way for nothing!
– Car pooling is all the rage back in the UK. Drivers can save the environment, share petrol costs, meet friends… But why stick to two or three people? You’ll comfortably squeeze five onto a rickshaw and at least eleven in one tuktuk.
– So serene are the Indian highways that road rage barely exists. Any problems whatsoever are quickly solved by liberal application of the horn. For blissful traveling, some Indians even install novelty musical horns.
– And finally… No license? No problem.
What a lesson for us Western drivers, eh?
Highway of hell? I think not. These roads are heavenly beacons of good practise from which we can all learn.
