Honking Without Ire

Driving in India isn't like driving in the States.

Roads are narrow, pedestrians are plentiful, and the "rules of the road" are far more organic, and in some ways civil.  In larger cities like Mumbai or Chennai, cars, autos, motorbikes, scooters, and trucks clog the roads.  If you haven't been to a large Indian city and seen the traffic for yourself, it is a thing to behold.  Here's a snapshot of sample traffic in Chennai...

When you first experience this kind of traffic, it may appear chaotic.  Cars aren't in their lanes, there's constant honking, and vehicles are often only a couple inches apart -- quite literally.  While Gangtok isn't as crowded as Chennai, the streets are extremely narrow, and in addition to all the vehicles, shared with pedestrians.  The picture below was taken from the back seat of a taxi driving out of downtown Gangtok.  The really amazing thing about this street is that it is 2-way. When a car comes from the opposite direction, there isn't room for pedestrians and they have to move all the way over to allow passage of the cars.

In both Chennai and Gangtok, these crowded and narrow roads work.  The chaos we westerners perceive is, in fact, a remarkably efficient means of getting a lot of vehicles and people through a small area.  The secret is in the honking.

In Inda, you are expected to honk to let others know you are there.  Nearly every truck (called "Goods Carriers") has a custom painted "Blow Horn" request on their back gate.  Here are a few examples...

Trucks know they are probably going to be a bit slower than the smaller and more nimble taxis.  On narrow streets, curvy mountain highways, and everywhere in between, cars are passing each other _all the time_.  In the States, it is relatively uncommon to pass another car on a one-lane road.  In India it is expected.  No one gets upset that there's a slow car in front of them, they just pass them.  When passing them, as the truck has requested on its tailgate, the passing car taps its horn and the truck moves to make room.

Honking is a form of communication between drivers in India.  It is not something done to express anger, like it often is in the States.  In the traffic snarls of Chennai, squeezing past a car in front of you is not problem, just tap on your horn so that the car in front knows you are there.  Between cars, you can almost think about honking as a means of echo-location, informing other drivers that might not see that you are there.

In Gangtok, roads are rarely straight for long.

         

Drivers will honk their horn as they near a blind corner to tell other drivers, and pedestrians, that they are there.  This pro-active, non-ire-inspired form of communication is essential to these narrow, often congested roads working so well.