Tips for Walking On the Street in India
Walking is the most delightful way to get around if you don’t have far to go or else you have lots of time, because you can get to know a place much better than when you’re zipping around in a car. Every village, town and city has many little lanes that you will never discover any other way. In those lanes is much of the real life of India, where nothing is on display for the tourists. You can stop to chat with anyone you meet, take photos at your leisure, drop in to the local tea stall for a cup of club, join a local cricket game with the children or anything else that strikes your fancy. If you are in a car, vou miss all that because it’s so hard to break the momentum. Tramping around the countryside is another joy, but ask locally before getting too far off the beaten path.
Of course, you do need to be a bit careful. Walking is not always safe, especially in the cities and along busy roads any-where. Be attentive and defensive when walking on or across a road. India has the world’s highest incidence of traffic accidents. Injuries associated with motor vehicles pose a significant risk of serious disability or loss of life to both travelers and local residents. Traffic accidents, not any tropical disease, are the leading cause of death among travelers almost everywhere in India. But don’t be paranoid about it. Just be alert and careful. Also Visit – Holiday packages in India
Given the lack of skill of the average Indian driver, the general disinclination to obey traffic laws, and the sheer density of people and vehicles weaving in and around each other, it’s not surprising that India has a high accident rate. If any open place is available along the road, more than one person or vehicle is usually aiming for it. The incredible variety of vehicles sharing the same road-ways makes for utter chaos.
It always feels like open season on pedestrians in India. The only saving grace is that the traffic moves relatively slowly. Drivers frequently ignore one-way designations of roads and divided highways because they don’t like to go any farther than they have to (petrol is expensive), so you should never let your guard down. If you are crossing the road, always, always, always look both ways even on a supposedly one-way street. And if you are crossing at a corner, always look in all directions. Never assume that a one-way street is really only one way.
If there is a zebra crossing (i.e., a crosswalk), use it, but don’t assume that all drivers will necessarily stop to let you cross. Subways and elevated walkways are sometimes available to get across some busy city roads, and it’s certainly safer to use them than to make a mad dash through the traffic.
An assortment of people, vehicles and animals moving at different speeds can make it really difficult to time your dash to the other side of the road. Having found an opening in the traffic, you may get part way across the road when suddenly a beggar or tout or a boy selling to ducks blocks your way to get your attention, or a bicycle veers in front of you, or an auto-rickshaw screeches to a halt in front of you to see if you want a ride—all completely unmindful of the bus bearing down on you at top speed. This sort of thing happens constantly. In crowded areas, drivers of every sort of vehicle often pass other vehicles and pedestrians with only an inch or two to spare.
Sidewalks in India, when there are any, are not always available for pedestrians. If they are not blocked by sleepers, beggars, families cooking lunch, itinerant vendors, illegal shops, bicycles, motor scooters, cows, buffaloes, sleeping dogs, piles of gravel, open ditches and other obstacles, then the local men have been using the adjoining walls as a toilet, rendering them unfit for use because of the horrendous stench.
Drivers coming up behind you usually honk to tell you to get out of their way. Unfortunately, they often wait until they are about three feet away from you to do so. But it’s even worse when they sneak up on you without honking, because if you happen to step to the side to avoid an obstacle just as they are passing you, the result could be disastrous. You’re much safer walking on the right side of the road facing the traffic so you can jump out of the way if necessary, even though Indians usually walk on the left side of the road going with the traffic. But even if you are walking on the right, bicycles and scooters may come up on you from behind if they are heading for a turn or a parking spot on the right side of the road. Glance over your shoulder whenever you hear a vehicle coming up you so you can move aside if necessary.
Whenever you are out walking at night, always carry a flashlight (“torch”) so you are easily visible to drivers who might not see you otherwise, especially in areas where many drivers don’t use lights. Of course, a flashlight is also useful in order to avoid tripping on uneven sidewalks, falling in uncovered ditches or stepping in undesirable substances.
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