Movement in India - or I should say movement in Delhi translates to - get there as fast as you can! which in reality turns into a big mush of cars with everyone honking and no one really gets over 60km hence everyone is always late! lol, when I first got the Delhi the traffic drove me nuts! I would cringe with all the nonsense honking, and jerky braking but after being here for a couple of weeks, a) I'm getting used to it and b) I'm starting to see that there's a method to all the craziness that lurks beneath the surface. Take for example the honking, if your new here it just sounds like alot of noise, people honking and honking, it sounds rude and abrasive but theres actually an etiquette to honking here, let me explain it to you.
1- a short honk = hey just letting you know I'm here
2 - multiple short honks = hey just letting you know I'm trying to over take you so please move to the side OR to pedestrians or opposite traffic = hey I see you and I know you see me so I'm not letting you in so don't move forward buddy
3. - a single honk that lasts btw 3 - 5 seconds = hey I already warned you I was here, maybe you didn't hear me so move
4. - a single honk that lasts btw 5- 7 seconds = HEY buddy Its time for you to move, stop being a slow poke and hit the gas a little!
5 - a single honk that lasts more than 7 seconds (importance/frustration increases as length of horn increases) = HEY BUDDY LEARN HOW TO DRIVE or HEY BUDDY THE LIGHT'S GREEN...MOVE IT or BUDDY GET THE F%&^ OUT OF MY WAY or BUDDY...MOVE!
So these would be my classifications of the Delhi Honking system, oh and as I've experienced first hand - if theres any kind of light fender bender, both parties roll down the windows....argue about who hit who...tell each other to learn how to drive...and they drive off. No police, no insurance, no names exchanged. Just a few short words about driving etiquette and they're on their way. That definitely doesn't happen in Toronto!! but on the plus side, the honking kind of replaces the need for road rage, if you look at people their quite calm while driving, they let their horns do the talking.
As for the Toronto mentality of "pedestrians have the right of way" yaaa that doesn't apply in India. Here the biggest car has the right of way, and as a pedestrian you must tread carefully, but I've noticed that confidence helps. Just stick out ure hand, life you head high and walk, if you show nervousness or doubt, they wont let you pass, but no one really gets over 60km so its not too difficult for them to brake. confidence = power when it comes to crossing the road :D
Movement here = chaos, but its manageable chaos don't ask me how but after getting used to the traffic you realize theres a method to the chaos, and here things just work themselves out :D
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