Driving in Pune

Some observations while driving in Pune
Pune has grown a lot in the past five years. The increase in population as well as disposable income of the populace, the profile of its citizens and the average age of drivers has changed. The boom in IT followed by manufacturing has put a lot of money in peoples pockets. This also added to the floating population. These are people who enter the city because they get a job here. They leave the city when they change jobs and move on to another city. With so many colleges and It companies the average age of the Puneite would be around 25.
After driving for so many years in Pune I have made some amusing observations:

• Be wary of special number plates - Vehicles having registration numbers like 555, 777, 999, 1234 or those with single digits are often driven by people who are of a different psychology. The ones that have a Marathi meaning such as 7171 (calligraphed to resemble Nana नाना) or 5151 (written to resemble Dada दादा) or 9113 (भाऊ), 4912 (पवार), 8491 (भाई) are also in the same category. The very fact that these people are ready to pay that extra amount to get a fancy registration number is a indicator of their way of thinking. These persons may unintentionally change lanes or suddenly accelerate or decelerate. While this may be unsettling for you these people do not make a big issue out of it.

• Check out these pictures published on the Team-BHP forum.

• Be wary of vehicles like Bolero, Scorpio or Tata Safari - These vehicles are usually driven by wannabe politicians who do not think twice before changing a lane, stopping in the driving lane or spitting out of the moving vehicle.

• Be aware of MH14 number plate - This rule observation applies to all types of vehicles. I have noticed that most of times the vehicles that cut lanes or try to squeeze into the gaps in the traffic are registered in MH14. this may be 'cos I drive in those typical areas like Hadapsar, Nagar Road and such. The MH14 thing may be due to the fact that many rural areas fall under MH14

• Bumper stickers - Vehicles having fabulous bumper stickers or rather rear wind screen stickers or graffiti can be a pain. The rear wind shield is typically heavily tinted and has a message like Raje (राजे), Aai Tujha Aashirvad (आई तुझा आशिर्वाद), Dadanchi krupa (दादांची क्रूपा). The dark tint on the glasses does makes it impossible to see beyond the vehicle.

• Cost of the vehicle - This one is interesting. If the vehicle in front of you is in a price range that's more than 10 lakhs you can be sure that the driver may irritate you. Incase this vehicle is behind yours in a slow moving traffic then he will irritate you even more. If such a vehicle is driven by a driver and the owner is not in the vehicle then be sure to expect even more irritation from him.