Three from the road

Okay, so in last class we learnt how to cross the road. In this class we shall learn what to watch out for when driving.

1. The airplane landing gear

Modus Operandi:

This is frequently observed in non-geared two wheelers. At the first sign of traffic, the rider (most probably a saree clad lady), will put out both legs from the scooter in mid-air in anticipation of stopping; Just like the aircraft landing gear that comes out right before landing.
But this person will rarely stop and most probably will continue cruising down the middle of the road with their legs out and at the slowest possible speed that will still allow forward movement.

Why they are bad:
The more hilarious they look the more dangerous they are. Just like circus clowns brrrrr.

How to overcome them:
Overtake them from a careful distance at the first opportunity. Unless you want to loiter behind them clicking pictures to show your friends

2. The case of the invisible bus-stop

Sounds like a story from the memoirs of Sherlock Holmes eh?

Modus Operandi:
A bus-stops is supposedly meant to be a pre-determined location by the side of a road which will allow passengers to alight and hop onto buses conveniently, while allowing other traffic to pass by smoothly. Well or so the grand plan was. Only, someone forgot to tell the bus drivers this.
Resulting in chaos every time you happen to trail behind a bus. The bus at times decides to stop right in the middle of the road without any warning, most of the times parallel to the bus stand, but some way away from it, thereby stalling all traffic and if you are driving for the first time, it will give you an opportunity to crash into the bus.

That is not all, it may happen that a convoy of buses have stopped by the road and one of them suddenly decides to pull out of the convoy - again without any warning - at an akward angle.

Why they are bad:
The bus, by design, is a large vehicle. Due to this property that it possesses, any trailing vehicle has no means to see what lies ahead of the bus. Therefore your driving solely depends on staring at the tail lights of the bus. Any sudden moves by the bus can cause havoc!

How to overcome them:
Memorise the bustops on your regularly taken routes, the bus stopping pattern must become a part of your muscle memory.
Once this is the case, then you can use the bus stopping pattern to your advantage. laugh at the stalled traffic as you whizz by!

3. Maruti Ritz

Alright time for what may seem to some like a sweeping generalisation, but rest assured it isn't.

If you ever see a Maruti Ritz in front of you, then be aware that you are in for a torrid 5-10 minutes. God forbid you should have one in front of you on a highway, then you can happily shift to 2nd gear and enjoy the scenery.
The car itself looks like it has recently acquainted its rear with a truck's front, and this could be a reason for its weird behaviour.

For those of you who own and drive a Ritz and who at this moment may have certaing negative feelings creeping in your mind about me, I have just one thing to say: Get a new car and go get a driving instructor!