12 October 2008

Crossing a highway in India. Frogger in real life!


It's incredible. Not only is there no crosswalk, or stoplight, but there aren't even any specified lanes for the traffic. The cameraman is reproducing what a pedestrian normally faces.
...traffic safety, which until now has been best summed up by local drivers as "good horns, good brakes, good luck".

Nor can most road users guess what type of vehicle they will face. Delhi alone has 48 different "modes of transport" including cows, elephants and camels, as well as cycle-rickshaws and SUVs...

"About 85% of all deaths on the roads are pedestrians and cyclists, not drivers. We do not design traffic management systems to separate different streams of traffic. In America this began in 1932."
I remember being a pedestrian in China about 20 years ago, and needing to cross wide streets jammed with moving bicycles. The key was to start walking at a steady pace, and the bicycle traffic would divide around you like a school of fish.

There is nothing similar to that in this video from India, which rather resembles a live-action version of the video game Frogger*. I found the video posted at Arbroath.

Want to play Frogger again? There's a flash version HERE. For newbies, you need to reach the far side of the screen using the four arrow keys. The first obstacle course is traffic on a street, which you need to navigate between. After resting on the median, you then need to cross the river by jumping onto lily pads and logs, avoiding crocodiles, and landing in one of the houses. A total waste of valuable time. Enjoy, Brian.

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