Last Sunday (Aug-25), I was traveling by car from Lucknow to Ayodhya, and something interesting happened with me on the road that I want to share with you all. My road experience began when I started my journey around 8 a.m. After driving for about an hour, I reached the first tollgate, where something blocked the road and diverted traffic to a side road. We followed the detour, but after driving a few meters, we encountered a railway crossing. The road was a two-lane street with a central divider, and there was no shoulder or side road available for vehicles that were attempting to drive on the left side.
Chaos at the Crossing:
As it was morning, a goods train was passing by, and it took about 10 minutes to fully cross. Meanwhile, traffic started piling up behind us, creating a frustrating road experience with vehicles stopping bumper-to-bumper. Suddenly, an e-rickshaw driver, trying to be clever, began overtaking on the wrong side, crossing the central divider. At first, we ignored it, as it was just one vehicle, but soon more vehicles followed the e-rickshaw’s lead. Impatient drivers completely blocked both sides of the road before the railway gate opened.
I initially thought this issue was only on our side of the gate, but I was wrong. When the gate finally opened, there was no movement for several minutes. Concerned about the delay, I asked my driver why we weren’t moving. I decided to step out of the car to see what was going on. Also Read : Hydroplaning or Aquaplaning on roads causes and consequences.
To my surprise, vehicles completely blocked both sides of the road, leaving no space to move forward. Drivers were honking their horns at the railway crossing, trying to signal each other, but there was no one to manage the traffic.
Another train was scheduled to pass after a while, but the road remained blocked due to the chaos and some drivers’ lack of road knowledge—or perhaps their overconfidence.. Eventually, police or RPF officers arrived and managed to clear a few vehicles (around 10 to 20) from one side to close the gate. Luckily, I was the 8th vehicle in line, so I managed to get through.
But this Road experience left me with some questions:
– Are these the rules in India?
– Is this the way we handle road traffic?
– Is this the right way to use our roads?
I was surprised by the entire situation. Have any of you faced similar problems on the road?