Never in my life have I wanted to rip out a horn so badly and beat somebody with it. India has got to be the most obnoxious group of horn-blowing drivers I have ever encountered. My friend Lauren, who came up with the title for this blog, and I figured out that there is a legitimate system of honks used. We asked our driver about it and he had no idea what we were talking about. He said he just does it. I figured we do lots of stuff like that without realizing why or how. He did tell us though, that there are 3 things needed to drive in India; a good horn, good brakes, and good luck. After only an hour, I understood why. There are no real lanes that people drive in. You just drive. There are tons of motorcycles/scooters and they just weave in and out of cars like it is nothing. Well, cars do that too, actually. And, although there are "rules", they are not really followed. So many people commit illegal acts of driving, but you never see a cop do anything about it. It's almost "normal" now.
For example. We stopped to take a picture of a fort one day. Krrish didn't want to go up farther to turn around, so he just turned around and went back down the road going the wrong way!! That was seen quite often. People rarely signal, lights are not followed. We went on red lights plenty of times, but it was "ok" as long as nobody else was coming. Oiy. I was happy I was not the one driving. I remember saying I thought Kazakhs were bad drivers. Now I realize they are not. India wins that one hands-down.
So, let me share the code of honking with you:
1 honk = I'm approaching and/or about to pass you, so be aware.
2 honks = please move over or do not step out in front of me. If used as long honks instead of short ones, it shows irritation, such as "Get the heck out of my way!"
3 honks = a combo: 1,2 means I'm coming, please move over. a 2, 1 means move over now, I am passing.
If you were really getting in the way, then you got 2 honks, a pause, 2 more honks, then a single. This pretty much said, "listen ass, move out of my way NOW, b/c I am passing whether you like it or not". And the honking rarely stops. I was awake until about 2 am and would hear the honking. One night, I woke up around 4 am to go to the bathroom, and it was quiet. But, when I woke up at 6:30 for the day, it had started again. So, there is a small window of sanity from the honking.
Ah yes. Living here in State College is an interesting experience dealing with international drivers. It's the worst in August when all the new students arrive in town. Since there are so many different nations that come to PSU, it is absolutely crazy since everyone has different driving styles. Then add the different driving styles of different states into the mix and that makes for a lot of fender-benders.
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