No its not VMS yet, its SMS Static Message Service. Just says "LANE DRIVING; SAFE DRIVING". Very costly signboard :)

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"Welcome to Bangalore. Bump ahead." :)

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Not that VMS systems are not necessary, but why are our babus so slow on working on policies & methods to halt vehicle population increase ?

We are not unique - there are so many examples out there all around the world. Some countries such as Germany, Netherlands & those in Scandinavia take pride in promoting & using bicycles or public transport whilst many others are already well on their way. We are yet to make any sort of a start, other than token efforts, such as the bus day event.

Dr.Subramanya had mentioned that BBMP would include peripheral bicycle tracks between Mekhri underpass & Hebbal flyover, but this never materialized. Even foot tracks & pedestrian conveniences along this stretch are not upto standards, despite the available width.

Is it not a question of too much democracy & freedom that is driving the country away from some harsh, realistic & inconvenient policy decisions ?

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Late Lateef's, after all the world is running at century ahead, we will wake up now!

any how lets hope it will do good for the public hopefully!

how much white collar babus bribed to produce that boards? open market corruption?

oh god! where the country heading?

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I also saw the message on sign board few days ago and couldn't help laughing. What a way to welcome people. May be it is our traffic police warning the visitors to brace up for a "bumpy ride"

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That Bump ahead welcome message is indeed pretty funny.

Though the warning about bumps should be on the static sign board. The VMS boards are there to convey such messages only. Road jammed ahead, or accident ahead.

But how much ahead, what alternative route to take - lets see if we will see such info as well.

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 Do we really have too much democracy?  We have elections once in 5 years.  After that there is no real accountability till about 1 year before the next election.  

On your other point - why would policy makers try and reduce cars when lifetime tax is one of the biggest contributors to the government coffers (along with apartment registration).  The more lucrative solution is to have even more cars and then spend 1000s of crores fixing the problem via underpasses and signal free roads.  

We will need to face daily gridlocks where people spend 2 hours for 3 or 4 km before we can hope for any change in thinking.  

Srivathsa

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Srivathsa :

Do we really have too much democracy?  I think the comments you made in later paras substantiate this !

1) People want to violate building bye-laws & put up constructions as they want. Is the system not coming up with senseless solutions such as aakrama-saakrama that pardons violation of laws ?

2) People want to drive cars & other private vehicles & ignore public transport. For this, they need wider roads. Are we not widening roads senselessly, cutting down many shady trees in the process ? Why is it that there are no priority measures being thought of to better the public bus system & restrain traffic growth ? Why is parking not being charged for ? Why is parking not being more strictly enforced in designated locations only, barring a few select city center areas, & that too without charges ? Thus, laid down policies & procedures of the land, such as NUTP-2006 are merely symbolic which none of the state govts or cities pay attention to or bother to follow.

3) Opposition parties & many citizen groups protest everytime when costs go up, though inflation is a worldwide phenomenon & India is not immune to tremors that effect global economy. Parties have lost elections on this count alone, & some states have rolled back petrol & diesel prices, absorbing costs of subsidy themselves. Is this not another case of giving away too much to people, harming the national economy in the process ?

No govt has the courage to face up to the challenges ahead & are merely following the motions dictated by convenience to win again each time. Some hard decisions are necessary, but who will take them & when ?

Democracy needs people to co-operate responsibly with administrations just as administrations need to co-operate with people, but here, political parties are going overboard to please the people everywhere & everytime, even if laws have to be bent !

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On a recent trip to Madurai by road, alongwith a business associate, I came across quite a few of these, particularly between Salem and Dindugal, put up by the NHAI (National Highway Authority of India). And, all they carried were typical homilies like 'don't drink and drive', 'fasten your seat-belt', and all in English. Even if they can possibly serve some purpose in some remote eventuality, I can't see this as a priority item to be spending good tax payer's money on, particularly given the city traffic scenario. Obviously, there are other factors coming into play in the decision making.
 

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Not a bad idea to have VMS, as long as there are enough of them and they are not indicating 'bump ahead' but actually suggesting alternate routes to take.

There is a VMS on Bellary road towards the airport placed right after getting off the Hebbal flyover. Now, lets say there was a jam ahead and the board indicated so. What are we to do? You are already on the only road to the airport. What if the same one was near mekhri circle telling people to take new BEL rd/Yelahanka to get to the airport? Or one near Hennur on Ring road suggesting the Hennur road/SH 104 to the airport?

The point being, there are a lot of things that are done for doings sake, magic box put in an ugly manner to call the place signal free, super wide roads with no lane markings or an idea of who will go where, footpaths with obstructions rendering them unwalkable, VMS boards put at useless locations, Policemen standing around hoping they can discipline road users etc etc.

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magic box put in an ugly manner to call the place signal free, super wide roads with no lane markings or an idea of who will go where, footpaths with obstructions rendering them unwalkable, VMS boards put at useless locations, Policemen standing around hoping they can discipline road users etc etc.

So true - Will our babus never be able to hit it right the first time on anything ?

Our system appears to breed practices that simply copy a few basics from elsewhere for starts, but never ever produce anything that is moulded appropriately for use here correctly. In short, no step/s towards managing anything for public use professionally can ever be expected at start & the same old nexus of "officials-contractors-overpayments-poorplanning-underperformance-etc" have to be overcome through protests-Pils-courts-etc every single time without fail !

How else can one explain all of the above ? I'm keeping my fingers crossed on how the Metro will be finally built & managed - at least here, DMRC has been exemplary, & shown others how to do it, thanks to Sreedharan. Another good example is highways development by NHAI, though there have been few instances of some hanky-panky.

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 When inching along Victoria road traffic at 10.30AM on a working day, the VMS board erected there tells you 'slow-moving traffic on Victoria road, Richmond road' - duh, do we need you to tell us that? And, anyway, do we have a choice with all the other routes also equally choked?

All that the traffic planning and enforcement authorities seem to be interested is in gimmickry, and, of course, making money.

 

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