Mumbai Traffic

Even though I’ve visited the city several times, Mumbai traffic always surprises and fascinates me. For those who’ve never seen it, imagine a relatively busy 2-lane street with sidewalks somewhere in the US, then replace a third of the cars with trucks and another third with rickshaws, three-wheeled taxis, and bicyclists. Next for the drivers, remove any concept of right-of-way, separate lanes, or ‘safe distance’ between vehicles, requiring them to honk their horns constantly to avoid getting hit. Then take out the sidewalks so the pedestrians are in the street with the cars, and remove the median as well. That should give you some idea of what Mumbai traffic is like, I’ll try to post some pictures soon. I rather liked my uncle’s description of Mumbai driving, “you’ll be fine driving here as long as you don’t follow the rules.”