05:00AM, May 09, 2011, Somewhere between Mannuthy and Vadakkenchery on NH47 in Kerala.
I was driving my Silver Punto, rushing towards Bangalore for a week long vacation. The road narrows down from a well-paved 4-lane road to a horribly paved, dingy two laned road a while before Mannuthy on NH47, while approaching from Ernakulam side. Despite being too early in the morning, the traffic was messy around Mannuthy. The road got emptier as we crossed Pattikad. I had an uneasy feeling right from beginning of the day. It started pouring down as we crossed Mannuthy. My kitten was crying through the time (yes! she was traveling with us to Bangalore).
A while into the 2-lane driving, I started noticing trucks in the opposite direction driving ruthlessely - they came straight head-on, and the onus was on me to avoid an accident! I slowed down, so that I get more time to save ourself from an accident. Trucks in the opposite direction were too rash, and one could feel the effects of overnight driving on them. LCVs - like Mahindra Pickups - too were very rash.
I usually prefer early morning and late night driving, for the simple reason that traffic would be thin - and private vehicles would be very less at that time. I find two-wheeler drivers the most dangerous lot on highways, followed by Autorikshaws and Private buses - these known dangers can be avoided by starting early in the morning. But this time around, early morning driving was proving more cumbersome. I was dead tired by the time we stopped for breakfast at Karumathampatty, near Coimbatore. Perhaps for the first time I regreted starting early in the morning..
The problem was compounded by the fact that this was a Monday morning - so many people were returning to their workplaces. Truckers were surely slipping asleep - a word of caution to people who drive early - overtake with care. The trucker in the opposite direction might be asleep - do not depend on his reflexes. It is said that most of the accidents happen at such hours - between 5 and 6, while one feels the most sleepy.
Note: This post was composed and left in Drafts for a long time...
I was driving my Silver Punto, rushing towards Bangalore for a week long vacation. The road narrows down from a well-paved 4-lane road to a horribly paved, dingy two laned road a while before Mannuthy on NH47, while approaching from Ernakulam side. Despite being too early in the morning, the traffic was messy around Mannuthy. The road got emptier as we crossed Pattikad. I had an uneasy feeling right from beginning of the day. It started pouring down as we crossed Mannuthy. My kitten was crying through the time (yes! she was traveling with us to Bangalore).
A while into the 2-lane driving, I started noticing trucks in the opposite direction driving ruthlessely - they came straight head-on, and the onus was on me to avoid an accident! I slowed down, so that I get more time to save ourself from an accident. Trucks in the opposite direction were too rash, and one could feel the effects of overnight driving on them. LCVs - like Mahindra Pickups - too were very rash.
I usually prefer early morning and late night driving, for the simple reason that traffic would be thin - and private vehicles would be very less at that time. I find two-wheeler drivers the most dangerous lot on highways, followed by Autorikshaws and Private buses - these known dangers can be avoided by starting early in the morning. But this time around, early morning driving was proving more cumbersome. I was dead tired by the time we stopped for breakfast at Karumathampatty, near Coimbatore. Perhaps for the first time I regreted starting early in the morning..
The problem was compounded by the fact that this was a Monday morning - so many people were returning to their workplaces. Truckers were surely slipping asleep - a word of caution to people who drive early - overtake with care. The trucker in the opposite direction might be asleep - do not depend on his reflexes. It is said that most of the accidents happen at such hours - between 5 and 6, while one feels the most sleepy.
Note: This post was composed and left in Drafts for a long time...
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