Sights of DFW Metro area

Sometimes as I drive around I just turn around and click a picture from my mobile phone. These pictures are not great in terms of quality, technicality or any such aspect. It is just hard cold truth of what I see... I shoot images such as these not to impress anyone, but just to document what I see as I drive around the city running errands and leading my daily life.

I have traveled 7 out of 50 states in the US and I must say that the best roads are in Texas. Though there is not much traffic like in East Coast or West Coast of the US, the roads here are something one needs to marvel at. It is amazing how the roads have been built and continue to be created. The above picture is of President George Bush Turnpike, a toll road on which one can see cars whizzing past at 70+ miles per hour. There are Multiple bridges built at many levels to separate traffic into different directions, exits, and entries. As you can see there are six different roads, each with at least three lanes in this picture.

Because Texas is still a sparsely populated state it is still possible to view an sunrise as we drive to work early in the morning.

Blogging from Bengaluru.....

I am finally back in Namma Bengaluru... after a long break of over two and a half years. I had heard only of the new problems and issues that the city was facing during these two years. Boy were they totally biased... you bet.... I took a spin around the city today in an auto and was surprised at the numerous good things that have happened to the city. The first thing is the notorious Bangalore traffic... and my experience is that yes the bottlenecks and chaos continue to reign the city but overall there is about 30-40 percent improvement in the road quality and general traffic speed.
That is something better than nothing. People who complain will do so even if they are given roads like airport runways... but believe me guys don't complain about Bangalore traffic or roads. I am quite certain you will notice the change once you land up here.
The ride is not totally smooth... but not as chaotic as before either. There has been great improvements in some stretches of roads while other roads have gone worse due to development works.
My verdict is that Bangalore has changed for the better... better roads, faster traffic, less snarls...

Goose as a traffic cop?

I read this interesting news item in today's Dallas Morning News and felt that I must share it with the readers of my blog. This is a everyday phenomenon in Rowlett city of Texas. A big goose helps cops in traffic management and ensuring that children are safe. The goose stands in the middle of the road and helps students cross the road. The children who were initially surprised to see this winged aquatic creature are not comfortable with it.

Since several months the goose has become so much part of the traffic and school scene that it has been named Sam by the friendly guards and school staff. It is completely intriguing how a wild goose is behaving so much human. Trained dogs and some species of birds are used to help in various human activities but a wild goose that too helping in managing traffic is unheard of. Truly the world is such a diverse and intriguing place.

The story just doesn't end there. Read on to know the incredible story of losing a pet and getting it back after 16 years. This is truly a story worth reading repeating. Isn't it? Your views are solicited.

Creative way to make motorists drive slow, or is it dangerous and obscene?

I was always under the impression that Indian cities were the most notorious for speeding motorists and road rage. But then after seeing this video from Denmark, I am quite convinced that their motorists far outshine road users in India. But one must give credit and award the creative way in which Denmark's road safety council has reacted to curtail speeding motorists. They have made a short film featuring beautiful, young and sexy topless models holding up speed limit signs. The Danish Road Safety Council (DRSC) revealed that incidences of speed violations have decreased since broadcasting this film, but nevertheless 7 out of 10 Danes continue to drive over the speed limit on a regular basis.

The DRSC advertising film, scripted like a news report rather features young, sexy women holding speed limit signs and standing by the road, topless. The topless women accomplished what most stringent legislations couldn't. They made speeding motorists slow down and some even stopped to take pictures.

The girls who called themselves as Speedbandits are proud of their role in reducing road rage and deaths due to speeding accidents. But there are downsides to the concept too. At several places traffic jams occured due to motorists stopping on the road to oogle, gawk, stare and photograph the topless speedbreakers.

I have embedded the video here for you all to watch and enjoy. I wonder if something similar has to be done to make Indian motorists observe traffic rules. Your thoughts would be appreciated.