Witty Indian road signs for traffic safety

"Road is Hilly, Don't be Silly" !:-)

On my first trip to India 4years ago, the craziness of the traffic was absolutely overwhelming. Whether in the city or on country roads, Indian streets are like what i would imagine it would be like to ride a roller coaster on acid and worry-pills. On one visit, i traveled with a girlfriend who was on her first trip to the subcontinent. The day we arrived in New Delhi we immediately got a cab (trains were sold out for three days, a common problem leaving Delhi!) to make a "7hour drive" that took actually took 14hours to get to Rishikesh. But before we even left the capital, she sat staring out at a Delhi intersection, seeing traffic moving both directions on both sides of the road, people literally jumping off of moving city busses, cows and monkeys on the road, etc., and she began shaking her head, then bent over and put her head between her knees and just said, "I just can't watch all that anymore right now." And i understood what she meant, it often felt literally mind-blowing.

At that time, and until recently, traveling on Indian highways was my own personal vision of hell. But i went a long way towards conquering that fear and aversion on this most recent trip. i began renting scooters and driving the highways myself, once going from Rishikesh an hour's drive to Haridwar, and then back in the dark. i began to see how, like i realized in Egypt, there is some sense to the madness - though madness there surely is. And the Indians and Indian government are obviously aware of the insanity - check out this collection of Indian traffic signs that wittily fight the maybe-not futile battle towards safer traffic!

"AFTER WHISKY, DRIVING RISKY" Photo by my buddy Steve M.

...you see what they did there!;-) :-)

"NO NEED FOR OVER SPEED" 

"BETTER LATE THAN NEVER" 

"MOUNTAINS ARE PLEASURE IF YOU DRIVE WITH LEISURE" 

(We'll have to assume the British pronunciation of "leisure" for that one:-)

"LEAVE SOONER, DRIVE SLOWER, LIVE LONGER"

Good, simple, accurate math. :-) 

"SAFETY FIRST, SPEED AFTERWORDS" (we know what they meant!) 

"SPEED THRILLS BUT KILLS" 

"FEEL THE CURVES BUT DON'T HUG THEM"

...is that one a traffic sign or dating advice??

"LIFE SECURED AT LIMITED SPEED" 

"BE GENTLE ON CURVES" Photo by Steve M.

Photo by Steve M.

"DRIVE SLOWER, LIVE LONGER" Photo by Steve M.

Smiling (we promise) self portrait by Steve M.

"SPEED IS A KNIFE THAT CUTS LIFE" Photo by Steve M.

"LICENSE TO DRIVE NOT TO FLY" Photo by Steve M.

"GO SLOW TO ENJOY BEAUTY OF NATION" Photo by Steve M.

(banner at top right) "Don't Break Traffic Rules"??? :-) In Dehradun, India.

 No matter which side of the road one is supposed to drive on (they do not drive on the right side;-) ONE of those scooters in the zebra/pedestrian crossing is on the wrong side of the road!! The banner (at the top) is comically inane here. i guess the jaywalkers on the left didn't notice it either!:-)

"SAFETY ON ROAD, SAFE TEA AT HOME" 

"BETTER LATE IN THIS WORLD THAN EARLY TO THE NEXT" 

"THIS IS HIGHWAY, NOT A RUNWAY" 

"ALERT TODAY, ALIVE TOMORROW" 

"LIFE IS A JOURNEY, COMPLETE IT" 

"DRINK AND DRIVE, A FATAL COCKTAIL" 

i was very unsure how exactly this sign was supposed to affect my behavior. i mean, okay, now i know it's dangerous...but how does one look out for rockslides while driving??

This was not the only place where i could see there'd recently been a rockslide...but what can ya do!

"NO RACE, NO RALLY, ENJOY THE BEAUTY OF THE VALLEY"
Though looks like it should have been a monkey-crossing sign!

"ACCIDENTS HURT, SAFETY DOESNT"

Wisdom. :-)

All photos by author unless otherwise noted.