Well I can only say that I'll never complain about LA traffic again. Of course, I doubt that I'll actually keep that promise, but driving in Mumbai is whole different experience. Lanes mean nothing. Most people do stay on the left side of the road, but beyond that it's a free-for-all where cars, busses, trucks, motorbikes and scooters, auto-rickshaws, bicycles, pedestrians and dogs all have equal right-of-way and take it without any consideration otherwise. Sounds impossible, but I think it is probably the only workable way, unless suddenly India decides to start enforcing traffic laws. I don't think anyone actually wants that, partly because it will disrupt a system that works in its own way but also because traffic citations will quickly turn into another form of government corruption on a massive scale. My feeble attempts to find an analogy that describes Mumbai traffic is that it is like crossing a crowded room. You just make your way, allowing for the people around you just enough to get where you want to go. All you have to do is pack the room with cars and trucks and rickshaws and dogs and you've got it.
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