Since the time I have returned to India, I have been having an interesting time driving from Gurgaon to Noida (Yes, I drive through three states - Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh). One-way travel distance is 46 kms (28.5 miles) and it takes anywhere from forty minutes to an hour and a half. I grew up in India but to get accustomed to driving has been one of the most tedious and stressful activities.
India has right-hand drive as opposed to US’s left-hand drive. Right most lanes are supposed to be fast moving or passing lanes but most drivers drive in the right most lanes. This forces drivers to use other lanes for passing. Lane driving is often neglected and a few drivers signal before changing lanes. All this leads to bottlenecks and traffic jams thereby creating chaos on the roads.
Frequent honking is the other thing that amazes me. On hearing a honk, I would look around to see if anyone needed help or if I had made a driving mistake. Slowly, I started to realize that people honk for no reason. It still irritates me but now I just turn up my music so that I can ignore the noise.
In terms of infrastructure, the recent high-speed corridor (100-120 kmph/60-75 mph) between Gurgaon and Delhi has reduced my travel time drastically. There is construction in progress at various places. Presently, it does cause a nuisance but the thought that it will refine our drives in the future helps bear the inconvenience.