Traffic

The first thing about road traffic here is the huge variety of different vehicles which occupy the road. You have your standard rich person's car; shiny, air conditioned and quick. You have your taxi, which is invariably the bright yellow Hindustan Ambassador, which date from the 1950s. The autorickshaw, little three wheeled green and yellow things which go up and down specific roads. Bicycles, mostly with only one gear, carrying loads of fruit or multiple people or both. Motorcycles and mopeds which squeeze into tiny gaps. Flat bed trucks taking twenty people to a specific building sight. The busses, tiny, cramped and insufferably humid.

And finally, Kolkata's trademark, the human rickshaw, pretty much a front pulled carriage carrying carrying goods or offensively self indulgent human beings. The rickshaw pullers also function as the city's drug dealers around back packer areas. I see very few of these around where I live, as they tend to congregate around tourist areas.

You see quite a few signs saying 'follow the rules of traffic'. As far as I can tell, these are:

Beep loudly and all the time,

Don't run a red light (unless you really want to) ,

Don't go the wrong way down a one way road (unless you want to)

Beep loudly and all the time,

Undertaking is encouraged

Seat belts are for cowards

Wing mirrors should at worst not be used and at best not exist

Beep loudly and all the time

Here's some taxis and a human rickshaw