How Kerala produces the best (and worst) drivers in India?

How Kerala produces the best (and worst) drivers in India?

I’ll tell you how.

There’s no empty stretch of road.

Kerala has its population more evenly distributed than any other state in India. As a result, there is virtually no empty land where a road with no traffic exists, like you see in the vast rural areas in north India.

There are no 4 lane roads.

The best roads in Kerala are no 4 lane roads. There are some very good roads – smooth & curvy – which are mouth-watering any driving enthusiast.

More cars per person.

It’s a rich state, though not the richest. One of the main reasons being the number of NRIs working in the Gulf, and other countries, sending money over to their family members, who enjoy life without doing much of any work other than hanging out.

Rubber plantations can’t be forgotten! Go to any village in Kottayam district, and you can easily spot big bungalows with Skodas and Mercs parked in the porch. Yeah, rubber money!

Kerala has the best educated crowd, so number of middle class and high class families is on the higher side. Wait a minute; am I saying that it beats the folks in Metros? No way. I am talking about a population sample which is spread across a state that includes more number of people from rural areas and less from cities. Now imagine a sample crowd from UP, including one or two Noida-ites!
All these factors contribute to more car per person, in this small strip of land.

Geography.

Along the shore line, you have straight NH-47 and NH-17. As you go east, you have winding roads through Western Ghats. In cities like Trivandrum, you have several narrow roads with heavy traffic with no street lighting. It’s no way like driving through jammed city roads in places like Bangalore, believe me!

Get behind the wheel and get a feel.

If you happen to visit Kerala, do not miss the chance to drive through the roads of Kerala. It will be a different experience altogether. I have driven through two other south Indian states, KA and TN, and I have driven extensively in Bangalore city. I’ve been fortunate enough to drive thousands of kilometres in Europe too, through 8 countries and of course through the home ground - Kerala roads. Out of this, the most difficult roads to drive is Kerala roads.

A drive through the busy NH-47 will test your driving abilities to the max. If you can’t overtake a road hogging truck, someone else will. There will be someone to overtake you no matter how fast you drive. If you don’t have overtaking skills, you’re not getting anywhere. When I say busy NH-47, you may think that I am talking about speeds like 40-50 Kmph but, I was referring to overtaking manuevors at speeds like 90 and 100 kmph.

Take a ride through the narrow city roads with no street lighting. It will feel like you’re driving along a very dark area of you’re so used to the well lit streets you find in Metros.
A person who drives here will naturally develop better driving skills than anywhere else. What about folks driving in the Metros? They do acquire skills to drive through busy streets, but no high speed driving skills!

Last weekend I was driving home with no one overtaking me for 50 Kms and then, a mallu aunty overtook me mercilessly driving a Baleno.