Mumbai’s deadly drive
By Tamara Akl
In a small taxi on Mumbai’s busiest highway, I sat between my two friends clinging for my life. There were no clear lanes in front of us, cars and trucks came from all directions horning and pushing their way through. I felt my heart skip a beat every time the taxi suddenly braked from a near accident. A truck coming from the left of us almost wiped the taxi out but within a second the taxi managed to avoid a crash. I have never felt so anxious and frightened in my life.
Australian road rules cannot compare to Mumbai’s driving. In Mumbai there are no dividing lines or speed limits. Cars coming from opposite directions can freely drive amongst each other. A pedestrian attempting to cross has to fight their way through; it is literally a run for your life.
My first experience of driving in Mumbai came as the biggest culture shock to me. The food, people, smell and humidity cannot compare to the chaotic driving. As Australians we have been brainwashed with road rules and road etiquette. To stay in a place where those rules simply don’t exist is absurd. Every drive in Mumbai has become a fight amongst the other drivers and a deadly experience.
Tamara Akl
I am currently completing my fourth year of Journalism and Laws at the University of Queensland. I have successfully completed all the required units for journalism and I will now spend the next two years finishing off my law degree. Throughout my studies in journalism, I completed internships at Channel 10 Eyewitness News and ABC News and have hosted two radio shows on JACradio. I have learnt an extensive amount of knowledge regarding the field of journalism and have high aspirations of working in TV. The New Colombo Plan has offered an incredible experience for me to act as a foreign correspondent and create a visual documentary. I chose to create a documentary on a significant issue India is facing that aims to provide an avenue of hope.