Make way!

Brief description of a typical traffic situation in Chennai :
The auto misses your vehicle by an inch, the bus driver decides not to brake despite the signal turning red, vehicles move slowly like a herd of sheep even when the signal suggests braking. Pedestrians lose their temper and try to stop your vehicle in order that they can cross the road, and you decide not to stop and honk your way past them. An overdose of relentless honking accompanied by high pollution levels is common.
"Make way for me" is the underlying theme that describes the Chennai traffic.

There are well established traffic rules in Chennai like in any other big city. However, following the rules is too mainstream for Chennaites. What do they do? Break the rules, create problems and find solutions for the same. It is the sort of situation that can be avoided by merely following the rules.

A typical Chennai traffic situation. Rules followed? Vehicles close enough.

Lanes? We haven't heard of them in Chennai. Heavy vehicles and two wheelers use the same line of traffic. The concept of driving in lanes hasn't arrived here yet (or have we gone beyond the concept?). The absence of lanes doesn't bother Chennaites. They are 'street-smart' in the literal sense.
The main culprits(?) of the situation are the auto drivers. These men are known for their perfectly-judged filling of every possible gap on the road. They see them as voids, cavities that need to be filled. The auto right in front of the 'blue bus' (see image) describes this situation clearly. He fits his vehicle in a position which restricts his movement in all directions unless the vehicles beside move.
Owner-driven cars are the most vulnerable, the ones who complain the most about the traffic and score less in street-smartness.
The ones on the bike, much to the envy of the car drivers, maneuver their small vehicles with ease through a path that would lead them as close as possible to the signal.
Amidst all chaos, lies an understanding between the drivers, in which lies the solution to the problem created by the disorder. A visitor from overseas would describe the above picture as a depiction of a panic situation. It however isn't one and an Indian knows it.

T Nagar is one area infamous for its traffic. One does not simply cross at the signal in T Nagar. During the festive season, vehicles line up (crowd up?) till the beginning of Pondy Bazaar. It is an undying passion to shop at T Nagar that causes one to risk this one hell of a traffic. The 'uncle from next door' described his experience in T Nagar the other day. He waited behind a car for minutes, only to later realise that the car before him had halted and the driver had no intentions of moving. The perfect camouflage of the parked car had the 'uncle from next door' assuming the car would move sometime.
What follows from Pondy Bazaar is an amazingly straight stretch of traffic congestion. The stretch contains an exceedingly large number of alarmingly over-crowded share autos. They stop their vehicle right at the sight of a prospective passenger irrespective of the number of seats available. Passengers fill the volume of the share auto completely, even the tiny space over the engine, next to the gearbox.
Despite the fatiguing traffic situation, it is the understanding that gives a person the nerve to brave the traffic and make it through.

The understanding :
It is when you decide not to panic even when the ply of vehicles behind you honk relentlessly. It is when you know the auto driver is at fault and you shout at him for the same. It is when you understand pavements are meant for hawkers and encroachments and roads are meant for walking and driving en masse.

In short, it is when you realise 'the roads are filled with idiots'. It is only then, a person is ready to brave the Chennai traffic.