I’m in the back seat of our car.
The car is running on the highway.
We approach an intersection.
Why is there an intersection in a highway?
The intersection is very near.
We should slow down now.
Why are we not slowing down?
God, we’re entering the intersection and the car is still at highway speed. I grab the door handle. Tight.
Cars are crossing the highway in perpendicular direction. Why? Why have we not stopped already? What is going on? The driver breaks in the last second.
But the car is not stopping. We are going to hit the car in front of us. I push myself against my seat, waiting for the impact.
The driver turns slightly. Blows the horn. Repeatedly. The car still moves towards the traffic, in a slight angle now.
I look through my window. A car is about to hit us on the side. I instinctively jump towards the center of the car, preparing for impact.
As I shift my glance in fright, from my side to the front, I see a car heading directly towards us.
I close my eyes now.
My head is about to explode.
The sound of horns all around me.
I get pulled from one side to another as the driver navigates that hell.
I feel the acceleration of the car now. It pulls me into my back seat.
The horns are distant now.
I open my eyes. We’ve cleared the intersection, back in the highway.
I breathe in.

Now that I think of it, I don’t remember the last time I took air.

Man, this is crazy 🤪.

I see what’s going on here: an Indian driver never stops the vehicle 🚙. Never.

None of them do. And somehow they manage to go through that nightmare.

This is self-organization at its peak.

No signs 🚸, no traffic control 🚦… what the hell, no lanes on the roads 🛣️… and they make it work!

Not only they make it work, it probably has better thoughtput!

I bet that, for a given trip from A to B, and the same traffic conditions, driving in India 🇮🇳 is faster than in London 🇬🇧.

Wow, I’ve never really seen anything like this. Self-organization rules!

If so, why would anyone want to put some traffic lights or, you know, actual lanes on the streets?

I guess this is not a very safe place to drive. It must be effective but not safe. I guess the number of accidents here is higher than anywhere else. I should Google that.

But that’s an interesting trade-off: throughput versus safety.

Well, if I think of it, this is exactly what we do when we put control models around production systems, for example. Controls slow processes down so that we can avoid issues.

But… the reality is that I have seen no accidents so far. It’s hard to believe but it’s true.

I don’t know, maybe it’s just coincidence. I bet the crash rate is higher anyway. And if not, it’s only thanks to the superhuman skills of these drivers.

I would crash 💥.

I wouldn’t be able to drive here.

I would either crash or just pullout and start crying 😫.

Well, that’s another reason to put traffic lights, I guess. It’s more inclusive. There must be people that don’t dare to drive here. Regulating traffic would democratize it, in a way, make it accessible. Today it seems limited to daredevils and prescient human beings.

I have to try Yoga 🧘🏻.