Amid all the apparent chaos in New Delhi traffic, these ad-hoc solutions clearly enable much better traffic flow, as do drivers who take the liberty to cross a red light if there is no cross flowing traffic.
Delhi traffic and Delhi infrastructure in any Western country would become totally gridlocked within seconds without these law-bending ad-hoc cooperative traffic solutions.

Interesting that this works in places where otherwise the traffic is chaotic and certainly not particularly law abiding. I think ingrained civic behavior is a good explanation.

http://tinyurl.com/276nb89

Your comments and recommendations in your recent visit to Bogota should help to reinforce long-term continuos programs to improve our way to drive in Colombia that, let’s face it, is a disaster. It is the worst among the many countries I know in and outside Latin America.

There have been many campaigns and efforts with some positive results. But we still have primary causes that prevent faster improvement.

One of them has to do with control and corruption as you mentioned in the interview with El Tiempo. Our Policia de Carreteras (Highway Patrol) does not have movility. For reasons that are questionable, control points (retenes) are normally found in the same spots along roads. Very seldom there is a Police car moving, for example when traveling from Pereira to Ibague, Cali, Manizales, Medellin, etc. Last Xmas we traveled from Pereira to Riohacha (some 800 miles each way, a two-day trip) for vacation. I counted five patrol cars in the round trip, while traffick violations were by the thousands.

To make things worse, several of those fixed check points are used to get bribes from violators. I have been offered to forget fines in exchange for cash, after being overspeeding or crossing a solid mid-road line. “Retenes” in Cajamarca crossing the bridge toward Ibague; El Jordan, some eight kilometers from Pereira to Armenia; “Recta Buga-Tulua”, etc, have been converted in real traps where the Officer starts advising the driver the high fine for the regulation just broken. If the person does not accept to negotiate, normally the fine is as stiff as the law allows it.

In any event, thanks for your comments. I have been around for several decades witnessing some slight trend toward improving our traffick system in Colombia. Also welcoming more and more awareness in the acceptance that part of belonging to the civilized world is by changing our poor behavior on the road, and enforcing the law in an efficient and honest manner.

I have also seen roads in Pittsburgh and DC that, while not 100% contraflow, do have center lanes that will be inbound in the morning, outbound in the evening, and a center turn lane (“suicide lane”) the rest of the time.

Current – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldecott_Tunnel
Fourth bore – http://www.caldecott-tunnel.org/

The old Elbe Tunnel (build 1911) had elevators to bring the cars on tunnel level and back to surface. That system is still in use and during the present renovation of that tunnel there is also a one way regulation switching direction at 1 p.m.. This tunnel is also open for pedestrians and bicycles but pedestrians are still allowed to walk both directions.