Alright, this is yet another post not related to public transport, but I have in the past written about first responders. In fact, one of the long-pending article ideas is on what Indian Police officer’s utility belt should be.
When we Indians hear police and fancy cars, we usually think of the Dubai Police which is equipped with a wide variety of exotic and even concept cars including but not limited to Aston Martin, Bentley, Lambhorgini, Lexus, and of course the Lykan HyperSport (as destroyed by Brian and Dom in Furious 7) and W Motors’ Ghiath as well.
However, much before Dubai, the Korps landelijke politiediensten (KLPD; or National Police Services Corps) which was the former national police force in the Netherlands made use of luxury vehicles.
The story starts thus, that in the 1960s, motorways in the Netherlands saw a lot of accidents, mainly due to the absence of marked speed limits on roads. In order to combat this, the Highway Patrol division of the KLPD set out defining the requirements for a high-speed patrol vehicle. They had to be fast of course, they had to have a rear-engine, be able to accelerate and brake at the drop of a hat, and one very unique requirement was that they had to have an open top.
Attention turned towards the town of Zuffenhausen in Germany where the headquarters and factory of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, known to most of us as just Porsche was located. The automobile manufacturer, who was winding up production on a well known model, the Porsche 356, ended up supplying the last ten cars of the model to the KLPD where they were the mainstay between 1962 and 1966.
In 1967, Porsche unveiled the Targa top variant of its flagship vehicle, the Porsche 911, and this caught the eye of the KLPD. The 911 was a hit with the law enforcement agency and remained a mainstay of its patrol units till 1996. A total of 507 Porsche vehicles, including the 356, 911, 914, 924 and 964 made their way into the agency’s motorpools, making it the largest historic Porsche police fleet in the world.
Each car was identifiable by it distinguished livery of orange and white with a single blue emergency light perched atop its A-pillar.
Now, very interestingly, all of these cars had open tops, hence the KLPD’s interest in the 911 only after the targa top was unveiled. The rationale for this? Officers were to be able to stand up in the car in order to direct traffic.
Another interesting thing to note was that the uniforms worn by officers driving these cars always included a distinctive orange helmet with safety goggles.
The livery has been since updated and now features blue and orange stripes and the uniform has a white and orange helmet.
Featured Image: A Porsche 911 being used by the KLPD (Oranje-Boom/Porsche Newsroom)
Did you know that there was actually a sport of double-decker bus racing? No kidding here, it’s true.
Between 1958 and 2007, the BBC ran a sports programme titled Grandstand. Rival channel ITV decided to get its own sports programme, titled World of Sports from 1965 to 1985. Part of the programming involved racing sports that were uncommon with the British audience at the time, such as ice speedway – a form of motorcycle racing on frozen surfaces – and NASCAR stock car racing.
In 1982, an interesting race was a part of the line-up. Double decker bus racing. You can see the video below.
World of Sports Double Decker Bus Racing
Now, according to a comment on Reddit by one hoksworthwipple, this is from 1982. The buses are Diamler Fleetlines from the N series (or N registration from 1975) and were operated by Transport for London (TfL). The race was held in Northampton. The event was hosted by Dickie Davis and the commentators were from the stock car racing staff and were Nigel King, Ron Pickering, or Frank Bough. The race was won by Terry Tellyn and bus number 4 was driven by Chris Critchett. It was also alleged that the race was fixed and buses bearing the sponsorship of Acorn Computers were to come first.
Now, this brings forth an interesting proposition. Mumbai’s remaining double decker buses are due to be phased out by the end of this year. Why not have a double decker race in India? India has three major racing tracks – Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, the Madras International Circuit in Chennai and the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. I jokingly suggested this idea to several busfans and got mixed results. While Jarvik was supportive of the idea, Yash fears that the buses could tip over. I was also told that BEST currently does so, mostly on routes between Kurla and Santacruz.
Featured Image: DMS1599 stands in the station on a 179 service to Barking at Chingford Bus Station on 19 April 1980. (Photo: Martin Addison / Chingford Bus Station / CC BY-SA 2.0)
While I admit upfront that this has nothing to do with buses or public transport, it does have something to do with one of every bus fans’ favourite brands. This news, while reported in 2016 has been doing the rounds lately on the interwebz and I thought I’d write on it.
Let’s take a walk down memory lane to the 1970s when something interesting took place. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), also known as North Korea was establishing diplomatic contacts with western nations and among them was the Kingdom of Sweden. The DPRK ordered 1,000 Volvo 144 cars from the Volvo Car Corporation (then part of Volvo AB), which were delivered in 1974.
The Volvo 144 was the first in the 140 series of saloons (or sedans) and made its first appearance in 1966. The nomenclature indicated that it was the first series and was a four-door saloon with a four-cylinder engine.
While the North Koreans took delivery of the cars, they never paid for them. The Swedes meanwhile have not clarified what all was included as part of the trade deal. The sale was insured through the Swedish Export Credit Agency (EKN) which stepped in and ensured that Volvo Cars did not go bankrupt. However, the debt on the sale, along with interest had accumulated to US $328 million in 2016. That’s roughly ₹2,680 crores, based on the current (2023) exchange rates! The Swedish Export Credits Guarantee Board sends a reminder to the DPRK government every six months.
It is unknown whether the original deal included spare parts but Volvo Heritage believes that due to the bulk purchase by North Korea, the 144 was common across the world and thus getting spares from elsewhere would be easier. However, the cars are rare these days, and when seen, usually act as taxicabs.
In 2016, the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang tweeted out a picture of a Volvo 144, captioned Still going strong. One of the Volvo’s from yr 1974 still unpaid for by DPRK. Running as taxi in Chongjin w almost half million km on odo!
Still going strong. One of the Volvo’s from yr 1974 still unpaid for by DPRK. Running as taxi in Chongjin w almost half million km on odo! (Caption as tweeted by the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang)
The lack of payment for these 1,000 cars prompted Soviet diplomats to label it as the “largest car theft in human history.” Imagine being a Communist nation in the 1970s and mucking up so bad that the Soviet Union mocks you. I know.
Founded in 1927 as the automobile division of SKF, the Volvo Cars Corporation or Volvo Cars remained a part of the Volvo Group or Volvo AB until 1999 when it was spun off as an independent company, with both of them sharing the Volvo trademark. Volvo Cars was acquired by the Ford Motor Company as part of its Premier Automotive Group that included Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. With the sale of Aston Martin to a group of American investors and Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors of India, Ford divested Volvo Cars to China’s Zhejiang Geely, better known as Geely. Volvo Cars’ history is very similar to American telecommunications manufacturer Motorola that split in 2011 to form Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility, the latter of which was acquired by Google and then eventually Chinese red-chip firm (listed in Hong Kong) Lenovo.
Geely also owns several other prominent European automobile brands, such as Polestar, Lynk and the iconic British brand Lotus, along with the London EV Company (formerly the London Taxi Corporation), which is known to manufacture the iconic black cabs seen in London.
Well, that’s all from me this time.
If you’re interested in another international incident that was funny, look no further from North Korea’s backyard, Russia. In 2018, a group of Russians in Vladivostok donned a cardboard cut-out shaped like a bus to cross a bridge that was off-limits to pedestrians. You can read about it here:
As part of its Neighbourhood First policy, the Government of India has handed over 75 buses to crisis-hit Sri Lanka to be used in its public transport system. This is the first installment of 500 buses that India is supplying to its island neighbour.
In December 2022, India supplied 125 Mahindra Scorpio vehicles under a line of credit to the Sri Lanka Police due to a non-availability of vehicles in the island nation which had posed mobility issues for law enforcement. A total of 500 such units have been promised by India.
This is not the first time India has donated buses to its neighbours. Earlier, India had donated around 1,000 buses to war-torn Afghanistan as it was rebuilding itself after the war with the Taliban. The buses were primarily operated in Kabul as Milli Bus and also included buses donated from Iran and Japan. Under the National Institution Building Project of the United Nations Development Fund, India also established a maintenance department and Tata Motors trained officers and engineers in the maintenance of buses and driving skills. The Milli Bus service was established in the 1920s and even operated a Trolleybus system in Kabul in 1979 but most of its infrastructure and depots were damaged due to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1992.
The Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) operates buses all over the island nation. Buses are known for their distinctive red livery with a blue stripe running across the centre. Most of the buses are manufactured by either Ashok Leyland’s subsidiary Lanka Ashok Leyland or Tata Motors in India and exported. In fact, back in 2015, I remember seeing an SLTB-designated bus (albeit sans registration) on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
Apart from this, the SLTB also operates a few luxury air-conditioned buses. Some of them are light purple in colour (unlike them Purple Faeries of BEST) and are manufactured by Zhengzhou, Henan-based Yutong.
SLTB also operates (this time in red), buses manufactured by King Long! Imagine if these buses were the ones in purple instead. It would have been so hilarious. Here is a pic of a King Long bus that the SLTB has.
The SLTB also had a tie-up with the country’s largest telecom provider Dialog Axiata to enable Dialog’s contactless payments system Dialog Touch Travel on select SLTB buses in Colombo.
If you want to know of another story where India helped not only its neighbours but over half the world in times of need, do read the book Braving The Viral Storm: India’s Covid-19 Vaccine Story by Aashish Chandorkar and Suraj Sudhir. You can buy the book on Amazon below:
Featured Image: Lanka Ashok Leyland SLTB bus near Piradeniya on the Galle-Colombo route by Shankar S.
Before the next serious post, here is some light-hearted humour from across the globe.
Exactly two years ago a group of Russians in the far-eastern city of Vladivostok decided to do something rather hilarious. Following several safety inspections, the Zolotoy Bridge that spans the Zolotoy Rog or the Golden Horn Bay was shut for pedestrians in 2015, three years after it first opened.
On the 13 of November 2018, four men wore a cardboard cutout shaped like a bus and were walking on the side of a live traffic lane and began crossing the bridge. They were eventually asked to “pull over” by a security guard and made to move to the side of the bridge and turn around.
A video of the “bus”, shot by a woman driving behind it went viral on the internet. You can watch the video here:
Looks like someone got bus-ted!
If you intend to go out, don’t bother dressing up as a bus, but don’t forget to wear a mask and carry some sanitizer.
We’ve all read Harry Potter. We’ve all seen the movies as well. In the third book, The Prisoner of Azkaban, we are introduced to the Knight Bus, a triple-decker bus. However, this variety of buses aren’t just a figment of a fantasy writer’s (I’m talking about J. K. Rowling) imagination, but did exist, but just not in the form that we’ve imagined.
Presenting, the triple-decker bus!
Built in 1932, the first triple-decker bus was made in Italy. While not much is known about the manufacturer, it ran between Rome and Tivoli and carried 88 passengers. The third level was essentially a smoking compartment and the bus had space for 440 pounds (200 kg) of luggage and space for dogs. It was 33.5 feet long and 11 feet wide and had a speed of 28 miles per hour (45 km per hour).
According to the Museum of Hoaxes, a second such bus was designed in the 1950s by the General American Aerocoach Corporation. This bus was similar to its Italian counterpart, that is the third level wasn’t much of a level. Here is an image of that bus.
GAAC’s Triple Decker
Fun fact, a video was uploaded on YouTube with a picture of a BEST Triple-Decker. This was essentially a Double-Decker photoshopped to have a third level. The uploader was obviously a prankster for they claim to have been shocked when they saw it outside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and shot a video of it. (This was in 2013).
The closest we’ve ever got to making a real Triple-Decker bus, was the Knight Bus in Harry Potter. It was made by taking apart the upper deck of a London AEC Regent III RT bus and grafting it atop another such bus. Below is a picture by Robert Clarke.
In 1926, a German magazine called Echo Continental which was the trade magazine of German automobile parts manufacturer Continental AGpublished a picture of a triple-decker bus. Sadly, it was on 1 April. Here is an image of that bus.
Triple Decker Bus from Echo Continental
So, will we ever see a Triple Decker Bus? Maybe. You never know, but someday, we might just see one. Till then, you can have fun on a Double Decker bus.
Dubai recently inducted a robot police officer into its police force. While the reaction is varied, it is largely full of awe that a robot has been made a police officer.
According toThe National, the robot in its initial phase is to be stationed at malls and tourist attractions where people can report crimes or pay traffic fines using a touchscreen on its body. The Dubai Police intends to later on extend its applications to chasing suspects and catching those who don’t pay parking fees in paid parking lots. The robot also is fitted with cameras to stream footage continuously to a command centre. A future batch of robots will be deployed for handling major crimes.
All said and done, this single robot means a lot to human society as a whole. It is not only about law enforcement, automation and jobs, but a whole lot of other things that can drastically change the way we live our lives.
Automation Is Key
Automation and getting a machine to do work greatly improves our efficiency, as individuals as well as organisations. Remember the time when a bus conductor had to manually count and tabulate the number of tickets sold and then report it? The system got an overhaul when electronic machines were introduced, reducing the workload on the staff, but didn’t eliminate the problem of conductors pocketing money. Then came the entirely automated system of prepaid cards and conductor-less transport, and the problem pretty much solved itself.
Similarly, when Indian police departments got smartphones to issue challans for traffic violations, it make the work easier for the police department, it did not do much to check bribes being taken by cops and letting people off. In fact, a report in The Hindu states that corruption levels rose by a huge margin.
With a robot handling things, it would reduce corruption a lot. A machine will not ask for a bribe unless it is programmed to do so. And if it is programmed to do so, it would be easy to find out who did it.
Automation has made a lot of things easier and improved transparency. Digitisation has made it easier to maintain records, catch offenders, and increase punishments for serial offenders.
More Jobs?
Automation also increases employment. A 2015 report in The Guardian says that automation has created more better-paying jobs as opposed to destroying them. In the context of the ‘Robocop’ in Dubai, it will certainly create more skilled jobs. The Nationalreports that these robots will be trained to speak in various languages, issue violation tickets to offenders, accept crime reports and even carry heavy loads. People will have to work on the software, add new features, maintain the systems, etc. Further, other companies may develop their own product. This competition will definitely create more jobs for people in the information technology and electronics industry.
Focus on what matters
Now for the crucial part. If basic tasks such as general traffic policing and issuing tickets is taken care of by robots, humans can focus on more important tasks such as major crimes. This improves the efficiency of the entire force. Further, with the robot stated to get facial recognition systems soon, it can help recognise perpetrators and make things easier for the police force to both prevent crime, as well as catch criminals.
Automation in the law enforcement sector is a welcome step towards a better quality of living for humans. Given how crimes often go unsolved either due to understaffed polices forces or inept officials, the Dubai Police Robot may well be a role model for all of us to emulate in varying degrees.
Similar to how EVMs helped curb electoral crimes, robots too can do the same but to a larger extent. Imagine a troop of robots deployed in areas subject to left-wing extremism. Police officers can remotely monitor the system and take calculated steps in the event of an attack. While the robots are susceptible to attack, making them impervious to bullets would make it better to send them in rather than send in a human.
Dubai has shown the world that automation is indeed needed. The world should take heed of this and emulate atleast part of it.
Featured Image: The new Robot Police Officer in Dubai (Photo Credit: Dubai Police Smart Services Department)
Nobody likes being stuck in traffic, especially in large cities. Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors and SpaceX too, got stuck in a traffic jam. The net result? He started The Boring Company.
What is this Boring business all about?
Unlike other players in the transport sector, such as Uber who are looking to develop aviation-based transport solutions within cities, Musk’s approach is somewhat lower than expected.
The Boring Company, also known as Tunnels R Us and To Be Continued, is a tunneling firm formed in 2016 after Musk tweeted out that traffic was driving him nuts and that he would build tunnels to escape traffic.
Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging…
Not quite. TBC has a more comprehensive plan in store. It’s a vast network that involves a lot of tunneling, construction and automation.
TBC’s plan is simple:
One, start tunneling under the city. Build a network of tunnels along with access points.
Two, build a network of guided pathways under the ground, that operate using these tunnels. There are select entry-exit points where the tunnels can be entered from above the ground.
Three, a system of automated ‘carts’ will allow vehicles to drive onto them, take them underground and enter the network.
Sounds familiar? Indeed, the last time Musk was stuck in a traffic jam, in 2013, he came up with the design of the Hyperloop, a futuristic high-speed transport system which he then explicitly open-sourced, allowing anyone to work on a prototype. The system is being designed for speeds of up to 200km/hr, and knowing Musk, will in all probability work on the principle of Magnetic Levitation, which is also the backbone of the Hyperloop.
The system is still in its initial stages however. TBC is currently building a tunnel that is 30 feet wide, 50 feet wide and 15 feet deep under SpaceX’s corporate headquarters in Los Angeles as it would require no additional permits. In February, a photo of the tunneling was posted on Twitter.
Musk has stated in the past that the existing system of transport is largely two-dimensional, and that the tunnel system would be able to set up a three dimensional transport network. He said that without tunnels, everyone would be stuck in traffic forever, adding that it would be the ‘key’ to solving the urban gridlock. He also said that tunnels going 20 or 30 layers deep would be suitable for any city, no matter how big it was.
Musk has stated in the past that the existing system of transport is largely two-dimensional, and that the tunnel system would be able to set up a three dimensional transport network. He said that without tunnels, everyone would be stuck in traffic forever, adding that it would be the ‘key’ to solving the urban gridlock. He also said that tunnels going 20 or 30 layers deep would be suitable for any city, no matter how big it was.
Going up versus going down
At the same time, Uber has been advocating an aviation-based on-demand transport system. While an aviation-based transit system within a city may seem more feasible than a tunnel-based one, getting a working aircraft that can fly short distances with multiple stops is equally far into the future. At the same time, aviation is highly fuel-intensive, a constraint that terrestrial, ground-based transit systems can overcome.
At the end of the the day, Musk’s boring plan is similar to an underground metro rail system, except that it carries cars instead of people. It is like a cross between a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system and a Mass Rapid Transit System (MRT).
It is still unclear whether the system will work on magnetic levitation or not, but given that the proposed speeds are in the range of 200km/hr, one would assume that it would have to be maglev-based.
Too futuristic?
The system is certainly too futuristic a design. Musk’s last idea, the Hyperloop is still years away from commercial operations, and this too is of a similar nature.
There are lot of problems that need to be solved before it can be practically viable. Current tunnel systems under the ground are usually limited to a few levels deep. Having 30 levels is a huge challenge. Further, such a vast network of tunnels has never been done before. The most crucial requirement- ventilation underground at such depths need to be looked at.
However, what makes it more practical than Uber’s plan is the very fact that it is a grounded system, similar to road and railway networks. A system that is grounded is more efficient in the long term as well as safer in the event something goes awry.
Vehicle manufacturers across the world have come together to launch a ‘deradicalisation program’ to prevent trucks from ramming into people.
Given the alarming rate at which occurrences of trucks ramming into crowds have been happening off late, major manufacturers across the globe have come together to form the Association For Super-prevention Of Self-radicalised-trucks (AFSOS). AFSOS will have units across the world, to cater to local markets areas in order to prevent such incidents in future.
The Indian branch, AFSOS India (AFSOS-I), comprising of members from Indian auto majors such as Volvo, Scania, BharatBenz, Ashok Leyland, Tata, Eicher and Mahindra is launching a five-step program towards countering such problems in the future. Named the Deradicalisation in Indian Road Trucks (DIRT), the program aims to do the following:
Train the trucks to not ram into living objects. Life is life. Live and let live. Do not ram yourself into living objects.
Train the trucks in non-discriminatory practices. Do not discriminate people on the road as holiday-revellers or people who are not in-sync with your beliefs.
Train the trucks to serve their purpose. A truck is mainly used to carry goods. Do that. Don’t go ramming into people. Who’ll carry the good then?
Train the trucks to meditate, or even do yoga. Given that we have finally come to terms that meditation is calming (something Yogis have been saying for years), let the trucks do Yoga.
Train the trucks to love one another. Love is paramount. Love is peace.
AFSOS-I has decided to refrain from asking Liberal voices to pipe down. They have decided to speak up, after AFSOS-US blamed immigrant trucks as the problem. AFSOS-I has decided to promote ‘Multivehicleism’ to fight ‘Racist Vehiclephobia’, after following a poll by noted Editor and Commentator of ABP News, Kanchan Gupta.
The ghastly terrorist attack in Sweden has been described as “Vehicle Terrorism” by #LeftLib prigs. How to deal with “Vehicle Terrorism”?
P.S: Find this insensitive? Think this is a mad post in a case of terrorism and people losing lives? Let’s not blame trucks or guns then; they’re just tools. As they said in the olden days, Guns Don’t Kill People, People Kill People. Trucks don’t kill people, people kill people.
P.P.S: Afsos is a Hindi/Urdu term for Regret or Tragic, mostly the former.
A lot of people have asked this rather fundamental question. While driving, what is the difference between a yellow and a white line on the road? Why are some of them broken lines and some of them continuous?
Well, it’s not that difficult to understand. So here they are. With pictures.
Note: This post only aims to highlight lane markings that are along the length of the road and not the width of the road. Those along the width are easy to understand: They are basically Rumble Strips, or Pedestrian (Zebra) Crossings.
Yellow vs White
There is no concrete standard for Yellow vs White, but Yellow is used in some countries such as Mexico, the Netherlands, the United States, and Canada, the yellow line is used to separate two carriageways in an undivided dual-carriageway road. In simple terms it is used to separate traffic in different directions. In Sri Lanka, it is used for pedestrian crossings and related markings. However, they are slowly being replaced by white due to increased visibility.
A road with Yellow and White markers in Madrid. Photo Credit: Amigos Madrid
Now, for the lines themselves.
Broken Lines
A two laned road in the Rann of Kutchh with a broken white line in the centre. Image copyright Mohammed Shafiyullah, CC-BY-SA 4.0 International, Wikimedia Commons.
A single broken line indicates that traffic can move normally on its own lane, but can cross over to the other side to overtake. In the case of dual carriageway roads, this would mean you can drive on either side of the road, and can change lanes, but with caution. On single carriageway roads, it would mean stick to your lane, the other side is for vehicles travelling in the opposite direction, but if it is empty for a significant distance, you can cross over to overtake a vehicle in front of you.
Single Solid Line
A solid white line at Šafárikovo námestie square in Bratislava near Starý most bridge. Image copyright Aktron/Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported.
A single solid line has different meanings in different countries. In India, it would mean no overtaking, or no crossing the line, except in case of a dire emergency. Turning, however is allowed, in to a lane or a gate. On single carriageway roads, it is usually found in areas where there is a sharp curve or a steep gradient, like in ghat sections. On dual carriageway roads, it is commonly found around intersections and traffic signals, thereby implying that vehicles maintain lane discipline and stay in their respective lanes while waiting at a signal.
Double Solid Line
Double Solid Lines on the Colin Knott Drive/Olympic Highway looking south bound on the Boorooma Street overpass. Image copyright Bidgee, CC-BY-SA-3.0 Unported/Wikimedia Commons.
Double Solid Lines are a more stringent version of single solid lines. In India, they are used where the road isn’t a proper dual carriageway road, but each carriageway is more than one lane (But less than two) wide. In simple terms, it is used on roads that are three-ish lanes wide. In Sri Lanka, it is considered on par with a solid median and attracts a heavy penalty if crossed. Vehicles cannot take a turn when a double line is there.
Single Solid + Single Broken Line
Single Solid Line and Single Broken Line on US 84 in Wayne County, MS near Tokio Frost Bridge Rd. Image copyright Xnatedawgx, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported/Wikimedia Commons.
A rather interesting combination, the Single Solid and Solid Broken line combination does exactly what the two are supposed to do as described earlier. For vehicles travelling on the side of the solid line, crossing it is not allowed, while those travelling on the side of the broken line can. It is normally found in rare stretches, mostly in areas with both a steed gradient and a sharp curve that makes maneuvering difficult in one direction but not the other.
Zig-Zag Lines
Wavy Zig Zag Lines Used Near a Pedestrian Crossing near St. Pauls Cathedral in England. Image copyright Benjamin D. Esham / Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA-3.0 Unported.
The Wavy or Zig Zag Line, is another fascinating lane marking. Seldom seen in India, it seen across other Commonwealth Nations such as the United Kingdom or Sri Lanka. Its main purpose is to inform the motorist or driver that a Zebra Crossing or Pedestrian Crossing is coming ahead. Vehicles are generally not supposed to stop in the region with the zig-zag lines, but slow down and stop in front of the crossing itself.
The last and another interesting one is the diamond lane marker. Possibly never seen in India, it is commonly seen in the United States, Sri Lanka, Canada etc. Depending on where you are they have different meanings. In Sri Lanka, it is to inform the motorist of a pedestrian crossing, much ahead of the aforementioned wavy lines. In the US and Canada, it may be, among others:
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