Who let the (police) dogs out?

The government has unleashed the police at the general public. It’s most felt by the motorists but others sure do feel it, through Taliban style censoring acts and pure public abuse.

Just last week, I got copped for driving 84 km/h on a 72 km/h and the policeman asked for a bribe, the money which should have gone to the government instead ended up with a corrupt cop. Today, I heard a friend of a friend is jailed for two weeks for challenging the accusation of a policeman.

He had been driving home after work with his wife and while driving on traffic, had rested his head on his palm like in the picture to the right. A cop has stopped him and charged him for using a cell phone while driving. He has rightfully denied the accusation and offered the cop to look at his call log for which the cop has responded negatively. In the resulting argument with the cop, he has threatened to go to the police commission regarding the issue. The cop somehow has taken his driving license in to his custody.

Later, when my friend's friend went to the Angulana police station to collect his license, the police has taken him in to custody under the charges of trying to assault a police officer and he's now jailed for 14 days. The other friend, who's gone in to the police with the one who got arrested says that every policeman at the police station at the time verbally assaulted them threatening to kill them. There's reasonable doubt that the arrested person was physically assaulted as well.

The Sri Lankan police has reached new heights in its corruption and they are inventing new ways to abuse the public and increase opportunities for them to gain bribes.

Got copped for speeding

Gone are the good days when they didn't catch you for speeding. Now they do.

I Was driving to Colombo from Kandy around 11.30PM and was not particularly speeding, but was maintaining a speed of around 80 km/h and taking it cool. Cops stopped me just past Yakkala. Showed me the meter and it read 84.. must be true.

Cop said that the spot fine system is not there anymore and the offenders would be put in to courts; I didn't believe him but it may be true. The friend who was with me spoke with the cop and he asked for a bribe. Gave him 500 and he gave me the license back; and we were back on the road within 10 minutes - at the same speed.

It saved me a lot of trouble to just bribe the asshole. But had there been a better system - like in the US - where paying the fine is not such a painful process that money could have gone to the government and hopefully into building roads. But instead, we bribe and cops buy arrack with that.

Fuck the whole system..

How to drive in the floods

Be warned, this post is going to contain a some swearing.

Colombo is flooded. Fuck us all sideways but that's how it's going to be when ever it rains in the years to come. You can't drive to work without driving through a pool of water at least 6 inches deep, sometimes, about two feet. Not many have 4X4s and even those who have 4X4s act as if they are driving a fucking go-cart. But the reality is, most cars can be maneuvered in a little over a feet of water if properly handled. Here's how.

Before you drive in to the flood

1. If you fucking don't want to get your fucking car wet, leave it fucking home.
2. If you are fucking afraid, just fucking pull over and let the others go instead of blocking the whole fucking traffic.
3. Be considerate about other drivers, don't fucking be selfish on the road.
4. Don't fucking drive on the wrong fucking lane.

When you get yourself into the flood

1. Don't stop at any cost.
2. I repeat. Don't fucking stop. If you stop; you are increasing the chance of getting water in your engine and electronics.
3. Be it automatic transmission or manual, jam it in to the 2nd gear and keep your feet off the breaks and the clutch.
4. Drive as fast as you can; you have a better chance of getting through if you maintain a good speed, even if it's like two feet deep. If you stop, chances are you'll get water in your system and the engine will die on you.
5. Keep to a straight line, you could lose control if you try to steer a lot.
6. If the vehicle in front of you stops, and you have to stop, keep the engine running at a high RPM - Manual transmission - press the clutch and accelerate; automatic, put the gear leaver at N and keep your left foot on breaks and the right on the accelerator.

If your engine stops

1. This could probably be because you didn't fucking stick to above rules; if so; fuck you!
2. Now you have no option but to be selfish; don't try to start the engine again.
3. Repeat; don't fucking try to start the engine, it tries to suck air in to start the ignition and instead suck water from the silencer, and if your main air intake is placed real low; from that too. And that would really screw things up for you.
4. If you have company, or if the fellow drivers are good enough to get in the flood and help you, push you car over and wait for assistance. If you are lucky, the car should start once it's dried up.