‘What if she went into labour?’ Bengaluru Redditor’s 1.5-hour struggle for a mere 7 km ride goes viral
A Bengaluru man’s Reddit post went viral after he shared how it took 1.5 hours to cover 7 km with his eight-month pregnant wife, raising fears about the city’s worsening traffic and poor infrastructure.
Bengaluru’s infamous traffic woes are once again making headlines, following a Reddit post that detailed a harrowing experience of a man who was stuck for over 1.5 hours while driving an eight-month pregnant wife to a routine checkup. The frustrated user, posting under the handle r/bangalore, shared that it took him 1.5 hours to cover a “miserable” 7 km stretch on HAL Road near Varthur on Friday. He expressed concern over the severe road congestion, saying he was terrified by the thought of “what would happen if his pregnant wife went into labour” during the gridlock?
‘What if this was a real emergency?’
Detailing the ordeal, the user wrote: “The picture says it all. 1.5 hours to cover a miserable 7 km on HAL Road near Varthur this evening. I was taking my 8-month pregnant wife for a routine checkup, and the entire time I was gripped with a terrifying thought: What if this was a real emergency? What if she was in labour right now? The sheer helplessness is suffocating. You're just a sitting duck, trapped in a metal box, watching the clock tick by. We pay insane road taxes for this privilege. I genuinely believe this city is doomed. The infrastructure has completely collapsed, and it feels like there's no way out. What a nightmare.”
The post, which has since gone viral, was shared with the caption: “1.5 hours, 7 km, and an 8-month pregnant wife. Is Bangalore liveable anymore?”
Internet reacts to the post
The Reddit post triggered a flood of comments from users who shared similar frustrations.
One user commented: “Bro, I think you should temporarily shift to a nearby hospital because this could have been an emergency.”
Another wrote: “Ambulances have to travel two ways in similar traffic.”
A third asked: “What’s your plan B if some emergency happens?”
One more user shared a personal experience:
“Happened with me yesterday. I left the office at 6:00 PM in a cab. Around 6:30, my wife called and said she wasn’t feeling well. Sitting helpless in traffic, unable to do anything, each minute felt like a year. Fortunately, friends took her to a nearby doctor. It took me another two and a half hours to finally reach home. That 3-hour ride made me realise how helpless it feels when someone at home needs you, and you just can’t get there in time because of the traffic.”
‘Bengaluru’s Traffic is a global challenge’: DK Shivakumar
Amid growing public outrage, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar recently said that traffic congestion is a “global and national challenge”, citing London and Delhi as examples.
He claimed that Bengaluru’s traffic issue is gaining more attention because of the vibrancy of traditional and social media in the state. Speaking at a panel discussion on “GBA: Transformative Vision for Bengaluru” organised by B.PAC and Mount Carmel College, Shivakumar said he has “moved heaven and earth” to fix issues like garbage management, which he alleged are affected by a “big garbage mafia.”
“Even in London, people have to travel three hours if they don’t go by public transport. Even in Delhi, it takes 1.5 hours to reach Parliament from the airport. But Bengaluru is making more noise than Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad,” he said, according to PTI.
He further added that Karnataka’s open media landscape allows free criticism, unlike some other states, and assured that the government is working to resolve the city’s traffic woes