'Uncivilized a**holes': Bombay Shaving Company CEO's take on Indian drivers as 'hate-able' sparks widespread agreement

Honking and swearing have become inseparable from the daily chaos of Indian streets¡ªit's an experience in itself. Recently, Shantanu Deshpande, the CEO of Bombay Shaving Company, shared a rather bold observation, labelling drivers of certain cars as "uncivilized a**holes (UA)." While Deshpande's comments don't always sit right with people (case in point being the recent controversial comments he made on a podcast) ¡ªthis particular take has struck a chord with many.

Shantanu Deshpande's take on cars and 'a**hole' driving behavior

Check out his post here:

Deshpande shared an intriguing observation about the driving habits he's noticed across Indian cities over the years.

Deshpande points out how even the kindest, most generous people seem to transform into what he calls "uncivilized a**holes (UA)" the moment they take the wheel. He noted how common behaviors like breaking traffic rules, excessive honking, and reckless driving become widespread, regardless of a person's usual character.

Taking this observation a step further, Deshpande devised an informal metric to measure this phenomenon: the ratio of UA drivers to the total number of cars from a particular brand observed on the road.

Interestingly, he found that this UA ratio¡ªroughly 5-10%¡ªremains consistent across all brands, from humble Marutis and Hyundais to luxury vehicles like Mercedes, BMWs, and Jaguars.

Mercedes Maybach Exelero/supercarblondie

However, he did notice a trend: "The new money, SUV aspiring drivers with 2 wheeler mindset rank higher side (Brezza Creta etc). So does Swift - advertised as a 'swerve through traffic' type car."

This led him to a thought-provoking conclusion: those who opt for more understated, functional vehicles¡ªdespite having the means to afford a flashy, status-signalling luxury car¡ªare generally more sensible drivers.

In Deshpande's view, these drivers prioritise comfort and safety over status, which likely extends to their behaviour on the road.

Deshpande also pointed out that professional drivers, such as those working for Uber, Ola, or hotel fleets, tend to be far less likely to exhibit UA behavior than regular drivers, further highlighting the difference in mindset.

In the end, it looks like the real luxury on Indian roads isn't in the car¡ªit's in having manners. Because no matter how fancy your ride, no one honks in style!

How did people react?

In the comments, many people agreed with Deshpande's views and shared their own insights.

One person mentioned, "Owners of SUVs/ Pseudo SUVs constitute a large portion of UA category off late, specific car models have unusually high amount of UA drivers due to the sheer image perceived by the car owners."

Another highlighted the issue of poor road conditions in India, saying, "A lot of road rage, loss of patience, rash driving on our city roads could be attributed/ influenced by the poor road infrastructure, biased/ unscientific traffic rules & policing and incessant traffic jams."

Credit: indiancurrents.org

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