I was looking at a tourism website for walking tours in India. Some of the images show people walking on the street and sometimes in the middle of the street. How safe are these walking tours with all the traffic?
The pictures you see of some of the smaller cities have people walking where they want. I'd be terrified of being run over by a car, truck or bike while I walked. There is no rhyme or reason to the way they drive on city and country roads.
Walking in cities can be pretty dangerous and you need to always keep an eye out for vehicles appearing out. So many times vehicles have appeared out of nowhere from a small connecting road which I missed when I was walking in the middle of an empty road. Also drivers in big cities can be pretty inconsiderate and will not slow down even if they see you; it's up to you to run as quickly as possible to safety.
Crikey, I would think that surviving a walking tour would be something to tell people on Facebook at the end of the day. Surely a tour guide would take care of the people in their charge?
I know this sounds negative, but don't trust the people around you. If it doesn't look safe or you don't feel comfortable, just leave it and go according to your own timing.
I kind of think the opposite here and while a tour guide might have some responsibility in keeping you safe, surely he shouldn't have to tell you to not walk in the middle of the road in a busy city? That's one of the reasons why tourists get a bad reputation in some countries, as you wouldn't just wander around the middle of the road in your own country, so why do it in someone else's?
Yup, every organized tour I have been on will give you a brief rundown about safety, but I think a big part of it is just good old common sense, you know? Like @pwarbi said, I don't think any of us would just walk down the middle of the street in our home countries because it'd be likely you'd get injured in some respect - so I don't think it would make sense to do that elsewhere, particularly when you don't know the road rules, traffic conditions and things like that as well as you would back home. On walking tours I've taken though (these haven't been in India yet, but I've been to a number of south east Asian countries), the leader of the group has always encouraged us to stick together and not to wander off from the main group - so I think they do try their best to look out for you.
I wouldn't worry too much about it, but if you're really concerned when moving through big cities, I would suggest sticking with large groups. Sure, a personal walking tour experience sounds great in theory, but it could possibly lead you into a dangerous situation, especially if you're alone. In a big group, if anyone wants to hurt you, they'll have a hard time of it.
