A strange local traffic signal...(indicator for overtaking)

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by condor

Using the right indicator by the guy who is being overtaken seems to be the language of HCV drivers on the highways.

Perhaps - my point is that it doesnt make sense. Besides, if each road user started practising his own sign language we'd have anarchy on the roads.

Legalizing something that is wrong SIMPLY BECAUSE it is widely practised and far too many people are using it anyway does not make that wrong right, even if Reliance used that method to get mobile licenses for peanuts.

[PRADEEP KUMAR]

Well ,on Highways there are a few who use this method and the rest would just like you to overtake purely on your judgement,hardly anyone uses hand signals,more so in the case of Cars !.Can't blame them either.
Cheers!

[speedsatya]

on the highways right normally means "overtake" whil ein the city is "Right turn"...but still its always better to look ahead and see if there is any intersection ahead ...and chances may be that the vehicle ahead maybe turning right ,when you might be thinking its a "go ahead "signal ...

[sumirish]

Here is a one more example of highway 'manners'. I am driving towards Banglore on the Hosur Road. This is a 4 lane highway separated by a wide landscaped median so there is no chance of hitting anyone coming from the opposite direction. I am doing about 100 and I can see a sumo taxi in front , going in the same direction, doing the same speed and the sumo is in the middle of the road. I honk and this moron pulls to the extreme right of the road and turns on his left indicator asking me to overtake him from the left. Yes, we have to use discretion and judgement but this business of using the wrong signals ( but the correct signal as far as the obliging taxi driver is concerned!) is idiotic and dangerous.

[shbhrao]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

on the highways right normally means "overtake" whil ein the city is "Right turn"...but still its always better to look ahead and see if there is any intersection ahead ...and chances may be that the vehicle ahead maybe turning right ,when you might be thinking its a "go ahead "signal ...

GOD! I have been driving for 4 months and I didn't know about this strange custo either. I also get mad whenon two way lanes, people try and overtake trucks-how can you see from behind what is coming from the other direction, unless you have some sort of Xray vision. ANd why can't slow moving vehicles move out if the road is clear so that people can pass. Beats me as to why all the illogical things get practised in this country!

[condor]

Steeroid, I agree with what you say. The left & right indicators are indicators to point to the direction where we want to go. Just that, on the highways, this specific use of the right indicator has become an intermediate part of the overtaking process to let the overtaking driver know how what the position of the other vehicle is. I think it makes sense, when it is seen in totality.

Eg:
1. A is passing B.
2. A checks for for on-coming traffic, and if he feels that he can, puts his right indicators + flashes his headlights to let B know that A is going to overtake B.
3. B switches his right indicator to acknowledge to A that he is ready to be overtaken.
4. A moves past B.
5. As A passes B, B switches off his right indicator.

Till recently, without A/C buses [Volvo's], this has worked quite well. In case B sees something that A cant see, or if it is not safe to overtake, B waves his hand to indicate to A to wait.

Also, while not all drivers signal you to go ahead and pass them, most of the time they do indicate when it is not safe to ..

[S@~+#0$#]

I have not travelled too much in the North by road and not sure when this whole thing started but I have been driving on South-Indian Highways for the last 12-14 years and noticed that this "Left Indicator" thing is in use only in the last 3-4 years. Wonder how it all started or is it because Truck drivers discovered indicators only around 3-4 years back.

Originally Posted by Steeroid

I'd much prefer it if people turned on the LEFT indicator, if they HAD to use the indicator to give permission to overtake. That is much more natural because if you were turning to the left and I were going straight ahead I'd move a bit more to the right behind you. At least I wont crash into you if you really wanted to turn.

Agree with you on this steer. I feel it is the left indicator that they should use to say "I am not moving to the right, overtake me from the right". Worstcase, he might move to the left and this should not cause any harm as long as we follow the rules and overtake from the right.

No matter what some of us may suggest about being cautious which is good, there is certain amount of co-ordination that is required between the two drivers while overtaking especially on a highway. The driver in front has a better view of whats ahead and can warn you about it with these gestures and sometimes even slow down to let you pass.

[navin]

Now I know why I get stares when I use my indicators. I am driving with the wrong rule book.

I guess I should use the following:
Right turn = Left indicator
Left turn = no indicator
Overtaking = right indicator
Hazzards = I am overtaking and expect you to overtake me at the same time
Brake Light = Maybe I am stopping, Maybe I am not, Maybe I'm Leo :-)
Reverse Lights = Low on fuel? (why doI see a lot of Santro's with reverse lights on driving normally).

[rks]

Originally Posted by navin

Now I know why I get stares when I use my indicators. I am driving with the wrong rule book.

I guess I should use the following:
Right turn = Left indicator
Left turn = no indicator
Overtaking = right indicator
Hazzards = I am overtaking and expect you to overtake me at the same time
Brake Light = Maybe I am stopping, Maybe I am not, Maybe I'm Leo :-)
Reverse Lights = Low on fuel? (why doI see a lot of Santro's with reverse lights on driving normally).

I think the only indication to overtake that is needed for experienced drivers is "body language". The vehicle being overtaken can slow down slightly and make way if needed, or else just keep moving in its lane; the driver of the overtaking vehicle watches the overtaken vehicle (especially its right front tyre) like a hawk while executing the overtake. I agree that using indicators for anything other than turning is confusing. I don't follow the practice of using indicators as the green signal for overtake.

[hrag]

I have seen buses in Himachal Pradesh which had a separate "Pass" indicator next to the right rear indicator - my guess is that the usage of this has gradually led to the usage of the right indicator as the pass indicator.

[Poseidon]

A good dose of horn for the guy being overtaken and hi-beams for guy approaching is most prudent on our highways, indicators be damned..
Always ascertain for yourself that its clear ahead and safe to overtake - never trust the guy ahead of you.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by navin

Now I know why I get stares when I use my indicators. I am driving with the wrong rule book.
......
Hazzards = I am overtaking and expect you to overtake me at the same time
Brake Light = Maybe I am stopping, Maybe I am not, Maybe I'm Leo :-)
Reverse Lights = Low on fuel? (why doI see a lot of Santro's with reverse lights on driving normally).

Your rule book is still wrong!!
Hazards = I might turn left, i might turn right... havent decided yet. Might not turn at all also!!
Brake lights = I am crazy coz i still have functional brake lights... feel free to run over me!
...
etc etc..

Amitoj

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by Revvhead

as far as i know, it is the international signal asking the other chap to yield-
Used it in spain too, and no problems there

Not sure if i understood you correctly. In US you yield, and you give right of way. Never ask soembody to yield, or take/snatch right of way.

[cheap_deal]

yes flashing the headlights is sign that you have yielded (say at a 4 way stop sign for example) it lets the other person kno he can move frm the stop sign first.

personally in india i dont signal for car behind me to overtake, the last thing i want to do is confuse him/her even more.

also i still dont kno why is it oncoming traffic flash their lights even in the daytime? hello its 12 noon, i think i can see you pretty well.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by Samurai

This Friday I was driving down the beautiful winding road between Madikeri and Virajpet in Coorg district. There was this minitruck driving in front of me at a slow pace. I gunned my Baleno and wanted to overtake him. As I honked him to let him know my intention, he puts on the his right turn signal. I naturally backed off to allow him to take his turn. But I didn't see any turns available to him. It was just me and him and miles of coffee estates on both sides.

I tried again and he again puts his right turn signal, I again backed off. However, he didn't make any attempt to turn right anywhere. By this time I was quite pissed. I waited for a straight stretch without any visible turns. Then I passed him from the right completely ignoring his right turn signal. After some time I end up repeating the same with some other vehicle. I was quite puzzled by this behavior.

Later I discussed this strange behavior with my host who is a coffee estate manager in Coorg. He told me that is supposed to be a yield signal. By putting on the right signal the minitruck was asking me to pass him :***:

My friend said it gets very confusing because you don't know whether to interpret it as right turn or yield signal, one has to purely go by context and gut feel. He has often had close calls because somebody mistook his right turn signal as yield signal. Also he has done the same mistake couple of times.

You might have to jog your memory here- at the time of applying for a drivers license, the candidate is required to identify different signals. They tell you then itself the difference between a right indicator in city vs. a right indicator on a highway

Right indicator on a highway - as you found out post-facto, is the signal from the guy in front for you to overtake him. The reason highways vehicle use light signals to communicate is for safety and visibility