ARTICLE: Preparation for an Indian Road Trip

[arunforu1]

when blinded by oncoming traffic in night, try to look at left corner of the road, that is your saftey limit & you should not cross it.

There may be some cyclists other wise invisible moving on left side of road.This way you get less afftected by light as you are not looking directly into dazzling headlamp beams.

Try dipping oncoming vehicles from a safe distance, usually long distance truckers dip for you, its locals & cab who are manicas.

My experience with most truck wallas is that they dip for you, if you signal them.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

wont it be great if we can merge this thread with this one:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/owning...road-trip.html

Actually Sudipto's thread is quite different and unique compared to the Road Preperation article. It deserves its own place I feel.

[spadival]

My 2 cents for night driving...

1. Dim your lights as you approach/overtake a vehicle from behind. Bright lights on the rear view mirror can be really distracting and irritating.

2. If the highway has a divider, use Hi-beam at ALL times except point no 1 above. This eliminates the danger from nutjobs who have no lights whatsoever on their vehicle. Also, Its less likely that the oncoming vehicle is blinded by ur lights.

3. As you approach a U-turn point or pass thru a village on the highway, SLOW down.. regardless of whether you spot vehicles/people on the road. Various Murphy's laws are amply demonstrated in such situations.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Kumar
I asked this elephant question to a forest guard in Dolma Elephant Sanctuary. What am I supposed to do if I find a bull staring at me, trunk swinging, blocking my road. He said, this chance is fairly remote but if it is indeed just one elephant, most likely it is a lone old bull that has been driven out by a new Romeo. Recognise that it is a dangerous animal. You stop the vehicle, rev gently for the grrrrr sound and just pray it will go. In a worst case scenario back out gently. Never ever feel tempted to blow the horn.
I said but no matter how much I rev my petrol car it will hardly make any sound?!? He said very innocently - then sir, I don't really know what to do!!
The elephant incident that you recounted is something that happened to a friend in the same forest. He was slightly more unlucky. He crashed into the elephant with a scooter, fell off and got flung off. The animal crushed the scooter. He survived because he got thrown away and he had the helmet on.
Talking about wild animals in forests and crashing into them, day before yesterday a Royal Bengal Tiger was crushed by a train in that same forest.
Sudipto

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Kumar
I asked this elephant question to a forest guard in Dolma Elephant Sanctuary. What am I supposed to do if I find a bull staring at me, trunk swinging, blocking my road. He said, this chance is fairly remote but if it is indeed just one elephant, most likely it is a lone old bull that has been driven out by a new Romeo. Recognise that it is a dangerous animal. You stop the vehicle, rev gently for the grrrrr sound and just pray it will go. In a worst case scenario back out gently. Never ever feel tempted to blow the horn.
I said but no matter how much I rev my petrol car it will hardly make any sound?!? He said very innocently - then sir, I don't really know what to do!!
The elephant incident that you recounted is something that happened to a friend in the same forest. He was slightly more unlucky. He crashed into the elephant with a scooter, fell off and got flung off. The animal crushed the scooter. He survived because he got thrown away and he had the helmet on.
Talking about wild animals in forests and crashing into them, day before yesterday a Royal Bengal Tiger was crushed by a train in that same forest.
Sudipto

excuse me sir, but for this , you have to read this here...
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...val-guide.html (Wild Animals - A survival Guide)


cheers

[esteem_lover]

most important- have a list of team bhpians numbers through the cities you are driving.

Absolutely, nothing better than that. This forum is a team to beat.
cheers

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Hi Esteem
Thanks for pointing in the right direction. I read up quite a bit.
Last year I went up the Dolma Elephant Sanctuary (a narrow and fairly steep morrum road through uninhabited forest) and was mighty scared (as is my wont) at the thought of discovering an elephant round the bend. Anyway, finally didn't meet any animals except a few humble domestic cows that belonged to the sadhus of the temple atop the hill. But of course saw a lot of fresh elephant droppings all around.

[austere_sly]

When dipping to indicate oncoming vehicles to lower their beam, also look at the left side of your road. If am blinded by high beam of on coming vehicles this is the only time when I am able to see how much road width is left on left side and is there any pedestrian or cyclist.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

I try to avoid driving at night on the highways at all costs. I get completely blinded by the oncoming vehicles, even motorcycles, not to speak of trucks. When I am forced to do it, I try to find a larger vehicle with good tail lights and brake lights and follow it from a reasonable distance. This way, I am protected from the lights of oncoming vehicles. I have adopted this strategy of follow-the-leader very successfully in the night, in blinding rain, in dense fog etc.

What about a trip like Pune-Bombay on the expressway? Is that
safe to do if you start at say 7:00 pm & reach by 10:00 pm?

[carboy]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Learn how to change your tyres.

Ok - this has been troubling me for a long time. Where can I learn
to change the tyres? I don't want to try it out on my car alone,
because I am worried, I wouldn't fit it back correctly & would end
up with problems. Likewise, I would like to learn basic stuff like
changing oil, other fluids etc. Are there are courses for these kind
of stuff?

Originally Posted by Samurai

Dont forget to carry a photocopy of the car's documentation i.e. registration book, tax receipts, insurance and so on.

Hmm. I have been carrying the originals all these days!!! Isn't it
neccessary to carry the originals?

Originally Posted by Samurai

Carry the 24-hour roadside assistance number if you have this service.

The Maruti handbook has an assistance number - but I was wondering
if it's a paid or free service? If paid, how much does it cost?
Also is there anything like AAA in India which is cheap & helpful?

Originally Posted by speedzak

There's something like a spray which can be used to inflate tubeless tyres incase of puncture/leakage. It'll be a good small thing to carry in the car trunk.
And this can be very helpful in needy times.

How much does this cost? Also how long does it last if you don't
use it?

[appuchan]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

[*] When the villager tells you “turn left from the next crossing” look at his hand carefully. It might be pointing to the right or vice versa. Get the confusion cleared by asking repeatedly or even by pointing out to him that he is saying something but showing the opposite. Most are embarrassed, laugh and then correct themselves. It has happened umpteen number of times with me, I don’t know why.
...

I have found that in most cases its better to concentrate on his actions than his words. 99% of the time their hand points to the right direction, but they may choose wrong words especially if he's attempting to reply to your question in a different language.

[Jaguar]

Hey guys!
Found this link: Car Safety - Auto Emergency Tool Kit - AOL Autos
This might be useful.

[nirmalts]

Two don'ts regarding usage of turn indicators

1. Do not use the indicators as "indications" for others that you are giving way. That is, using right indicator to tell the vehicle behind that you are letting him overtake you.

2. Do not use the emergency indicators at a junction to tell that you are heading straight at the junction. This is for emergency and nothing else.

Nirmal

[toiingg]

A Tip which was told to me by my Dad (really works).
Whenever you feel drowsy while driving for long distances, eat an apple. Works better than black coffee.
Try it.

[austere_sly]

Originally Posted by nirmalts

Two don'ts regarding usage of turn indicators

1. Do not use the indicators as "indications" for others that you are giving way. That is, using right indicator to tell the vehicle behind that you are letting him overtake you.

Please elaborate more. Isn't this the techniques use by vehicles on highway to give side to vehicle behind them ?