A Guide on Essentials of a Long Drive

[f450]

Originally Posted by arijit72

Please forgive my dumbness -


In here, the vehicle in front will signal right is he is allowing you to overtake, and left otherwise - am I correct in understanding this?



Regards
Arijit

You actually found someone willing to let you overtake? You sure you were driving in India?

Let there be no doubts. In India:
1. Consider yourself lucky if you see an indicator in the first place.

2. If you do, and it's a right indicator, it's because he wants to turn right at the next available gap in the divider (even if it isn't legal). NOT because he's changing lanes and certainly NOT because he's willing to let you overtake.

3. If it's a left indicator, it's on by mistake. Why? Free lefts, that's why!

4. If it's hazard lights, wow!!!! They still have those in Indian cars??? The kid in the passenger seat must have been fiddling with the buttons.

5. This one applies to right (mostly). It was turned on sometime ago when the driver thought he wanted to turn right. Then he changed his mind and decided to continue straight/ turn left. And he forgot/neglected to turn it off. The good drivers though don't forget or neglect to turn it off. They keep it on because they know that sooner or later, they will have to turn right. Yes, even if they're on a straight highway.

[f450]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

On the contrary, I've seen some cars (mostly in Vizag) putting on their hazard lights at traffic signals to indicate that they want to go straight. Is this the practice in other cities too?

I've seen that too and it avoids confusion IMO. It'll save tension for the driver behind you who won't know which way ur going to swerve.

[arijit72]

Originally Posted by f450

You actually found someone willing to let you overtake? You sure you were driving in India?

Actually yes - atleast some people drive with sense. But I agree with your post - most of the vehicles on the road don't follow any rules. I guess this is because the way people are taught to drive. I remember when I was learning to drive a manual car in the UK (I learnt driving in the US on an automatic), I was told by the instructor that if because of my lane-changing or turning, another vehicle on the road is forced to slow down, that's a straight fail on the road test - and I still keep that in mind. And here, drivers from other cars, trucks or buses will just stick their hand out, and assume that they have acquired the right of the way at that very moment.

Driving on a high-beam when another car is coming from the opposite side, or there's a car infront of you is considered as bad driving manners in Europe or the US, but no one bothers about that here. Last week, I was driving on NH5 towards Chilika, and there were loads of trucks coming from the opposite side on high-beams. I flicked my headlight, some of them lowered their beams, but most didn't care. In fact, one truck rushed towards me, pushing me to the side of the road...

Another set of drivers I hate are the tailgaters - they will come right behind you, within few inches of your car, blow horn and flick their lights, even though there's probably few more vehicles infront of you and you can't move to the left lane because there are more cars there...

At times, it's pure anarchy on the roads.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

The reason for delaying the swithing on of headlights at dusk (and driving slow) is to prevent 'tunnel vision'. If you switch on your headlights before it is fully dark, your eyes instinctively focus on the brightest part of the beam which is very narrow. Once it is darker outside, the full sweep of the headlamps are seen and there is some modicum of peripheral vision.

Pilots are also discouraged from switching on their landing lights early, since once the lights go on - one's vision is restricted to the space that is lit up.

Good point, Raveendra. I usually keep my parking lights on during twilight, so that the opposite traffic finds it easy to spot my car, and also because I get to see my speedo and other instruments.

Originally Posted by f450

I've seen that too and it avoids confusion IMO. It'll save tension for the driver behind you who won't know which way ur going to swerve.

I agree, but I'm surprised why this practice is localized to Vizag region. I tried the same practice when I relocated to Hyd few years ago, but got puzzled looks from onlookers in other vehicles.

[arijit72]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I agree, but I'm surprised why this practice is localized to Vizag region. I tried the same practice when I relocated to Hyd few years ago, but got puzzled looks from onlookers in other vehicles.

But if you have the left or right indicators on while turning (left or right), why would you need anything for going straight? Left indicator -> turning left, right indicator -> turning right, no indicators -> going straight - it should be as simple as that.

I've seen people putting on their indicators on roads that veer/bend left or right - not crossroads - which IMO is wrong - because you are just following the road and not turning anyway.

[bblost]

They are called hazard lights.
For use during a hazardous situation.

If you think your going straight is a hazard then use them. Else DON'T.

[SS-Traveller]

@ arijit72 and f450: The use of indicators to communicate, especially by trucks and buses on the highway, has a unique language attached to it in India.

A long time ago, you were taught to stick your hand out the window and wave ahead any car wanting to overtake you - until the international rule changed, and a driver wanting to overtake does so now using his on judgment, and the 'overtakee' has no business telling the other guy whether he can overtake or not.

On North Indian highways (including East, West and Central India) the big guys (buses and trucks) turn on their right indicators to tell you to pull out to their right and overtake. If they turn on their left indicators, it is to tell YOU to pull in to the left and behind them, because they have sighted a hazard ahead and won't be able to let you pass. An oncoming big guy will turn on his right indicator for you to tell you to pull over more to your left, because he needs more space to pass.

In the situation where the big guy ahead has got his hazard blinkers on, he is telling you to pull in left behind him, and telling the other oncoming guy to pull over to his left too.

Signalling language is sometimes different in southern states like KL, TN and KA. A big guy on the highways there will turn on his LEFT indicator to tell you to pass - that HE is pulling over to his left to let you pass (overtake) him.

In the end, what they taught you and me in the UK, esp. at the Institute of Advanced Motoring, remains all too valid - overtake another vehicle at your own peril.

[arijit72]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

@ On North Indian highways (including East, West and Central India) the big guys (buses and trucks) turn on their right indicators to tell you to pull out to their right and overtake. If they turn on their left indicators, it is to tell YOU to pull in to the left and behind them, because they have sighted a hazard ahead and won't be able to let you pass. An oncoming big guy will turn on his right indicator for you to tell you to pull over more to your left, because he needs more space to pass.

This convention is exactly opposite to what I've seen in UK (that was what I wrote here in my first post). Are there any international norms wrt this particular bit?

[arijit72]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Signalling language is sometimes different in southern states like KL, TN and KA. A big guy on the highways there will turn on his LEFT indicator to tell you to pass - that HE is pulling over to his left to let you pass (overtake) him.

Logically, IMO, the big guys in the southern states are correct. Putting the right indicators on while allowing the one behind to pass IS confusing - because it could have two meanings.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by arijit72

This convention is exactly opposite to what I've seen in UK (that was what I wrote here in my first post). Are there any international norms wrt this particular bit?

No. This is "indicator language" as "she is spoke" in North India! International norms say not to indicate/signal to anyone trying to overtake - unless you yourself are actually taking a turn or switching lanes or pulling out onto the road from a parked position. Period. The L and R indicators are to have ABSOLUTELY no other meaning.

[rm_arjuna]

Yeah , as pointed by arjit it is total anarchy on our highways and people feel that turning on all lights and flashing gives them Right of Way against incoming traffic to speed and overtake without any thought for safety of fellow road users .

coming back to Techo's compilations , reminds me of my oversight on one of my trips to B'lore. Had got my vechile from service couple of days earlier and as a practice we used to remove everything including Jack,tool kit etc . I reminded my driver to replace the toolkit the previous day and i forgot to cross check . now the moment of reckoning , we had a flat tyre in between gooty & kurnool in middle of hilllock , to my horror my driver opens the boot and sheepisly admits he had forgot the Jack & tool kit .Great now am furious and also stranded , luckly a Tata Ace guy stopped and helped with with Jack but our badluck the socket does not fit my tire nuts and after 1/2 hr of trying to stop couple of hyundai vechiles , finally a Gentleman in Verna stopped by to help with his toolkit . this one incident made me empathise with the plight of people stranded in highways and i make it a point to help stranded people esp. with families in tow.

[SS-Traveller]

One more irritating (and probably dangerous) habit of Indian drivers is the use of hazard lights in fog, instead of the high-intensity fog lamps, and using fog lamps in clear weather. I think no one even understands their use! In the UK (and elsewhere) it would be illegal to use fog lamps if there was no fog, or even fog with visibility over 50m/100m(?). In dense fog at night, the repeated flashing of the hazard lights can mesmerise the driver following behind over long distances, and cause him/her to doze off. And Indian drivers in their infinite wisdom insist on using just these, and never switch on the high intensity fog lamps.

This pic was taken on the NH58 near Modinagar, just to demonstrate that the rear fog lamp at the lower edge of the bumper isn't switched on in fog as dense as this. Brand new (unregistered) car, the driver was doing over 60 km/h in these conditions.

[arijit72]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

One more irritating (and probably dangerous) habit of Indian drivers is the use of hazard lights in fog, instead of the high-intensity fog lamps, and using fog lamps in clear weather. I think no one even understands their use! In the UK (and elsewhere) it would be illegal to use fog lamps if there was no fog, or even fog with visibility over 50m/100m(?).

Just yesterday, there was a news that a couple were killed and their little baby avoided death because of such dense fog on NH6 near Kharagpur. Aparently, their car turned upside down after being hit by a lorry and then when the injured couple were being moved by the locals, they were ran over by a trailer, all because of the fog and no notion of fog lamps.

If you look at the advert boards put up by the Kolkata Traffic Police, you'll see the root of the problem - they say "No fat rule books, Driving is easy, Just keep your eyes open" - and that's the end of it. So, everyone will keep only their eyes open (and only towards the front, irrespective of what's happening on the sides), and grab the way instead of following any proper "right of the way" rule.

The first thing I'd do - if I had power - would be to establish a procedure to make it mandatory for vehicles to have health-checks every year, and then only they can have their tax and insurance (both mandatory again) renewed. This will ensure (if properly implemented, which is a big question) that vehicles can't have broken axles, broken lights, worn away tyres - all are potential dangers. I still don't know how people drive (and allowed to do so) with one wing mirror, sometimes even without any wing mirrors!!!

Every morning when I drive to work, I talk to my wife about such grand visions - about establishing a rule of law on the roads - unfortunately, I'll never have power to do so. This has gone on for ages, and will go on for ages as well...

[DieselFan]

Yes lot of drivers who have driving licenses do not know the use of lights. some do not switch on the lights even after dusk while the rule is to switch it on 30 min before dusk as the chances of accidents happening is more during transition from day to night and vise-versa. People believe they can save their battery by doing so .

Fog lamps are to be used when there is fog. period. Also I have seen many educated folks have their back brake lights broken. They either don't light up when brake is applied or just 1 light lights up. I am of the opinion that you should always fix such safety features right away. Also it is great to invest on fog lamps even in places like bengaluru just as a precaution for those few days on which we see fog out here. It is better to be safe than sorry.

[venuraja]

This is a very useful thread to many car drivers specially.

About indicators on Trucks on Highway.

It is given to understand that a right indicator on a highway by a truck driver
means that the truck dirver (the truck in front of your car) is telling you that you can overtake him.
But before that you can always check if there is a gap in the divider and that truck driver actually wants to go in to the gap .He will be close to the divider in that case, and there is no chance of overtaking it anyway.

So it is an accepted practice in India for the truck/bus drivers to give a right indicator on the highway (not in the city) to indcate their acceptance for your overtake.

In my expericance of long drives :

A torch light
A can of pure drinking water or a bigger cool water cooler jeg.
An half- a dozen of good quality biscuit packs like 'good day' biscuits for example
are compulsory items to carry in a car.

It is better always to have some
sweets and good mineral water in the car.

Always fill the fuel in a big petrol pumps, the moment the
fuel indicator goes half-way down.
Always stop the vehicle , stop the engine and give a rest to the engine
after every 3 (three) hours. Give a ten minutes gap at least
during which, you get out of the vehicle , drink plenty of water, make it a point to drink more fluids ,move your legs and then splash water on the windscreen and clean it.
After 10 minute gap you can start again. This gives you good concentration,engine gets a breathing time to cool down and run again.
Treat your car the way you treat a human being. You should not overstrain the engine on a long journey.
Mixing turmenric in a radiater water ,if the radiater is leeking is an age old practice
by many truck drivers.
So have trumeric powder,duck tapes,match baxes, and torch lights.
Have the car serviced before a long journey , at leat one week before the long journey is always a best practice.


Check airfilter,check coolant level,chekc radiator water,check jacky,spare tyre
condition before you start on the journey.
start the journey early in the morning by 4.00 am or 5:00 am and paln to reach the destination by about 8:30 pm or to say that you should plan the destinations like
this on a very long trip.
A reasonable driving shall be adble to reach 700km destination. So must be able to reach a big city within these 700km stretches.
On a very long journey like a journey in to strange lands , far off destinations
should be planned with minimum 4 people. that would be safe compared to all ladies and one male or like one couple with a child on India tour for example.
Though it is advised , many times it is not possible to have 4 people in your car.

Always use high -ground clearance vehicles like Tata Safari,Scorpio etc., to go
on long journeys. Our roads are so bad that any boulder can hit the belly of the car
and put a wife and daughter right in the middle of a jungle in a very situation.
I had putt off many of my travel plans until I buy a Tata Safari.
My car would not be enough. It may put me in danger.
Even if it is for one who may tour India, it is advisable to use a big vehicle like
safari or Sierra ,Scorpio etc.,