Team-BHP - Mountain driving and right of the way

Hello Friends,

A question for himalayan raiders who are proficient with the himayan territoty.

In mountains -
Who ever is driving up the mountain has the right of the way
meaning, whoever is coming down must YIELD to the up hill
traffic. This being the rule in the USA/Canada etc,.

Do - We Indians, follow any rule like that ? If we do, What
percentage of traffic you find in the mountains follow the rule ?

I driving since 1992 and have driven in continental US, Sweden etc.,
and Iam embarking on a trip to Sikkim+Bhutan+Arunachal and hence
this question.

Yes, uphill traffic has right of way.
But there are exceptions.
For example lets you you are climbing up a narrow road, and just cross a turnout, and a big heavy vehicle is coming down.
Now for that vehicle to give you way he may have to back up in reverse gear for 100 meters, but for you its 5 meters of downhill backing to the turnout.
In that case the heavy vehicle should be allowed to go, otherwise its dangerous and time consuming.
Moreover in hills if I am on a narrow road, and I spot a heavy vehicle coming towards me, I start scouting for turnouts so that I can stop and let them pass.
Its easy for cars to stop and start, but a bus climbing a hill needs to maintain momentum.
So nothing is black or white

Uphill drivers have the right of way except for a few exceptions like TSK described. This rule is more or less followed by all good drivers.

Just pray that you don't come across the other kind when your climbing that particularly difficult steep:)

@JP, the answer to your question has been given very well by TSK.

It's the same any where you go : logically, vehicle coming down can stop & resume with out a problem. Vehicles going up need to maintain their momentum - and hence should not have to stop.

It's like : the vehicles coming down often stop to let the upcoming vehicles to pass without interuption. Most local drivers in hilly areas will always follow this practice.

Not much to debate about here, IMO.

The matter about VIPs is a different one, which is an exception for our roads.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 1495668)

Yeah, but in india, more than the rule - pay attention to the moron on the otherside!
PB regd VIP numbers always have right of way :p

Add DL,UP16,HR51,Hr26 to the list:)

Its also about stopping downhill at the first instance of a wide stretch and not playing it by the ear to find a place to give way at the last moment. What I mean is that you stop at the first sign of a passing zone the moment you see the other vehicle coming up, even if it means waiting for 2- 3 minutes for the other vehicle to come abreast. Also you stop and switch off your lights if its night time.

absolutely correct - all uphill traffic always gets the right of way
except if the road is extremely narrow at that part, in which case depending on the traffic, either the uphill or downhill going vehicles may reverse and accommodate the vehicle proceeding in the opposite direction.

this is pretty much the rules as are followed in the hill stations - however, it is mostly those who are aware of the rule and / or local residents who follow it. most "plains" drivers know nothing about hill driving etiquette and therefore just blast down or uphill tooting their horns and using the incorrect gears or use the brakes excessively while driving in the incorrect gear etc which is also why a larger percentage of hill road accidents involve plains vehicles.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp_in_hyd (Post 1495206)

In mountains -
Who ever is driving up the mountain has the right of the way
meaning, whoever is coming down must YIELD to the up hill
traffic. This being the rule in the USA/Canada etc,.

Do - We Indians, follow any rule like that ? If we do, What
percentage of traffic you find in the mountains follow the rule ?

I had an encounter with a moron while climbing up the Kalhatti ghats to Ooty. It was at a hairpin bend (forgot the number) which was a bit narrow just after the turn. I was in my Swift D and was moving on honking at the curves. When I took the turn and suddenly I see a Santro Xing to the extreme left of the road :Shockked:. That fellow was speeding down pretty fast. I just braked after seeing him and he stopped his car making screeching sounds just in front of my bumper. The idiot is driving a Santro and using the whole road to take a turn (as if he was driving a bus/lorry).

I gave him a piece of my mind after that. It was a KL registered Santro. It was lucky for him that it was only a Swift in front of him. What if it was a bus???

I have seen that most local drivers do follow the uphill rule although there are exceptions. But most of the trouble makers are brash tourists who think they are born experts:Frustrati.

The gurus have already spoken.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wanderernomad (Post 1496215)

Also you stop and switch off your lights if its night time.

Only after you're sure that the oncoming vehicle(s) know that you're there! ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay4587 (Post 1495264)

I have noticed this in himachal and most drivers especially local one's follow this rule.:)
but eceptions are there on narrow roads as tanveer pointed out.

I had been going to Sri Hemkunt Sahib , a sikh shrine in the hills of uttaranchal for the last 30 years and seen the bus drivers ,although from Delhi drivin the buses in the hills follow the rules of accending traffic has right of way. Ihave noticed that at times they stop about a kilometer awayafter noticing a accending bus or a truck in a zigzag road to give way to the accending traffic and I thought that the driver of the accending bus when passing us will knod his head as a gesture of thanks to our driver but no it is a normal traffic sense in the hills. Now when our city guys drive in the hills they drive like street driving and at times argue with the bus and truck drivers of the hills,they in turn ignore them as if ignoring a idiot making silly mistakes in the hill driving.