Team-BHP - Whats the rule for LHD??

Hi, I am wondering..whats the rule for LHD and is it possible to somehow find a loophole and bring cars in if LHD is not allowed?

There are lot of cars which might be LHD only..do you have to convert them to RHD and if so how simple and costly is it? Also is it recommended and will the car be the same as it was before in terms of handling and driving experience??

Thanks..

i think one of the main resons why LHD cars should be avoided is that in India we drive on the left hand side of the road and overtake from the right. These conditions were designed for RHD vehicle.

Imagine you're behind a huge, long truck with heavy on coming traffic. Now in a RHD you're already sitting on the right hand side of the car which helps you get a better view of the oncoming traffic without pulling your car into the other lane, but in a LHD doin this could be very dangerous.

I don't think LHD cars should make any difference on xpress highways where overtaking can be performed from both sides and there's no hassle of oncoming traffic.

Regards...
Shan2nu

Heck there's this old Merc in Hubli that was imported from Germany!!! Sources say it's been on the Autobahn a "zillion" times!!!

I've never seen the car up close but it looks like an E class.

The owner of the Merc is a professor who teaches "Automobile Engineering". Here's one guy who knows his cars.

I've seen him a few times on the highways when i go for my morning walks errr i mean "Drives"

I've never seen him cross 60kmph, this could be due to the LHD position he sits in. You just don't get the courage to drive it like a RHD car.

Regards...
Shan2nu

Wanna drive a LHD vehicle in India? You'll need a really skilled navigator in the front right seat while overtaking trucks on the highway. Ever heard calls for running between the striker and non-striker on a cricket pitch? It goes something like this: "Yes! No! Wait!" Expect such calls from your partner.

Hmm doesnt UK allow LHD in RHD system?? Why shouldnt india...also if you use the checking blind spot technique while driving, it wouldnt matter what side of the road you drive..

and as it is..you would want to import LHD cars which are strictly available in LHD..and would like to take out on special occasions like going to a club or a 5* hotel etc..so i dont know..i think it should be ok..

again I should say after checking blind spots..it doesnt matter what side of road you drive..its just a little getting use to..and if you drive it once a day for a week or so..you will get use to it..and it will come naturally to you..

but the whole thing is..its not allowed, but possible after some hand greasing!! just wanted to know..

Cheer..

I think UK is the most "AUTOMOBILE"ically BLESSED nation under the sun. They get the best of everything. Best European cars,American Cars + their own cars which include 30 of their own small time manufacturers.
And + they also get TATA safari's and Rover badged Indica's. Really lucky- people of UK.

Blaze

The LHD cars you see are exempt under the TR scheme. The indian govt are avoiding cheap cars from the states / middle east being dumped here. UK allows LHD cars but insurance goes up. Austrailia bans LHD cars, only place where I have seen a RHD corvette

"...also if you use the checking blind spot technique while driving, it wouldnt matter what side of the road you drive.."

Hey man,

I strongly disagree with that. Maybe in city traffic etc its bearable, but on the indian highways where u have to be super alert and have 100% confirmation and and barely get enough time to do that when overtaking..i think the LHD is a huge disadvantage and danger.

I have tried to illustrate what i mean.
Notice that i have only shown a short distance of "highway", when speeds are high and drivers are dangerous the feild of vision for the LHD just is not good enough.

Notice that if the LHD/RHD vehicle comes a little more to the right to touch the white dotted line, the RHD driver has a vitrually infinite straight ahead view, whereas if it was a LHD, the driver would still have a limited field of vision.

I hope you understand what i mean.
basically the point is that the LHD cars will have to come much further out (and hence crossing the middle line of the road) just to get a 100% confirmation of whether they can overtake safely or not...) and thats a huge danger!

cya
Rehaan.

hey rehaan, thats a good illustration.

if a person is used to driving a RHD, its difficult to get adjusted to LHD. In LHDs u have to change gears with your right hand. Many people have the habit of keepin the left hand on the gear lever and driving with the right hand. If you switch to LHD, imagine how difficult it will be.

Also many of us use the driver side mirror[the right side] the most, in a LHD u will have to use the right side mirror as Overtaking is done from the left.

So i guess its better to stay away from LHDs.

Wow thats a nice explaination, but I am assuming that the govt can provide some sort of exceptions to this rule in where cars which only come in LHD and are made in small quantities can be imported without a hassle, I am talking about expensive, exotic cars which will never be used on a single lane highway, also the indian govt is trying to eliminate single lane highways where ever possible..so i dont know..i agree with you on this but I think there can be some exceptions made dont you think(ofcourse i mean legally, illegally making exceptions is no bigi

)

Thanks

Yeah, i have no clue what the law says, and as i have said before its quite tough to find out these things coz no1 knows what the laws are coz no1 follows them! ;-]

Also, my opinion is that regardless of whether you are driving a LHD or a RHD in a drive on the left side country (eg. india) you should never overtake from the left. Another safety issue for several reasons.

And, V12 ur absolutely right. Driving LHD cars takes some getting used to!....im so used to keeping my left hand on the gear stick and steering with my right hand that when i came here it was quite tought to drive> before i got used to it>
- whenever i needed to shift my left hand would automatically motion for the gearlever
- also the mass of the car is on the other side of you...so u tend to drift a bit when going straight, and also when taking right hand turns u tend to go quite close to the curb

but this just takes some getting used to.

In conclusion, i think a LHD car in the city in either really heavy traffic, or no traffic at all (laate at night) is doable.

cheers
glad u guys liked the diagram.
cya
Rehaan.

Quote:

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Rehaan @ Mar. 06 2004,11:35)]And, V12 ur absolutely right. Driving LHD cars takes some getting used to!....im so used to keeping my left hand on the gear stick and steering with my right hand that when i came here it was quite tought to drive> before i got used to it>
- whenever i needed to shift my left hand would automatically motion for the gearlever
- also the mass of the car is on the other side of you...so u tend to drift a bit when going straight, and also when taking right hand turns u tend to go quite close to the curb

but this just takes some getting used to.

I know just what you are talking about. Somehow, to date, I cant corner a LHD car as well as I can a RHD car .

But that didnt stop me from driving the minute I landed in Boston. 3 years in the states - 0 traffic violations - 0 tickets - 0 accidents. Not a single scratch

And yes, many many stints behind the wheel of most great car marques.

GTO