[Mystic]

I spent my childhood in early 70s in Nigeria as my father went on deputation from Government of India because both are common wealth countries.

In those days. We experienced a strange phenomenon of moving from RHD to LHD implemented for the whole country.

The logical reasoning given by a common wealth country to ditch British RHD is because most of the neighbouring countries in west Africa are LHD making the drivers feel at home when crossing the country to neighbouring countries by road for business.

Also, countries that use the left-hand drive make up a sixth of the world's area and a quarter of its roads. Plus, most countries that use the left-hand drive are giant automobile producers.

Another interesting experience I had during my consulting days, I travel every 15 days to a new country. LHD and RHD never ever bothered me in rental cars because I tuned my mind to keep my driving seat on the meridian of the road.

In fact when I relocated from Silicon Valley of USA to Silicon Valley of India, my company paid full relocation and I tried my best to bring my Mercedes to India from USA as I had already booked a 40 feet container for the relocation. I desperately tried to get quotes for moving the LHD steering to RHD steering as the customs in India will not allow LHD cars to be imported. Finally I gave up as I didn’t have enough time to pursue the matter.

My father used to have LHD Willys Jeep as a Government vehicle in early 70s in India and I remember that they used to write in bold letters” LHD- NO HAND SIGNALS”

Why I am telling you all the above is just to advise you to not waste your time and get used to it. Automobile designers design one way or the other depending on the country where the car is manufactured. They just ignore to change the steering controls for LHD and RHD separately as it requires a lot of engineering change and I personally feel that there is a hidden patriotic agenda to make customers respect their country’s LHD or RHD. One cannot change the world. We have to go with the flow . Why bother to change when you can have your brain to get a little bit tuned. I fully understand your logic of Indian traffic and manual transmission etc.

I have a dream that another commonwealth country India will also ditch British RHD to LHD some day.

[Dennis]

Originally Posted by SpeedBird

I.

I would suggest to look at joining a 3D printing forum. You would need to take a few measurements and visualise the placement of the new stalk. This stalk would move around a collar or ring around the steering column. Position it behind the wiper stalk but you can notch it for reach ability. There would be a collar around the the steering column and you may have to place a small spring or 2 for the return function / feedback. On the other end of the ring, there would be 2 small finger one above the indicator stalk and one below to activate the stalk.
I visualise some trial and error for placement and getting the tension and pressure points correct for these pieces.
The approach also seems to be easily removable, so no need to worry about warranty.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

I wonder how it works in other RHD markets, does Japan and Australia also have indicator stalks on the right like us or left like the Brits?

It depends.

1. European car makers such as Audi, BMW, Merc, VAG group etc. have the indicator stalks (IS) on the left hand side (LHS) like they do in other markets.
2. Hyundai ships their cars from South Korea which is a LHD market but provides the IS on the right hand side (RHS). I would say the same for Chinese carmaker BYD.
3. Ford's Ranger from Thailand (RHD market) has IS on the RHS. However, their Mach-E has it on the LHS.

I would presume this would be the case for Japan as well but I don't know for sure.

As far as the thread topic is concerned, I'm sorry to say that a mountain is being made out of a molehill. I know it can be annoying but one gets used to it quickly.

The replies explaining the rationale for seeking the swap are actually more concerning and show a complete misunderstanding of fundamental driving practices. I'm not surprised though. You gotta shift them gears real quick to be a reel car person.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMwXTWh8p3k

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by SpeedBird

Okay, let me alter the situation for you a little bit. Let’s say I am "overtaking" from right lane and this villager comes to the road. And here in south India, we have 80-100,kmph as speed limit in "right most lane" (google it, I am not making this up).

If you are overtaking then why would you shift to a higher gear and get less drive? Logic dictates that you would want to complete said overtake as soon as possible so as to minimise the time spent exposing yourself to the risks that you are describing. The Virtus/Slavia have powertrains that are very different from a 3cylinder econobox and I can assure you that you do not need to be shifting your Slavia from 4th to 5th in the scenario that you have described.

Originally Posted by SpeedBird

200 to 300ms is the typical time on which you would sure agree on. Seems like clearly you have not faced this situation

Not sure why you think I am immune to experiencing something similar on our roads considering how rampant you pose your situation to be. That said I would definitely be driving entirely differently from the way you have described so I don’t think I have faced the same pain that you are talking about.

Originally Posted by Nalin1

just as I was shifting gears, a car parked on the side started moving and joined the road (very easy to visualize for anyone). I swerved right to avoid and was well aware of another car on my right!. Wanted to turn on the indicator and make the change, but my left hand was on the gear lever!. So I made the move without indicating.

This “move” that you made was done in neutral with the clutch depressed? Because if there was drive then that suggests that you were not in the middle of some divine instructions to change gear and that even though your hand was resting on the gear lever you could simply have brought it up to indicate.

I feel like many people do not realise how unnecessary it is to have your hand permanently on the gear lever. Just like it is encouraged that one rests their foot off the clutch pedal and not on it, it is quite simple to bring your hand back up onto the wheel once you’re done shifting gears. If it isn’t easy then I suppose that one is not yet comfortable with driving enough to realise that there is no need to leave their hand on the gear lever permanently simply because it is a manual.

I mean no offence to anyone by these statements they are just observations that I have made after years of experience. Remember my garage is yet to house an automatic in it all 3 of my cars are manual, all 3 of them have crossed 1lac kms with the total amongst the 3 accruing to 5 lac kms, and two of them have the stalks in the wrong configuration. So believe me, it should not be a major pain point and if it were then the driving style needs to be looked into.

[evil_grin]

I wish it were illegal for manufacturers to have indicator and wiper stalks reversed.

I have owned and Octavia for more than 4 years now. Had it been my only car, I'd have gotten used to it. But I also drive a City. It causes unnecessary confusion and mistakes. For both me and my wife.

Still, changing this for an existing car is a bad idea.

[vamsi.vadrevu]

I personally feel that the indicator stalks should always be on the opposite side of the gear shift lever.

If we're in India, the indicator stalks should be on the right.
If we're in Europe or USA, the indicator stalks should be on the left.

It just makes more sense in situations where you need to change gears while indicating or switching the indicators off. One hand is changing the gear, the other is engaged in indicator control.

When we're about to enter a turn, we switch on the indicator, shift to a lower gear and enter the turn. this is done much more easily when indicators and gear stick are controlled by different hands.

If course, with enough practice we can safely do both with a single hand. Human muscle memory is fascinating. In a matter of a week, we can get accustomed to pretty much any kind of ergonomics.

But ideally we shouldn't need to. I don't know why India doesn't homologate the indicator stalks side for our driving side.

[Vandit]

For me the pet peeve with VAG cars is the atrocious placement of the cruise controls on the left stalk. Just absolutely annoys me.

Which is why I've been waiting to see if anyone has successfully managed to upgrade the multi function steering wheels on the Kushaq/Slavia/Taigun/Virtus. So I can get rid of that irritating stalk button placement.

[ndp88]

Yes the Indicator control position also European in Renault Duster. I guess they corrected in newer Renault models. But it’s not that much of problem, personally speaking. You get used to it, and forget that it’s odd compared to other cars.

But sure you’ve to do the same ritual discussion of explaining logic every once in a year if someone else happens to drive you car.

[saket77]

Personally, I would always prefer the indicator stalk to the right for cars in India. Sure, one can always adapt but the natural position for the stalk, for me, should be on the opposite side of the gear lever, for ergonomics.

Having said that, there’s no way I’ll be willing to mess up with modern car electronics, especially that of a German car. If at all, I’ll get extended warranty on a German car, rather than cutting short even the standard warranty. That’s an absolute no-no.
If it’s bothering me so much, I’ll change the car. For comparison’s sake, Virtus looks absolutely gorgeous to me. The best looking car in C segment by far. But I’ll settle with the City for my own reasons and preferences.
My suggestion to OP, even though I empathise with him on the matter- either live with the arrangement or change the car itself. As per his posts, the latter doesn’t seem probable, so I’ll advise him to adapt. It will become a non-issue in a short period of driving time. Fiddling with electronics on a German car with a finicky reputation and consequently voiding the warranty will be the last thing I would want as someone who values peace of mind above everything.

[Mortis]

I agree with the OP, although he didn't articulate it correctly or gave the wrong example, that in some scenarios it's not practical to have both hands on the steering wheel.
Say you are slow moving stop and go traffic with speeds up to 25 km/hr. You have to keep changing gears between 1st and 2nd as speeds vary in these conditions and atleast for me, the shift point between the two gears is 15 km/hr and believe me, you keep going above and below this point often enough to make moving your hand from the shifter between gear changes an unnecessary hand motion circus act.
We are advised to keep both hands on the steering for control and redundancy. You need to keep your car running straight and also be able to turn to avoid obstacles and in case one hand slips, your other hand is still on the wheel to turn or hold it in place correct?
With one hand on the wheel, your turning radius is limited about 15-25 degrees which in the conditions I mentioned is sufficient for any maneuvering you might have to do. You are limited by space and momentum anyways. Under those conditions I'm busy maneuvering the car anyways to bother with indicating or flashing the lights so I'm not concerned with the stalk positioning. I might press the horn though with my thumb.

In terms of preference, obviously RHD stalk are my preference. To indicate I just stick out the middle finger on my right hand and flick the stalk up or down.
I have driven a friend's Vento a few times and pretty much every time, I have turned on the wipers instead of indicating. HOWEVER for the rest of the drive I automatically remember to use the correct stalk. I'm pretty sure it's something that I would get used to pretty quick if I owned a car with swapped stalks so ideally it's not an issue unless you swapped cars every alternate day.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Mortis

I agree with the OP, although he didn't articulate it correctly or gave the wrong example, that in some scenarios it's not practical to have both hands on the steering wheel.

Since you agree with OP, can you please answer my question that was originally asked to OP?

Originally Posted by Samurai

If I am turning and need a gear change, I put the indicator first, before reaching for the gear shift. Problem solved.

Why would you need to operate the turn indicator while changing gear?

Originally Posted by Mortis

I'm pretty sure it's something that I would get used to pretty quick if I owned a car with swapped stalks so ideally it's not an issue unless you swapped cars every alternate day.

I alternate between left stalk MT and right stalk AT every day. Still not an issue.

[BrakHorseBarhat]

Originally Posted by SpeedBird

Indicator stalk being on the left hand side!

Haha, even I am currently in the process of getting used to this change since I have recently gone from daily driving my Hector Plus to Taigun GT Plus DSG.

Although I suffer a bit less since both of them are automatic and I don't have to constantly keep my hand on the gear.(Although my hand often ends up going on the gear instinctively when there is a sudden brake due to the habit of driving a manual)

It shouldn't take more than a couple of days or weeks to get used to it.

[Mortis]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Since you agree with OP, can you please answer my question that was originally asked to OP?


I alternate between left stalk MT and right stalk AT every day. Still not an issue.

You don't shift gears while turning. You indicate first to give ample warning to the cars behind you and then brake and downshift to complete the turn.
Was this supposed to be a trick question? I stated that I agree with the OP to SOME EXTENT. Under certain conditions you need to shift gears frequently enough where it makes more sense to have a hand on the gearshift instead of the steering wheel.