Team-BHP - Safe Driving on Indian Highways & Ghats

The one thing which I am most afraid while driving on indian roads are bikers. They tend to move in any direction and sometimes drive in zig zag manner . And there was an instant where I was on crossing the lights were green and all of a sudden a biker crossed my moving car and was about inches apart from his tail hitting my car bumper. It was in shock for several minutes. My speed was around 60 kmph and he must be 70+.
Besides this I have seen a sick mentality of some drivers who drive recklessly and say "nasib mein jab likha hoga tab marenge " and they don't care about anything. They should be shot dead rather they wait for their naseeb to kill them.

It is not always stupidity. Road design is often ignored and hidden contributing factor. With increased speeds on highways the entry points need to be designed in manner to minimise bind spots.

A two lane entry in to a fast highway will obscure a smaller vehicle in the back lane.
Poor road sense of drivers entering the highway or attempting to cross it in a hurry is a major issue. But question - in case of most of the two wheeler accidents - why they could not see a fast approaching vehicle? Is there a hump or some thing else obscuring vision in area that is not visible?
In any case sad loss of life or limb and injury.

I just completed a 500km drive on four laned NH4 from Bangalore to Belgaum and wanted to share an observation I made during the drive. The entire 500 kms journey is on toll roads with some sections being six laned (3 lanes on each side) and most four laned. At various points locals have broken the divider to allow them access to the other side. Basically illegal cuts in the divider. I am a regular driver on these roads and was surprised to see the increasing number of these illegal cuts.

Just before virtually every such cut there are long black tyre skid marks :Shockked:. Tell tale signs of mishaps and accidents resulting out of vehicles, bullock carts etc.. joining the fast right lane unexpectedly. And since these cuts are illegal, there are no sign boards warning the speeding drivers on the highway. The highway authorities really have to be strict in not allowing this kind of nonsense. Its their responsibility to maintain the highway and part of this responsibility is to ensure that highway dividers are not tampered by locals. I will try to make a note of the number of such illegal cuts on my return journey with ref to mile markers and shoot a letter to NHAI.

As for motorists, it is a good idea to stick to the left lane as much as possible and use the right lane as an 'overtaking only' lane.

Quote:

Originally Posted by humyum (Post 3614007)

I have never seen a trucker or any large vehicle on the highway ever ask anyone to overtake from the left. Its usually the smaller cars which are moving fast and start passing the trucker from any gap possible. A trucker will 99.99% of times move over to the left and ask you to overtake from the right, its the car guys who are impatient and don't even wait for him to move back to the left and muscle their cars from the left and put themselves in a precarious situation. Trucks don't have the reflexes of a car and hence if it can't change lanes like a F1 car, while cars even at 100-120 can shift lanes pretty quickly.

Drivers usually don't as they can't hand signal, and if they switch on their left indicator, it is mostly when they are shifting lane.

Overtake from the left hand signal, is the job of the cleaner, most of the times.

# I do overtake from left only when the coast is clear (completely and that the truck will not shift lanes)
# Prior to overtaking, I might give a small beep to make the HCV driver aware of my car.

Usually, while overtaking from left, there is a gap (on the dual carriage highway or the recently resurfaced ones) as wide as that of another HCV and a heavy 30-40 tonne loaded HCV cannot change lanes as fast.

If the gap is small, I overtake with permission & at those places, usually HCV's stick to left part of the road.

I am more cautious towards commercial vehicles which have 4 wheels (cabs to tempos to pick-ups)

Today is Saturday, and all the good people of Bangalore city go crazy. Especially since it is a long weekend. I was driving to Belur and I would like to share what I saw.
I was driving at 80+ kmph. The whole stretch between Bangalore to Hassan has a speed limit of 80 kmph. I go this route 2 times a week and I often see many 4-wheelers at high speed. Maybe 120-140kmph. A group of ~20 Bulleteers overtook me at atleast 130 kmph. They were racing each other with their right wrist twisted to the max.
Now my golden rule on the highway is to never drive flatout. I usually cruise at about half my max speed. In my Figo, which can tough 160 kmph, I drive at 80 - 100 kmph. In my Honda City I go at 100 - 110 kmph. In my Alto, I stay at 70 - 80 kmph. This gives me a good range of flexibility as far as speed is concerned. I know that at any given time, I can comfortably go up or down by 30 - 40 kmph. Maybe if I buy a Merc, I might drive at 140 kmph.
But it is very dangerous for you and detrimental to your engine to cruise at near max speed. Maybe bullets now a days are different, but the last one I drove (Standard 500) had a max speed of 140 kmph. It was not comfortable at anything >100. Plus the brakes were never confidence inspiring.
I believe speed limits are there for a reason. I do agree that 80 kmph may be a bit low on some sections of the road, but unless you're very familiar with the road, you should not go much over the speed limit. For example, the highway between Hyderabad airport and Cyberabad had a limit of 150 kmph at certain sections. This limit is not set by fools. The govt. employs very highly skilled and knowledgeable people to arrive at these speed limits.
So please drive safe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hserus (Post 3632616)

Ideally a spare driver should be around in a car for > 4..5 hour rides.

Interesting.

All my riding and driving miles (except ~1200-1500 km) have involved solo driving. Unless I am dead tired, I prefer not to hand over the car even with a potential relief driver since I am a paranoid person.

Either I'm purely a passenger in someone else's car or if its my car I drive!

If I want someone to take over driving, I often nag the hell out of them - I want to see them sleep soundly for an hour or two before I hand over the keys. If *I* don't think that they've slept well, then I'd rather that we stop and take a break (read I sleep) than hand over the car.

How do you feel comfortable handing over the car?
Esp if the other driver isnt your spouse!

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530 (Post 3630606)

I was driving at 80+ kmph. The whole stretch between Bangalore to Hassan has a speed limit of 80 kmph. I go this route 2 times a week and I often see many 4-wheelers at high speed. Maybe 120-140kmph. A group of ~20 Bulleteers overtook me at atleast 130 kmph. They were racing each other with their right wrist twisted to the max.

I'm sorry but this sounds fairly hard to believe! Group of 20 bulleteers at 130 kph! I've almost never seen such a spectacle! Maybe a handful at 100-110 but this is rare!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat (Post 3613220)

I just completed a 500km drive on four laned NH4

As for motorists, it is a good idea to stick to the left lane as much as possible and use the right lane as an 'overtaking only' lane.

Correct.

1- Driving on the right most lane also gives less time to react in the event of any vehicle from the opposite lane losing control and crashing into oncoming traffic
2- you will see many idiots on some highways like the Bangalore- Mysore highway park their vehicles ( flat tire , stalled engine , accident ,...having sex,...) on the rightmost lane on blind corners and place stones or a tree branch to " warn" others. Driving on the left lane usually helps take care of such surprises also
3- even when there aren't any illegal cuts / breaks on the divider , at times you have cattle , bikers , jaywalkers try to jump on the fast lane in an attempt to cross

Other than these , on all Indian roads , it's the slow moving vehicle on the left ( no matter how many lanes ) while the rightmost lane is only for overtaking. So even if one js doing 200 kph , you flash your light , overtake from the right and then use your indicators to come back to the left lane keeping the rightmost lane open

Added this important point to the article. Have driven the Civic & Verna with a full load and there was a stark difference in their dynamic behaviour!

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 3008253)

Be aware that your car will behave differently with a full load of passengers & luggage onboard. It simply won't steer, handle or brake as competently. This point is particularly important if your car has a soft or unsorted suspension (e.g. Civic, Verna, Xylo). Drive conservatively when all your seats & boot are full.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 3650495)

Added this important point to the article. Have driven the Civic & Verna with a full load and there was a stark difference in their dynamic behaviour!

Speaking for myself, the car I drive seems to dictate my style of driving. That is, I don't consciously drive certain cars conservatively. I have been using an Indica Vista for a couple of months now, and I just don't feel like driving it like a Civic. But when I jump into the Civic, my driving style seems to change automatically.

The Car Tells Your Senses What To Do And How To Drive! ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedsatya (Post 3632667)

1- Driving on the right most lane also gives less time to react in the event of any vehicle from the opposite lane losing control and crashing into oncoming traffic .
3- even when there aren't any illegal cuts / breaks on the divider , at times you have cattle , bikers , jaywalkers try to jump on the fast lane in an attempt to cross

Absolutely. And with the small trees/advertising banners planted on the dividers, it is such a lethal situation if someone decides to cross the road whose position is concealed to the drivers until he gets on the path and bang. :Frustrati

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedsatya (Post 3632667)

2- you will see many idiots on some highways like the Bangalore- Mysore highway park their vehicles ( flat tire , stalled engine , accident ,...having sex,...) on the rightmost lane on blind corners and place stones or a tree branch to " warn" others. Driving on the left lane usually helps take care of such surprises also

Lol ! And that is where Raju Hirani got the idea of 'dancing cars' :uncontrol

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedsatya (Post 3632667)

Other than these , on all Indian roads , it's the slow moving vehicle on the left ( no matter how many lanes ) while the rightmost lane is only for overtaking. So even if one js doing 200 kph , you flash your light , overtake from the right and then use your indicators to come back to the left lane keeping the rightmost lane open

It does not bode well for being an idealist always and especially on our roads, conditions push us into realism .

I think a better position [ for a fast moving car] might be to alienate the left half of the car with the central alignment of the road so that a window of 1.5- 2.25 m is maintained from the 'tree/banner infested dividers' so there will be more time for reaction when someone decides to barge in from the opposite side while maintaining good speed. And the slow moving vehicles on the left would not be troubled.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilbkrishna (Post 3452144)

Came across this video in facebook.. I am still recovering my senses watching the sheer stupidity in some of these accidents!!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151951871945686

I'm still in an unknown state of mind after watching this. Apart from the truck with the blue tarpaulin at 09:00 no one wanted to wait at the junction before joining the traffic onto the highway.
APSRTC is credited with having experienced drivers and all I saw are buses taking those turns like a formula 1 car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 3632640)

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530 (Post 3630606)

I'm sorry but this sounds fairly hard to believe! Group of 20 bulleteers at 130 kph! I've almost never seen such a spectacle! Maybe a handful at 100-110 but this is rare!

It may not be all Bullets, but I have seen lots of premium/luxury bikers ripping in groups. This is one of the finest stretch of 200kms of 4-lane highway in Karnataka. Bangalore bikers obviously love this road.