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-   -   Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-safety/3580-bad-drivers-how-do-you-spot-em-858.html)

I agree with this. The OEM LED headlights in some of the scooters (petrol/electric) like the ones on the latest Activas, Olas etc. are directly in my face when they cross me. And I'm a tall guy in a tall car already. I imagine someone in a sedan losing vision for a second or so when they cross them.

I'm not sure if it's the way the light scatters or if is the incorrect OEM positioning of the bulb/reflectors/whatever, the right part of my windscreen is just bright white and I have to struggle to focus on the left to see if there's anybody/anything else, or if my brain recalls seeing a pavement or tree there.

Another pet peeve of mine used to be the stock rear LEDs of the previous gen Balenos, they used to probably burn into my retina. The current ones are not that bad.

Absolutely. Even the stock LED headlights are too bright and piercing to blind the oncoming drivers.

The most interesting part is that many a time these high beams are being used on well lit roads with traffic moving at about 50 kmph. For the oncoming driver, the road which would have been well lit with low beams and street lights become invisible due to the blinding high beam.

I make it a point not to switch to high beams in city traffic, also when going behind somebody - I know the pain. On relatively empty and unlit roads though, I do switch to high beams to go faster and safer.

The same was recommended by one of my friends, and does work well. One situation where it may not work is when you have a wrong side driver with high beams headed your way on the left!

True, the fog lights of the past were yellow for a reason. The physics says that yellow has the longest wavelength (except red, which is used for brake lights and rear fog light, and orange, which is avoided due to its likeness to red) and scatters the least (inverse power relation).

I had faced a situation in fog/smog in Chennai (early morning after the Pongal burning this year) where the visibility was too less. I have halogen head lamps and fog lamps and could proceed at a decent speed for the conditions by looking at the road markings. Whenever I came to a spot with those white street lights and high mast lights, I was literally blinded due to too much light scattering.

I am sorry, we cannot go by emotions on this. In last one week, I did two long drives (Blr-Hyd, hyd-bza). Every time I applied hard brakes, it is because a heavy truck does sudden lane change or starts swerving. I do BLR-BZA every year and I have not seen truck drivers this careless before, say Covid. Earlier, I used to see them give clear signals or hand signals. As the trucks have become more powerful, they are driven like an auto rickshaw. Moreover, they are distracted by phones or digital content. I got shit scared when I saw that the bus driver whose bus we were in was watching YT reels when I was off boarding at Silk Board. How many times did you see them watching or speaking on phone while driving? Why should I feel sorry for them?

Lets go by emotion on a two lane highway. But do they take middle lane or left lane on expressway? Come to Nice road in Bangalore and see how many trucks stick to fast lane.

Even in this particular case of Nelamangala accident, should I have empathy? The truck driver was not trained to avert an accident or minimize damage and did panic swerving, went into the oncoming traffic. God only knows how heavy (or overloaded) it was and what speed it was on.

My logic is simple. Stick to common sense (atleast) if one cannot follow rules to the book, when on road. The bigger the vehicle, the more careful one should be.

Here is a video of bangalore Mysore expressway. See how many times the car had to move to middle or left most lane as trucks are blocking fast lane. You can also find a slow motion overtake between trucks in right and middle lanes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_kOzqvpzqQ

Well said !! It is also becoming scary to see how many vlogs are coming from commercial / normal drivers. One hand holding a mobile phone while one hand on steering. There is a lot of distraction. Something must be done to stop this nonsense, else we will end up with accidents.

This! So many times I have seen trucks swerving between lanes only to observe the driver is talking on his phone while “steering” with one hand.
The sudden lane changes have caused more than a few close shaves for me. I can usually predict when these guys are going to change lanes and act accordingly, but there are always a few outliers who perform logic defying actions.
Another pet peeve is trucks merging on to the highway straight into the rightmost lane, cutting across traffic in an extremely dangerous manner.

The most fundamental rule is to obey the rules. Whether it is overloading, cutting lanes, over speeding or lack of lane discipline; it is this not obeying the rules is the single most important root cause of the evil.

Indeed, a simple ask, Isn't it? However, the outcome of this ask depends upon two things.

1. Knowledge of the rule
2. Wisdom to apply the knowledge

Former can be achieved through hardware in a shorter span: Creating awareness, making entry barriers stronger, periodic assessment of motoring skills and ability, stick and carrot approach, understanding limits of vehicle

Later is a software which is achievable in a longer time frame: Honesty (in following rules even at midnight), Empathy (towards the fellow road user), Frugality (of the privilege one gets in terms of vehicle).

Now this to happen, either a mass leader from the corridors of power should take up this laborious task or enough voices need to raise from the mass for better governance of road transport.

For someone who has done a few tens of thousands of kilometres on the Indian Highways, the real problems on the highways are - in the order of ranking:
1. Cars - the ones who are impatient and believe that they have a right over other vehicles.
2. Two-wheelers and auto drivers nearing a village or settlement - the ones who have no idea of the vehicles coming around them.
3. Cars who drive in the fast lane at 60 or 80kmph - more often or most often with the driving position of an Ambassador driver, or in a deep conversation over phone or with co-passengers.
4. Cars who overtake from the extreme left - especially on the NICE road.
5. Other goods vehicles, including trucks. In the fast lane, or parked on the shoulder.

Yes, as per rules they are in the wrong lane - the ones in #5 above. Yes, they are a nuisance when they don't make way. But really, they are most often minding their own business. It's the #1 who don't exercise sufficient care and end up blame just about everyone else.

All of the above are statements from someone with driving experience in six digits, and from someone who acknowledges own follies, but believes in exercising caution - very similar to what Thad has mentioned a few posts prior. It's not to say that I am always in compliance with the rules, or that I am in Zen mode always. But, it's a lifelong process - learning to drive on the highways.

Note: There's a portion of the video where the 120 kmph warning sounds continuously, and a red car just escapes as the car tries to change the lane nearing the truck ahead. That, falls under #1. Won't say anything more.

Sir, I watched the video only partially as it's quite lengthy. The traffic movement is very haphazard and there's no adherence to the road rules by the vehicles, especially about the slow & fast lanes.

I also noticed from the short portion of the video I watched, that your car was one of the quickest amongst the cars there forcing you to weave through the traffic maze.

I heard regular clicking sound of the indicators. What was that about?

The driver in the video is going pretty fast and is overtaking vehicles repeatedly from left lane... After driving quite a bit on our highways with car drivers zooming in and out of lanes to overtake and reach their destinations 3 minutes faster, I feel truck drivers hogging the fast lanes are safer. They are driving predictably and they are doing their best to reduce chances of an accident due to unpredictable road users.

Not my car, not my driving style, not my video. Shared this to show something very simple. Trucks hogging right lane even in a three lane highway.

Yes, anyone going above 60 has to weave thanks to trucks, mini trucks and what not hogging the right lane. My point is that they need not block fast lane in three lane highway. They can drive predictably in middle lane as well.

Not going to talk about other vehicles as there was enough discussion about these idiots in this thread.

I too have six digits of driving and 70% of my car driving is on highways. The point I made is about truckers hogging fast lane no matter how wide the highway is and how many lanes the highway has, resulting in faster vehicles swerving a lot. Yes, lets cut some slack for them on two lane or single roads as there it is not possible to stay on slower lanes. But, these trucks often go with too much load that reduce braking You guys may have missed my other point where ‘many’ driving newer trucks are absolute nut cases and they swerve and jump lanes like an auto. A car swerving lanes is one thing, a one tonne truck dong that is just bonkers. This is unacceptable and like I said earlier, I would not go by emotions when it comes to truckers or for any vehicle. These roads are death traps and emotions do not have a place here.

Thank you for posting about this. Just a few days ago, I was speaking to a TBHPian friend about the same post our long drive to Jaisalmer from Bangalore. Some truck drivers definitely have lost some of the gentlemanly manners that we associate with them ( big-hearted, careful, etc ). In the past, you could just honk once mildly before overtaking and that was it. In the recent times, I have had 2-3 close calls where they have switched lanes without looking and jeopardizing my safety.

The IRVM shows no other occupant in the car. Did you take that video while driving?

In the comments section of the YouTube video, the vlogger claims to have maintained a speed of 120kmph while zigzagging lanes and overtaking from the left. Whatever excuses he is making i.e. slow-moving vehicles on the right lane are just to mask his aggressive and illegal speed driving.

Don’t even read the thread before coming to conclusions? I just picked a video that shows the highway. I don’t even know whose car it is. Context is to show how many trucks are blocking right lane. This video covers almost entirely of Mysore Bangalore highway. rl: