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Originally Posted by supercars Why switch off the Air - Conditioning when entering water ? |
Very good question. And I found the answer a bit hard way in my Maruti 800. I will narrate the incident.
Few years back, I had to negotiate a waterlogged stretch on a road. I was in a bit of hurry. So, decided against changing my route. And it was the first wrong decision. If you can avoid getting in deep water, then I would suggest you do that. So what I did was, to enter this stretch which even some diesel cars like Safari were avoiding. They just turned around and followed an alternative route. The biggest mistake I made was that I entered with A/c switched on. And I think most of you guys who have driven an 800 know that its engine fan is battery driven. It is made of plastic and is linked with the A/c switch. If A/c is on, then this fan is automatically switched on. So, during the time I was in water, this fan was constantly on. And the plastic fins could not rotate at their normal speed due to the water. So, the plastic melted from the point it was attached to the motor and the fan would not spin. (
free ho gaya, as the mechanics say in their lingo). Of course, the car did not stall at that point.
And in hurry, I did not notice the engine temp rising after coming out out of water. So, just after driving 4 km away from that water dip, the engine heated and head gasket leaked. The car had to be towed down to the garage. It cost me Rs. 1800/- for the new fan. Total bill was around 3000/-.
But it taught me a useful lesson which came handy while negotiating those unending water trails en rounte Leh in my Zen. I would just roll down my windows, switch a/c off and enter the stream at very low speed. Just enough for the momentum. Switching off the a/c also frees up more torque.
One more thing I can suggest is not to
rev hard. As the gurus at team-bhp advise, rev up the engine just enough that it does not stall. And if you have one of these modern MPFi engines, you do not have to worry much. It won't stall if you take care. And to give you an example, my Zen was stuck in icy cold Bharatpur nullah, on the way to Leh. I could see only the top of the bonnet. Rest of the car was submerged. The car lay that icy stream for 45 mins. And it started in that stream in the first crank! I had known maruti to be a trouble free car up till that point. And I have actually started respecting Japanese build quality after this incident. And so has my friend who was driving that day. To be honest, I had never respected these light Jap cars before this incident, having learnt to drive in Mahindras, Fiats and Ambassadors.
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Originally Posted by gpa He might even rear-end your car if he's following close (bumper to bumper) if you suddenly step on the brakes. |
I think idea is to gently squeeze the break pedal just enough so that the rear brake lights are switched on for few seconds. It gives a signal to the guy who is tailgating you.
You can also use this technique during normal driving too. Sometimes we just slow anticipating a halt. The break pedal is used only at the end, when we pull up completely. The problem is that sometimes the guy who is following you may not realise your intention as your car is impairing his view of the road. And he is unable to realise the obstacle at some distance as you are. So, it is advisable to gently tap the break peddle so that he can see your brakes lights and slow down instead of rear-ending you.
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Originally Posted by psp62in After a bad car pile-up in Dubai about 2 years back (~80 vehicles involved) due to poor visibility in fog, the local traffic dept issued an advisory warning drivers against this WRONG practice. Why cant our authorities do the same?
A very simple solution exists to warn the vehicles behind you, instead of using the Hazard lights. Just switch on the headlights or the parking lights. Because with that, the tails lights get switched on too, and that really helps. The virus also has spread to Mumbai-Pune expressway tunnels).
This ridiculous practice exists perhaps only in India. If one tried it in other places, the driver would be give a ticket. I have not seen any traffic authority ever trying to discourage such practices. |
In good ol' days, when I learnt driving, this problem was not there. Giving indication for overtaking was very simple. There was no a/c. Speeds were normally around 50-60 kmph. The guy at the rear would just had to honk or blink the headlights. And you would wave you hand outside the window, signaling him to pass. And also, you would release the accelerator to allow him to pass.
Things have changed now. With windows rolled-up, and powerful music systems put to their full use, driving is not what it used to be. One, nobody would roll down the window to give you a pass. Secondly, it is rare someone slowing down to let you pass. The roads are filled up with ubiquitous monkeys. Instead of signaling you to paas, they would start double-laning so that you cannot overtake. Secondly, if you find space to overtake, they would start to accelerate as if they have suddenly realised that this is some sort of a drag race competition. With rising traffic, road manners are taking a back seat. Which makes the situation getting out of hand manifold. With these rolled up windows and closed air conditioned cars, we are losing our open attitude of driving.
There has to be a universally accepted 'signal' for the age old 'hand-wave' overtake signal. I had read somewhere that we can have an extra light in the rear to give that signal. It can be a green light so that it is not confused with yellow indicators and red brake lights. I was thinking why any such solution is not already incorporated in developed world. One assumption would be that, developed countries have highly advanced highway infrastructure. For e.g. Expressways in USA and Autobahns in Germany. These multi-lane highways have a dedicated overtaking lane. Second assumption is that these countries have very organised system of training and licensing of drivers. And on top of that, there is strict traffic law enforcement. So maybe these countries do not have an acute need to have an new alternative to traditional method of hand-signaling for overtaking.
So my question is why our country does take the initiative to solve the problem we are facing? Why cannot we have an additional light in the rear light cluster. It is not that preposterous. I mean, there was a time when a move to make turn-indicators mandatory on two-wheelers, was not appreciated by many Indian manufacturers like Bajaj and Enfield. But eventually we have seen these changes become standard. Remember those initial bajaj chetaks with ugly looking indicators snapped on.
Or we can have any of the other solution suggested here as an answer. But it has to be incorporated in the traffic manual on India. So that it is universally acceptable. And there is no addition to the confusion already pervading on Indian roads.