[Thad E Ginathom]

There was a policeman in UK who accidentally left his car-top sign displaying "Follow Me" for several miles.

He was totally baffled to find half a dozen cars stopping behind him --- as he arrived at his home after work.

I believe the poor guy was disciplined for it.

[fiery enzyme]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

I would beg to differ on that comment. I find overnight drives let me cover more distance in a given time, and there is no slow-moving traffic on the roads like cyclists and cows, so the risk of accidents is much lower. Of course, if you tend to go to sleep at the wheel, overnight drives are not for you.

Exactly! To me night driving is safer and faster. Well in 75% of the cases its professionals and careful people who drive in the night. Of course you can't always bank on not meeting the remaining 25%.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

Of course you can't always bank on not meeting the remaining 25%.

Indeed - and you invariably do meet that other 25%. Just watch for these:

• headlights going all over the road in an approaching vehicle,
• a car/truck coming up behind you with a stuck horn button,
• brake lights flashing for no reason at all as you approach a vehicle zigzagging all over the highway, or
• blaring music that you can hear from a 100 metres away

and you will have every reason to believe you've met that 25%!

[phamilyman]

Most importantly, on any four lane divided highway, it only makes sense to stay in the rightmost lane very shortly unless you can consistently stay over 110-120. Definitely not for those who believe in sticking in the right lane at 80 kph.

Else you'll just come back all grouchy grumpy complaining and post a thread about unwelcome experience with other road users

[ambivalent_98]

Hi,
Just yesterday after a long time I drove on a single lane state highway , experiencing all the thrills of overtaking / waiting for the vehicle up ahead to allow to pass , strictly no "left hand side" overtaking etc. So I was wondering how you prefer your route of travel to be ? An "n" lane expressway (n > 1 to n < 4) or a single lane traditional tree-lined national highway with dhabas and no divider.
I would love a single lane old national highway with lotsa trees on both sides. I know it would take much more time to reach from city A to city B but then it really feels very nostalgic. All opinions / views welcome.

[sami316]

Hi Pranav,

Very well written. It was very informative. Thanks.

[sudev]

On an express way if you are travelling at or near the speed limit (?) the best is to stick in fast-1 lane leaving the fast lane for overtaking traffic. On a two lane highway this would be the left lane. On more than three lane highway this would be middle lane.

[deky]

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

Hi,
Just yesterday after a long time I drove on a single lane state highway , experiencing all the thrills of overtaking / waiting for the vehicle up ahead to allow to pass , strictly no "left hand side" overtaking etc. So I was wondering how you prefer your route of travel to be ? An "n" lane expressway (n > 1 to n < 4) or a single lane traditional tree-lined national highway with dhabas and no divider.
I would love a single lane old national highway with lotsa trees on both sides. I know it would take much more time to reach from city A to city B but then it really feels very nostalgic. All opinions / views welcome.

Taking that the traffic on a 2 lane highway is the same as on a single lane highway:-

Definately a 2 lane highway as its less stressful to drive on it. Thrills of overtaking/ waiting to overtake on a single lane highway are ok for a few minutes but not for long. Atleast for me it gets very stressful, specially when u have your family including your 18 months old daughter sitting in the back seat.

Plus not to forget the mileage your car will give on a 2 lane highway will be much better than on a single lane in similar cicumstances.

[shishya]

I have read all the posts from #1 to #203 here. May have missed to note some; but here is a jist of our INDIAN HIGHWAY DRIVING.

(1) There are laws/rules etiquette and guidelines for driving - provided most if not all follow

(2) When in Rome do as the Romans do - else you be confused and confuse others
Points (1) & (2) for those advocating correct driving and those for accepted driving practices. As an example, take the NH4 from Mumbai-Pune-Bangalore-Chennai driving and signalling practices change over different regions. By watching for approx 5 kilometers (less than 5 minutes) other vehicle and driver behaviours, we can plan our strategy for following/overtaking/signalling etc [ for highways only; not for town/city which takes longer duration in terms of days ]. This has been rightly summerised by fiery_enzyme at post #131 to recognise intentions and SS-Traveller at post #144 by mentioning ITIL ( Indian Truckers Indicator Language)

(3) vnabhi post #59, for_cars1 post #128 and venuraja post #185 has rightly pointed out dangers of driving during twilight (both morning and evening). Either the sunlight is in our eyes or in the oncoming vehicle driver's eyes or reflecting from near vertical front glass. Also during morning twilight many oncoming drivers do not realise their main beam is "on" and glaring in our eyes. Best time to take our half hour break

(4) paragsachina post #123 asked why trucks on Mumbai-Pune expressway usually conteneously drive in the middle lane. They have a larger turning radius and cannot maneuver easily from lane to lane in the presence of fast moving cars. You will also notice Mumbai-Pune taxis, Volvo buses usually sticking to mid-lane as there is a guideline from their taxi union or Fleet-owners which monitors time of start and end of journey and warns fast drivers to ensure safe travel for their customers

(5) The concepts of braking and methodoly has been explained by many especially venuraja at post #156 and intent of braking (advance warning or while using engine-braking) by tapping on the break pedal for the rear vehicle to be alerted, which has also been highlighted by Thad_E_Ginathom at post #163

(6) The habits of some drivers to conteneously drive between two lanes has been highlighted by Torqy #188; this is usually when drivers are not confident at > 60kmph with other vehicles zooming pass them that the lanes have sufficient margins. I have noticed this especially in Lonavala region where the three lanes merge in two and have hair-pin bends (Expressway).

(7) Regarding trucks please also look for the "cleaner" who partially hangs from the left side of driver's cabin giving suitable signals. Please know he is an "assistant driver in the making" and could guide you when you can safely overtake from left side [ PLEASE SEE ITEM (2) ABOVE ], if the truck cannot change his lane as pointed out by paragsachina at post #123.

For the purists some of the above points may be offensive. As some have pointed out the driving behaviours and signalling patterns are slowly changing to "rules or guidelines" as I have noticed on Pune Mumbai Expressway. There are exceptions. We are changing in the right directions. We could do with refresher driver trainings. This is being followed by many State Transport Bus Organisations and they promote better and safer drivers with higher salaries to expensive buses.

Watch others for pattern of driver behaviour and signalling and drive safely.

= shishya =

[fiery enzyme]

Heart says 2-lane but we all know it will start to wear us out. I guess 75% multi laned roads interspresed with single lane roads would be nice.

[klassics45]

Hi guys,

I just want to share an interesting observation in my last trip to palani. Since, Im new to driving(3 months old) and being my first trip in highways, i was bit cautious in the beginning. The age of my scorpio(5 yrs, 1,50,000 kms) added a bit more caution in my driving.

As the hours went by, i started to keep a constant speed of 100-110 kmph. Thats when i realised that i was following a innova for a while and till i was following it, i felt more comfortable. He was honking in all required junctions and clearing up the traffic and all i have to do is keep up with him.

I start to enjoy it and all through my way back to chennai, i followed a innova then dzire and a bolero. It really helped me. I didnt have to look for the vehicles coming in the wrong direction or do the usual calculation about whether this old man gonna cross or not etc. All i need to do was just keep a good distance between the car in front and be prepared to break or slow down when i see the red light in his car.

I am not sure whether its a good habit or not but i drove the entire trip without much anticipation or any unneccessary caution which has become a must in our indian roads.

[Hades]

That's a really nice way to drive, but you also have to take in the fact the guy in front of you may not be all that experienced himself, so having a presence of mind when driving is all it takes and ofcourse the undeniable Highway Manners. But till you get that (say around 10k to 15k kms) its a nice way to drive, yet take into consideration of you gonna do that your "experience" factor could be a little skewed.

P.S just enjoy your driving mate with an alert eye you would be all set to become a pro in no time

[McLaren Rulez]

Well the problem is this: If you maintain sufficient distance between yourself and the car ahead, then you need to watch out for morons who will dart between the two cars. If you follow too closely, a sudden manouever by him will probably put you in a really bad accident. My two cents though the real experienced drivers will probably give you a proper answer.

[greenhorn]

have done this at nights. I keep a sufficient distance so that the top edge of my low beam falls behind his vehicle. Because there is a vehicle in front, you dont have to worry too much about vehicles coming from the other side

[ra_anirudh]

A general thumbrule is to keep 3-4 seconds time behind a vehicle. This gives enough reaction time to take action in any eventuality.
Another tip - some (not all) drivers of Volvo buses drive steady - helps to follow them.