[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by kaushik51094

One of the (or the only) indian trait that's caught me is honking unnecessarily.

Your mother might be right there. Honking is a nuisance but a very necessary one in our country. You will be surprised to see how many pedestrians, fellow motorists, bikers, cycle riders, strays are out there on a suicide mission. So as a precautionary measure ensure that the other person knows you are out there.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

So, what's your national trait??

Two sentences:

1. Drive you like own the road, the pavement, the signals, everyone else in the vicinity and their eardrums.

2. Get on the net (or other public fora) and complain about how people don't know how to drive.

[InControl]

Originally Posted by autonarr

Another thing that I find amusing (or quirky) is the way when new cars are sold, most people have their cars delivered with a "gift wrap"on the bonnet or roof. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but some people make it a point to leave them on for weeks if not months, perhaps to retain the illusion that it's still brand spanking new?

This pink ribbon left a pink stain on my friend's Alto K10 bonnet because it rained the next day of getting his car delivered and he left the ribbon on till his first service which is when he noticed.

Another trait that i see is People taking out their hand from the car and touching a cow to take its blessings.
HolyCow

[swiftnfurious]

• If you race to cross the signal when you see yellow lights and also the people on the other turn starts moving as soon as they see a yellow at their side.

• When abusing & shouting is the best way to claim your innocence after causing an accident

• Honk like there is NO tomorrow, even when the light is red and as soon as it turns green

• Use 90/100 bulbs and also use high beams within city

• Do NOT use indicators at all or use at the very last moment of turning, to save battery

• Overtaking at a blind curve

• Use hazard lights as soon as you hit a tunnel / low light conditions even when you drive

• Use rear fog lamps in rain or even in a drizzle

• Having punch lines at the rear of almost every cab

Off-Topic; still relevant to vehicles. Could NOT resist to post.

• If you see people running and boarding the bus even when they stopped for enough time for them to board

• Hang on the foot board even if the bus is half empty

• If people walk spread on the road instead of the designated footpaths and give a damn to honking / their own safety

Plus, saw some comments on A/C switch off during cranking - It's a load reduce exercise. Along with A/C, headlights and ICE are advised to be switched off in case of a crank. the car takes slightly more time to ignite when these are ON. Usually SAs give these tips before delivery.

Moving into first gear before a reverse, read that this helps in lubricating the parts well (especially before first drive of the day) and is again a best practice. Learnt it from my dad as this has been in practice widely during the old days.

[bharat4ever]

The James Bond of all Indian traits, which was pointed out to my dad by an American.

"If I see a vehicle in front of me, I have to overtake it".

[Santoshbhat]

Don't know if this has already been mentioned on this thread, but for me our national car/ driving trait is that we can drive on the wrong side of the road without a care in the world. The next cut in the divider too far? No sweat, just drive on the wrong side with your headlights on. Other drivers won't be shocked as they are used to this kind of behaviour!

[avdhesh15]

Some points from the top of my head:

1) Engaging 1st before Reverse: Heard an interesting theory: In life do you want to go ahead first or behind (zindagi mein aage badhna hai ki peeche!)
2) Making NOISE is a birth right, be it by honking, the dirt bikes revving up like no tomorrow, modified car silencers, music volume, et al
3) Honking = Overtake, i.e. if I honk at you, you have to yield
4) (sorry ladies) Bad driving can only be done by ladies because they might be more busy using their make up
5) If there are speed breakers every few meters. Case in point: in Mumbai on my way home from office, there are 23-25 speed breakers in a distance of 5 km!
6) Dumpers / Garbage Trucks drive as though they are participating in a truck racing competition
7) Stay in the right lane if you want to drive slow. If someone wants to overtake, let them take the left lane (I guess this might actually be due to 2-wheelers, cattle, cyclists on the left lane?)
8) Talk with the mobile phone on loud speaker but held just below the chin
9) Abuse inside the car due to road rage such that the outside people can't hear it but your co-passengers sure can (this might actually be slightly safer)
10) Bigger the vehicle, higher probability that the fault is yours... so if a small car has a tiff with a bike, it's the car guys fault. If a sedan has a tiff with the small car, it's the sedan's fault, and so on
11) Car racing teams should recruit from auto drivers in Mumbai. Looking at them drive makes you wonder at how overtaking can be done from every angle
12) Speed limit means minimum speed. So if the Mumbai-Pune expressway speed limit is 80, it means that you have to drive at least at 80 if not 150!

The list can be endless!

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Use rear fog lamps in rain or even in a drizzle..........

I've seen enough of these on clear starlit nights too. Can't let the rear fog lamp feel left out and develop social integration issues later, can we?

To be fair, a good few of these don't even know they're blinding the driver behind. They just twist the headlamp knob as far as it would go. When pointed out, sheepish grins/apologies or aggressive 'what will you do?'s follow, based on who is driving.

[srishiva]

Using a branch from the tree or a plant and placing it on the vehicle denotes that there is a break down. I find this so specific to a breakdown that even a hazard light would not provide.

[ashishmathur14]

The thread has become more about India and i would like to add some..

- Putting Ribbons on Hood & make them hang from Rear view mirrors before delivery.
- Keep the ribbons on hood till the colors fade.
- Checking the lock by pulling lever even after doing a central locking.
- Political Party flag on Number plate.
- Designation on front & rear windscreen of a Govt Official
- Lot of Poetry/Phrases/Social Messages on real of most trucks & Mini Trucks.
- Racing in 1 gear as soon as light is about to be green.
- Creating Short Cuts and taking by lanes just to avoid traffic signal, even if its a longer route.
- Quoting being so & so of SO & SO on being caught by cops.
- Start fight on the busiest road and create a long jam for a minor scratch.
- Abuse at the tip of the tongue

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by autonarr

I was going to post something similar and you beat me to it!

The several drivers I had working for my family would always make it a point to first move forward and then reverse when getting out of the parking bay. Must be a "southie" trait?

I know this well. I have been taught to drive with this being the first lesson. Always put in 1st and move forward slightly a before engaging the reverse. Never reverse straight away when the Engine is cold. Else it impacts the engine life.

There has to be a logic to it, but I never bothered with the "how?" about it. I just followed what was taught to me.

I believe this comes from the people who have driven and lived in our old gen cars i.e. Fiat Padmini, HM Ambassador etc.

[torque!!]

Originally Posted by InControl

They will first put the car into First gear and move a bit and then only engage the reverse gear and start reversing

Well, it may not necessarily be a unnecessary habit. Sometimes, I too cannot slot in the reverse gear on my Swift VDI. Have to engage 1st, and then switch to reverse.

Most cars have synchronized forward gears but the reverse gear is not synchronized and hence the difficulty in engaging it at times. Older gearboxes were particularly bad with the reverse. So, it does make sense to slot in 1st and then reverse.

Btw, I had checked with a couple of Maruti ASC and they did acknowledge that the Swift VDI does have this issue with reverse at times. And some cars are worse than others. Not sure if other Swift VDI owners have also had issues with slotting in reverse on their cars...

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Your mother might be right there. Honking is a nuisance but a very necessary one in our country. You will be surprised to see how many pedestrians, fellow motorists, bikers, cycle riders, strays are out there on a suicide mission. So as a precautionary measure ensure that the other person knows you are out there.

The fact is that most of the drivers and pedestrians (to a lesser extent) rely on the other people's honking. These driver have stopped looking at the rear view mirrors. They just maneuver, and they assume "if I am too close in cutting lanes, the other guy will honk - Why check the mirror"

[InControl]

Originally Posted by torque!!

Well, it may not necessarily be a unnecessary habit. Sometimes, I too cannot slot in the reverse gear on my Swift VDI. Have to engage 1st, and then switch to reverse.

Most cars have synchronized forward gears but the reverse gear is not synchronized and hence the difficulty in engaging it at times. Older gearboxes were particularly bad with the reverse. So, it does make sense to slot in 1st and then reverse.

Btw, I had checked with a couple of Maruti ASC and they did acknowledge that the Swift VDI does have this issue with reverse at times. And some cars are worse than others. Not sure if other Swift VDI owners have also had issues with slotting in reverse on their cars...

Ohh i was not aware. Thanks.
I have a Ritz VXi Genus and a 800 and I dont face any issues with slotting the reverse rightaway.
Though friends I am talking about own a Alto K10, a XUV, an Innova,a Alto and a scorpio amongst them and they say it is for luck. Its not only slotting, they slot it and also move the car a bit forward after which only they reverse.

[RAV1]

The one trait i've found very irritating is the use of hazard lights when it's raining heavily - hazard lights are supposed to be used for stationary vehicles !

The 'ghat section' driving traits - e.g, the honking sequence when you approach a hairpin bend, etc. are very useful and i suppose they've developed over time to account for the unscientific roads in many mountainous areas.