[Sheel]

Originally Posted by 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 !

And believe me, it IS irritating & distracting.

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.

I will differ a bit here. If you drive to Sikkim, you will notice, no one honks. All are on their side of the road (i.e. to their left) and drive fast. Appeared a bit odd to me initially as well, but once I got the hang of it, I find it the best way to drive in hills & is sure a stress buster. Almost no horns in Sikkim & I love going over there. Yup, no one honks...They will simply do a beep if you are obstructing traffic.

And, how much can one honk? There are 20 corners in just a kilometer.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Sheel

........do a beep if you are obstructing traffic......

That's actually a habit worth replicating everywhere. Those who want to drive properly, respect and respond to short honks. Those who don't, won't bother even if you stand on your horn-pad until it croaks.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by InControl

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

The self same horrid people will not even give the poor animal a drink of water or allow her to eat some leaves or fruits without shooing her away...a nation of dichotomies and hypocrisy when it comes to animals!

[kaushik51094]

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.

well sir, you being a senior bhpian, am sure you would have much more driving experience than me. So, i guess, it's my bad for not wanting to follow this rule. Now that you've told me, i'll be happy to honk before turning! Just hope, this doesn't become a habit. If i ever apply for an international driving license from somewhere abroad, this habit shouldn't be the cause for my license being rejected.

[ksmrsm]

We are Indians if you find the following:

1. Riders with a broken neck - Oh, they are talking on the phone.
2. Two wheeler riders whose necks become the indicator - Look left for a left turn and right for a right turn. This includes the most modern bikes.
3. Tree in the middle of the road - Aah, there is a breakdown.
4. Drive/Ride at 20 kmph on the extreme right of the road an then take a left turn.
5. Put the left indicator, show your right hand and then go straight.
6. Spit where ever you see.

Using the horn depends on where you are riding/driving. When I was in Mumbai, I managed to drive without using the horn on most occasions. Here in Trichy, if I don't use the horn I would end with an accident very frequently. I don't like using them, but sometimes no choice.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by kaushik51094

well sir, you being a senior bhpian, am sure you would have much more driving experience than me. So, i guess, it's my bad for not wanting to follow this rule. Now that you've told me, i'll be happy to honk before turning! Just hope, this doesn't become a habit. If i ever apply for an international driving license from somewhere abroad, this habit shouldn't be the cause for my license being rejected.

Please don't call me sir mate. But yes after having driven extensively in Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and now Vadodara, one thing is very common all across the country. People on the road are all morons. So I always follow the rule that I am responsible for my car, the car in front, the one at the back/sides, the pedestrian and the stray crossing the road. You will be surprised to see how many people are out on are roads day dreaming and totally oblivious to the surroundings and the hazards it poses. Something like those recent Ceat bike tyre adds. So regardless of what people say, use that horn judiciously and liberally.

[ksmrsm]

We are Indians and we are "MAD" if:

1. We slow down for the signal when it is changing.
2. Stop before the stop line.
3. Stop for pedestrians to cross.
4. Allow someone to overtake us.
5. Use indicators to change lanes/turn.
6. Use ORVM's, especially with a passenger by the side who doesn't use them.
7. Wear seatbelts when it is not compulsorily imposed by the police.
8. We adhere to lane discipline.
9. We do not park haphazardly wherever there is space.

[VinodDevil81]

I think I can contribute a few points which I feel are typically Indian traits.

1) Continuous honking for everything and everywhere even during night time too.In fact, blowing the horn has become a national way of expressing one's feelings/emotions.

2) Last-minute rush to escape when the signal has just turned red hoping that it will take some time for the vehicles from the other side to start moving.Typically Indian and really dangerous.Another dangerous habit is speeding up on orange/yellow light. People rush so madly when the yellow light starts glowing, or when the timer starts blinking for the last 5 seconds. Though I really want to stop on such occasions,many a times, I also have to take part in this rush to prevent getting hit from the rear by other speeding morons.

3) Jumping red lights when the road is relatively free and when there are no cops around.Again another dangerous Indian practice.

4) If you are riding a two-wheeler, you can squeeze through any gap irrespective of your side or the width of the gap. And at signals & intersections, while doing this, you need to ensure that you have broken or dis-located atleast one side mirror of a four-wheeler.

5) At railway level-crossings, on both sides, the vehicles would line up,covering the whole width of the road behind the closed gates, so that there is no way for vehicles from other side to pass when the gate opens. And when the gate opens, vehicles from both sides move & attack each other fighting for space to pass through.The scene looks much like the battle of Troy at most Indian level-crossings when the gate opens.

6) Pedestrians can simply cross the roads anywhere they like, be it a highway or expressway. Some people just become self-appointed traffic police by showing stop signals to the approaching traffic before walking across the road, where there would be no zebra markings at all.

7) Using bath-towels as seat-cover- this is a cheap practice I have seen in many cars in Kerala. Instead of getting a decent seat cover set, these people just buy 4 or 5 long thick bath-towels and put it from top to bottom of the seats.I have seen this on many expensive cars too.

8) Keeping the plastic-cover of the seats and sunshades intact for years- again another cheap Indian practice.More seen among first-time car buyers.

9) Stuff the car with the loudest amplifier/sub-woofer if you want to get the cool-guy image.How many times you will ever be listening to music at such irritatingly high levels while driving, is totally out of question.The bigger the boom, the cooler you are! In case of contract-carriages/tourist buses, just make sure that in addition to this,you have a DTS or Dolby-Surround logo on the rear-glass.

10) Number plates can be of any shape/font/size. You can go for IND plates with hologram if you wish so. Or you can get it done in your mother-tongue so that no foreigner will read your numbers. No issues as long as you know your number and can read your plates correctly.

11) Adding chrome-inserts to exterior parts of cars. This is another widely followed cheap practice all over the country.We think that more the chrome on the car, more expensive it appears. Sadly, most entry-level & mid-segment cars appear more cheap with all those after-market chrome-surrounds on the tail-lamp.fog-lamps and front-grills.

12) And about our parking etiquette, the least said, the better it is!

I can go on and on, but phew..this has become a real big post already.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by VinodDevil81

7) Using bath-towels as seat-cover- this is a cheap practice I have seen in many cars in Kerala. Instead of getting a decent seat cover set, these people just buy 4 or 5 long thick bath-towels and put it from top to bottom of the seats.I have seen this on many expensive cars too.

Actually this is done on cars with seat covers too. Reason is the high humidity and temp. the art leather is not a breathing fabric, and even with AC on your back can be totally soaked in sweat if the car has been in sun.
So its a sensible alternative to wet back and seats

[andy69]

Another Indian trait :
On narrow roads where auto rickshaws try to overtake you and get stuck parallel to you due to oncoming traffic, the auto driver will just nod his head up and down a couple of times - his way of requesting you to stop and let him pass ahead ! It's his right, never mind that he came against oncoming traffic !

Sorry bike riders, here's another trait I've seen on the road :
Bikers will honk incessantly when following you - warning - I'm behind you, move aside you moron ! Then they'll overtake you with their fingers stuck on the horn button. The moment their front wheel has passed your ride, they will cut across you whether from the left or the right ! Kings of the road !
At night, bikers flashing their headlights - upper/dipper/upper/dipper incessantly is another passtime I've noticed. Whatever glee they gain out of this.......

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Actually this is done on cars with seat covers too. Reason is the high humidity and temp. the art leather is not a breathing fabric, and even with AC on your back can be totally soaked in sweat if the car has been in sun.
So its a sensible alternative to wet back and seats

So they shouldn't have put the art leather seats in the first place! Like me, who made a mistake of not understanding this phenomenon and went ahead and put those seat covers. The seat cover of the drivers seat was taken off within a week. Other passengers don't complain about their seats that much hence I never bothered.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by andy69

At night, bikers flashing their headlights - upper/dipper/upper/dipper incessantly is another passtime I've noticed. Whatever glee they gain out of this.......

I have always wanted to ask this. Whats with this incessant flashing of there lights? I used to believe that may be its just something wrong with my eyes . Don't they get tired of doing that the whole time? What purpose does it serve?

[andy69]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Don't they get tired of doing that the whole time? What purpose does it serve?

Sadistic pleasure , I guess Sir. It is very very irritating, no doubt. I can understand if the guy wants to overtake, but they keep flipping the headlight all the time on the highways like a light house !

[rahul4321]

We in Gujarat drive a bit differently than in the rest of India.

1- Cows, goats, buffallo's can always be found on the roads- especially in the rural areas. These are usually being followed by the person herding them at the very end of the line. We dont wait for all of them to pass. We nudge our car ahead once centimeter at a time so that the goat/cow/buffalo gets an infinestimally small nudge and wanders away in another direction

2- If we are on a bike, we carve our way through goats and sheep by going left, right and centre through them one goat/sheep at a time. Note- If the animal has huge horns, we will abandon this move and wait patiently till the entire herd crosses the road.

3- We honk incessantly when we need to get somewhere fast. Even if we are at a traffic signal which has a red light. Its involuntary. Our head says 'Lets go. We are late'. Since we cant move ahead- we honk so that the driver in front knows that I am probably going to accelerate hard at the green light and that I want to overtake him.

4- When a cop stops us, we say 'saheb saheb' to massage his ego. Mostly he lets us go for free or for a subsidized 50 bucks

5- Go through Bylanes to avoid the intersection where you know the traffic cops are definitely going to be present when you are not wearing a helmet

6- Point, shout and holler when the lady who is sitting pillon has her sari waving dangerously close to the spokes of the rear wheel of a bike

7- Point, shout and holler when the car door is not properly closed or when any tyre in view is dangerously close to being flat

8- Take the mobile out of the pocket; send a few quick whatsapp texts when the traffic signal is red and put the mobile back in the pocket until there are 5 seconds of red remaining

9- At traffic lights peer into the interiors of the 7 series BMW's, Audi A8's and Merc S Classes. About 7 years back this used to be for all versions but now this peeking has been relegated only for the ultra-expensive top of the line saloon's.

10- If you have 30 seconds on a traffic light, reach into your pocket for a sachet of Guthka, Pass Pass, Supari, Sounf or cumin seeds - tear it open with your teeth. Empty sachet in mouth and toss the sachet on the road. Complete exercise as the red light nears zero and drive off and spit at the next traffic light!

[Thilak29]

• Adding protective accessories to vehicle in order to prevent scratches, but painting such guards to match color of vehicle.
• Using rubber strands to clean tyres in lorries.