[androdev]

As someone who drives the gigantic S class in Bangalore, there are some basic rules to follow to avoid fender benders and scratches, etc.:

1. Always give way to the other vehicle, a bit like holding the door open for your girlfriend. You can stop reading after this if you are in a hurry.

2. Stick to the right-most or left-most lane to avoid being squeezed from both sides, especially at traffic signals, etc.

3. Either completely block the gap on the sides or ensure generous amount of gap for other vehicles to pass. Indian drivers need just 70% gap open to believe that they can squeeze through. Your job is to keep the gap either at 0% or 120+%.

4. While turning in busy sections, be like the pier of the bridge on a flowing river. Let the bikes and autos flow forward like the river water and move slowly in their wake. You will feel like Neo of Matrix.

5. When coming to a stop, do a fake (pilot) brake to alert the absentminded/aggressive drivers behind and then do the actual braking. Many drivers accelerate when the signal turns amber, you need to alert them in advance that your time is not as valuable as theirs.

6. Don't park in weird spots - request/tip/bribe to get a better place or pick another location to park and walk.

7. My favourite tip: if Google maps or some road blockade diversion takes you into the middle of a narrow market street, while staring at the inevitability of kiss of concrete and metal with no hope left inside, there is only one thing to do. Take off your goggles, roll your window down, look pleasant and wait for the rescue squad. You will soon see few angels in the guise of auto drivers, etc. clearing the obstacles for you and guiding you with 360 degree precision. You will fear nothing and hate nothing after this.

I hope what I have said doesn't give the impression that it's a pain to drive these cars. These suggestions apply to pretty much anyone who loves to drive without incidents. People suffer the wrong notion that driving a powerful expensive car should translate to some kind of priority-lane privileges.

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by androdev

--
People suffer the wrong notion that driving a powerful expensive car should translate to some kind of priority-lane privileges.

Right said, Fred.

Infact, I feel that notion is like the anti-thesis of driving a luxe barge. The more expensive the car, the more vulnerable one can be on the roads.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by androdev

As someone who drives the gigantic S class in Bangalore, there are some basic rules to follow to avoid fender benders and scratches, etc.:

Hahaha … incredibly written but true. Honest to god, I actually do follow points 1 to 6 above, regardless of which car I am driving. Works well most of the time. I don’t flash brake but do start braking a little early so the brake light lights up well in advance.

[IAmGroot]

Originally Posted by androdev

7. My favourite tip: if Google maps or some road blockade diversion takes you into the middle of a narrow market street, while staring at the inevitability of kiss of concrete and metal with no hope left inside, there is only one thing to do. Take off your goggles, roll your window down, look pleasant and wait for the rescue squad. You will soon see few angels in the guise of auto drivers, etc. clearing the obstacles for you and guiding you with 360 degree precision. You will fear nothing and hate nothing after this.

Perfectly said, all points are valid. On this specific point, I was in similar situation coming out of a temple parking and got stuck in a narrow lane with queue of vehicles behind me, looking at my reluctance to maneuver my new Tata Safari (No 360 degree) the folks behind me came out to help and created an inch perfect path.

[nxshar2]

Originally Posted by androdev

7. My favourite tip: Take off your goggles, roll your window down, look pleasant and wait for the rescue squad. You will fear nothing and hate nothing after this.

Funny, when you put it like that. Also remember to turn the music way down, I often forget that part

[SR-71]

Originally Posted by androdev

As someone who drives the gigantic S class in Bangalore, there are some basic rules to follow to avoid fender benders and scratches, etc.:

Very well written. I don’t drive a ship on our roads, definitely not an S, but I have consistently followed 1 through 6 and it has helped me keep all my rides with minimum dings over the years.

[Spaced Out]

Indian roads and traffic are a great equalizer. My son wants a bigger car. I told him whether Bentley, Merc or BMW - they will all be stuck at the same traffic jam!

Originally Posted by androdev

As someone who drives the gigantic S class in Bangalore, there are some basic rules to follow to avoid fender benders and scratches, etc.:

[Cresterk]

Adding on to this:

When you are parking in smaller spots or making tight maneuvers at low speeds, always come to a complete stop and turn the steering wheel completely to either side lock and only then start moving. No slow crawling ahead/behind while you are rotating the steering wheel. You will be amazed at how much your turning radius reduces and you can squeeze into spots in just 2-3 steps instead of 6-7. Also helps to take u-turns etc in one go instead of having to reverse and hold up traffic which is just enough for an impatient person to try and scrape past you.


It is not very good for your front tyres but I haven't gotten any bald spots yet.

[ritedhawan]

Originally Posted by androdev

As someone who drives the gigantic S class in Bangalore, there are some basic rules to follow to avoid fender benders and scratches, etc.:

2. Stick to the right-most or left-most lane to avoid being squeezed from both sides, especially at traffic signals, etc.

7. My favourite tip: if Google maps or some road blockade diversion takes you into the middle of a narrow market street, while staring at the inevitability of kiss of concrete and metal with no hope left inside, there is only one thing to do. Take off your goggles, roll your window down, look pleasant and wait for the rescue squad. You will soon see few angels in the guise of auto drivers, etc. clearing the obstacles for you and guiding you with 360 degree precision. You will fear nothing and hate nothing after this.

I hope what I have said doesn't give the impression that it's a pain to drive these cars. These suggestions apply to pretty much anyone who loves to drive without incidents. People suffer the wrong notion that driving a powerful expensive car should translate to some kind of priority-lane privileges.

I drive a Honda Accord 2008 and used to drive its previous version, cumulative experience on both is more than 10 years. Primarily my car is driven in congested city 'no holds bar' traffic like New Delhi. I consider Noida less congested than New Delhi where I reside. The highway driving would include Haryana, Chandigarh, HP.

I would beg to differ on point number 2.
I would rather emphasize on the importance of sticking to the middle lane. The right lane is not for me becuase whether its highway or city. This lane is for those who are bent on surpassing the exisiting speed limits and one who is not in the habit of surpassing the speed limit would rather take chances in the middle lane, or left lane.

If the traffic slows down to a crawl, when all lanes traffic speed is relatively the same. Being on the right lane is not beneficial as this lane usually consists of people who are in a hurry and would honk endlessly as if thats a way to push people in close bumper to bumper situation to get them moving onwards, additionally following the course of the last paragraph, these people usually have less patience. In this sitation, being on the left lane is also asking for trouble becuase usually on the left of this lane there is for some reason space which the two wheeler's think enough to get past the traffic. Then there is one odd two wheeler driver who in his attempt of getting past your car may very well clip the left wing mirror! and that would be a unforgivable sin to me as without wing mirrors I am blinded when it comes to flank clearance.

Now one may get into a situation where you feel one is being "squeezed from both sides" , well in that situation I will slow down and play that "pier of the bridge on a flowing river" as you said. That card wins all the time.

On the free flowing highways, being on the middle lane has its benifits. Lets assume who end up confronting an unforseen obstacle in the middle lane. You always have the option of moving to the left lane or right, depending upon which one is open. Lets stretch this a bit, and add to the fact that right lane already has a vehicle while I am being confronted with an unforseen obstacle in the middle. I still have the benifit of moving to the left lane and vice-versa. This option will not be available to those who are in the corner lanes.

Wing mirror's are of vital importance for a big car and losing one for me is equivalent to driving with a handicap.

I couldn't comprehend the situation in point number 7.

"I hope what I have said doesn't give the impression that it's a pain to drive these cars."
-> Its not a pain to drive big cars. Its just that one needs to be extra vigilant.'

[manishk123]

Originally Posted by androdev

As someone who drives the gigantic S class in Bangalore, there are some basic rules to follow to avoid fender benders and scratches, etc.

Very eloquently summarised!

I follow your instructions almost to the T while driving my sedan. However I am a bit more aggressive with my X7. Its barge like proportions are quite intimidating to other drivers and bike riders, which I feel gives me a little leeway to pull away aggressively from a stop light and also while changing lanes. I feel in India big SUVs have a little advantage as compared to sedans. No wonder they're flying off the shelves so fast.

[AJ56]

I’ve daily driven both my Accord and Amaze for 10 years now and I don’t feel much difference to be honest, despite the former being 4.95m in length. A good driver will adapt to the machine in a matter of minutes. Having said said, Amaze can take tight u turns due it’s go cart size whereas in larger cars it would be a 3 point turn, but these are very rare.

Even when I’ve driven my cousins S500 (W222), I never felt it’s too big in traffic, felt the same as my Accord size wise. If anything, I prefer the Accord in city driving as it can close gaps much faster in heavy traffic situations compared to the severely underpowered Amaze. Larger vehicles are also much safer in collisions, even when compared to smaller cars with the same star rating due to the inherent mass advantage.

[OffRoadFun]

The points are valid and indeed necessary key to drive on chaotic Indian roads but in some sense that takes away the whole pleasure of driving, especially for enthusiasts.

Yielding to bikers? That is an ocean with an unlimited supply usually, one can yield to them forever but neither will their flood end nor will one biker yield to you, at least in BLR. There is no concept of right of way!

Athletic cars designed for "cornering" take a slow turn, yielding to Autos/bikers? Needs immense patience!

Hiring a chauffer is another option I guess for trip to crowded areas who can look for parking etc. at the expense of privacy.

[Jessierider]

Originally Posted by androdev

7. My favourite tip: if Google maps or some road blockade diversion takes you into the middle of a narrow market street, while staring at the inevitability of kiss of concrete and metal with no hope left inside, there is only one thing to do. Take off your goggles, roll your window down, look pleasant and wait for the rescue squad. You will soon see few angels in the guise of auto drivers, etc. clearing the obstacles for you and guiding you with 360 degree precision. You will fear nothing and hate nothing after this.

Just reminding you sir that this tip is not always foolproof. I learned that the hard way very early in my driving days negotiating an ever-narrowing street at our very own city market.
An angel in an auto driver's guise helped my car taste a concrete slab. The confidence with which he was gesturing me to move forward is still clear in my head even after 12 years but what stands out was his reaction of thumping his forehead with his palm the moment the car made contact with the slab.

This video below sure makes me laugh when I remember that predicament.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTXPbnYjuEw

[samitjain]

I drove 5 series and always felt that driving in the right most lane is the best for city driving for big cars as one side would be safe. On highways it’s the middle lane to avoid any obstacle suddenly appearing from the divider. On city the leftmost lane there is always traffic merging and hence avoid it for big cars

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by androdev

As someone who drives the gigantic S class in Bangalore, there are some basic rules to follow to avoid fender benders and scratches, etc.:

1. Always give way to the other vehicle, a bit like holding the door open for your girlfriend. You can stop reading after this if you are in a hurry.

2. Stick to the right-most or left-most lane to avoid being squeezed from both sides, especially at traffic signals, etc.

3. Either completely block the gap on the sides or ensure generous amount of gap for other vehicles to pass. Indian drivers need just 70% gap open to believe that they can squeeze through. Your job is to keep the gap either at 0% or 120+%.

4. While turning in busy sections, be like the pier of the bridge on a flowing river. Let the bikes and autos flow forward like the river water and move slowly in their wake. You will feel like Neo of Matrix.

5. When coming to a stop, do a fake (pilot) brake to alert the absentminded/aggressive drivers behind and then do the actual braking. Many drivers accelerate when the signal turns amber, you need to alert them in advance that your time is not as valuable as theirs.

6. Don't park in weird spots - request/tip/bribe to get a better place or pick another location to park and walk.

Absolutely well written!

I follow all these to the T. I have been driving for 25 years now, without a single incident of a fender bender (except a dog hit on the highway).

I drive normal size vehicles like storme which arent very big(4.7 m max). But I do drive my Tempo Travellers occasionally.

Bigger the vehicle, more patient and tolerant one needs to be to stay incident-free.