[akas_chauhan]

Hey good to know you safely did your first long distance drive. Keep writing.

Others, i think enough Knowledge sharing now. Let him continue his writing.

[sriswe]

Originally Posted by anainar

Sriswe,

Good going man. Yes, first long drives are always memorable, with we not being sure of what is going to come in the way.

But please do not compromise on safety. Don't ever let your front seat passenger sit without wearing seat belt.

Nainar

Yes, infact it is a memorable one. I always start the car after wearing the seat belt. My front seat passenger for the entire trip was my wife. But she never likes to wear seat belt eventhough I argue with her to wear it. Now I think I should make it mandatory to put on seat belts for all passengers in the car.

Originally Posted by Rajesh Rawal

: Is it okay to venture on the highway with the 'L' Sticker on your car?

First long drives are indeed memorable

I have a Learner Licence only. So the 'L' Sticker on the car. Any rule in motor vehicle act that not allows driving on highways with 'L'?

Originally Posted by ashthedivx

Indeed a nice start, congratulations for the same.

Some flaws i can pickup
> Driving posture was not correct including your grip on Steering should be like clocks hands at 10:10.
> Driving on wrong side, though it may be a short distance but drive safely.
>Do always wear Seatbelts.

And yes I hope that "L" wasn't for you i.e. you have a proper driver licence not the learning one.

As I mentioned I have a "L" only. Some how I was not able to take the driving test in Hyd due to my schedules and I renewed it twice

Originally Posted by akas_chauhan

Hey good to know you safely did your first long distance drive. Keep writing.

Others, i think enough Knowledge sharing now. Let him continue his writing.

Thanks akas_chauhan, It is always good to share the useful info and I dont mind more knoweldge sharing. Actually It makes me feel good to learn my mistakes and correct them. I will continue the rest of the trip once I reach home from office where I can write peacefully..

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Sriswe - it is really good to know that you made your first long trip. A word of small caution though, your driving posture in the photograph is not correct, your seat needs to move back, the seat backrest needs to be at the correct angle and your hands must rest properly on the steering wheel. If you do this, your driving experience will be more delightful. Also I can see a foot on the instrument panel, which means that the person sitting next to you may not be wearing the seat belt. Please DO NOT allow anybody to sit inside the car without wearing a seat belt.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Thankyou very much Behram.. I will definitely try to correct the driving posture. Most of the time my front seat passenger will be my Wife. I seriously ask her to wear the seat belt. You know, some times I win , but most of the time she wins :(.

Originally Posted by muralisk

Hey Sriswe, congratulations on your first long drive. As Behram said, you need to more relaxed while driving and especially on highways. I see you are too close to the steering. You can get back a bit. And coming to your steering grip, ideally, your hands should be placed few inches above and the bend in your arms should be minimal.

Anyways, please continue and am eager to read your journey fron Vijayawada to to destination.

Hi Murali,
The reason for sitting too close to the steering is to have a correct guess of my Indica's front length. If i move back, i am finding it difficult to slot the gears.

Originally Posted by akroy

Good Start of your long drives.
I can see your brother not wearing seat belts. I hope front passengers were wearing it. If not, Pls adhere to it for your long drives (or otherwise).

Abhi

Abhi...noted your point .. Thank you ....

Originally Posted by rkbharat

very good start. BTW one suggestion, keep your dash clear of devices/objects when driving long. These could be messy on sudden braking and can even hurt.
Or use some holders to keep them fix

Yes, bharat..I have to cleanup the things at the dash..Some times I also noticed that there will be a reflection of the items on the front windscreen which is not good..

Originally Posted by pranava999

great.. the first long drives always a lovely feeling..highway driving is a different ball game compared to city driving as your average speeds are greater and requires greater concentration. Reaction times get lower as you increase your speeds Get adequate rest.drive safe don't get too eager to overtake on the highway and please don't blindly follow a vehicle in front of you that is overtaking another vehicle... he overtakes considering that there is enough space and time for his (one) car/vehicle and not the vehicle following him...

Enjoy and waiting to read the rest of your experiences

Thanks pranava, I maintained a safe speed of 80 Kmph in the entire drive. That gave me a avg speed of around 50-55 kmph. And I only overtake when I am sure that there is no vehicle coming in the opposite direction in line of sight or If there is enough space to overtake safely..

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Must be a really enjoyable trip. Roads look nice (as compared to other NH that are not on GQ or Corridor) .

I noticed that you have kept cell phone on dash and it is connected to charger.

Are you using GOS to record routes / trace route by any chance?

No.. that is not a cellphone.. that is Sony Play Station Portable which I use to watch movies and play games when in leisure..I hooked up that to my kenwood player for playing songs.. And the cell is used to capture the photos as we dont have a digicam..

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by akroy

I can see your brother not wearing seat belts. I hope front passengers were wearing it. If not, Pls adhere to it for your long drives (or otherwise).Abhi

His brother is sitting in the rear seat, that's what i can make out from the picture. So how can he wear seatbelts?

@Sriswe, Great write-up and good pictures of your first drive. 800kms is indeed a long way and congrats that being a newbie you completed that with firm determination.

As you already got the advice on the steering grip, which seems to be the first thing that strikes all tbhpian's. Also, hold the steering little light and dont hang on to it as if for dear life..LOL

Now your certified driver to participate in one of the adrealin filled Hyd Team BHP drives

[arindamray]

Originally Posted by sriswe

I have a Learner Licence only. So the 'L' Sticker on the car. Any rule in motor vehicle act that not allows driving on highways with 'L'?



As I mentioned I have a "L" only. Some how I was not able to take the driving test in Hyd due to my schedules and I renewed it twice

As per law, to drive a vehicle with Learner's License one has to be accompanied by a person with driving license.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by sriswe

No.. that is not a cellphone.. that is Sony Play Station Portable which I use to watch movies and play games when in leisure..I hooked up that to my kenwood player for playing songs.. And the cell is used to capture the photos as we dont have a digicam..

Okay, I was hoping it was a Cell phone ot other Gadget with GPS, and I could borrow GPX / KML for this route. That ways it could help others who are not familiar with the route.

[ravibhat]

Thats really good start, you have good interest and ability. I owned 4 cars in 4 years without holding any license as I always had fulltime driver. 1 year back I made my license after my wife started to drive and I joined her to get license for me too on same day she visited RTO for driving license test

I suggest get DL done right away. Its not advisable to do long drive with just Learning license because people who inspect you can take advantage and you might waste time.

Ravi.

[sriswe]

Originally Posted by arindamray

As per law, to drive a vehicle with Learner's License one has to be accompanied by a person with driving license.

This is the funniest thing I forgot to tell in my reply. My wife has a driving license even though she dont know how to drive a car and she accompanied me.

Originally Posted by watashi75

Good report! Waiting for the remaining part. I think the picture was taken from the rear of the car.

Yes, exactly.. My brother had gone a little bit creative and taken photos from all sides of the car... He is the photographer/trip logger for the drive...

Originally Posted by mobike008

@Sriswe, Great write-up and good pictures of your first drive. 800kms is indeed a long way and congrats that being a newbie you completed that with firm determination.

Now your certified driver to participate in one of the adrealin filled Hyd Team BHP drives

Thanks mobike,
I dreamt of having a car right from my child hood and I love cars. Joining team-bhp has just increased my love towards cars... Can you enlighten me on the certified driver and adrealin filled hyd drives ?

[akroy]

Originally Posted by mobike008

His brother is sitting in the rear seat, that's what i can make out from the picture. So how can he wear seatbelts?

Avi, actually I follow this simple rule while on long drives on highways. "Everbody should wear seat belts". So far people have adhered to it and enjoyed the drives as well. I feel if that is practiced right from the beginning of your drives so that it will become a habit.
I spare the rear passengers only on a city drive.

Abhi

[sridharganesan]

Originally Posted by akroy

Avi, actually I follow this simple rule while on long drives on highways. "Everbody should wear seat belts". So far people have adhered to it and enjoyed the drives as well. I feel if that is practiced right from the beginning of your drives so that it will become a habit.
I spare the rear passengers only on a city drive.

Abhi

I agree with akroy. There is no justification for not wearing seatbelts if you are in sitting in the rear side since most of the cars nowadays have seat belts for rear side passengers also. The suggestion is not to have any incidents (God forbid) while driving on long distances when the driver will be tempted to push the pedal. It is always better to be safe than sorry later.

Regards,
Sridhar

[straightdrive]

Sriswe, good that you enjoyed your first long drive (especially as it was confirmed only a couple of hours before you left).

What's the name of the place where that large white statue in a couple of your photos (of Hanuman?) is located?

[muralisk]

Originally Posted by straightdrive

What's the name of the place where that large white statue in a couple of your photos (of Hanuman?) is located?

I think it is near Nandigama. People, correct me if I am wrong.

[kutlee]

great trip. on first trips it should more of caution and less of excitement (given our roads and traffic conditions). once you get used to highways, it becomes more of excitement. then more of boring!!
L drivers should be accompanied by full license holders and only can drive in the day times (10-6 or something). take care and get a full license soon.

[dushmish]

Congrats on your first long drive. My observations:

1. Pic 4 and 5 show you are driving on the wrong side of the road. Why?
2. Pic 6 and 7 show your vehicle is in the line of on coming traffic. VERY Dangerous. What were you trying?
3. Pic 8 and 9 show your left wheel is too close to the left edge of the road. Not a good idea. Why was it so?
4. Your dash seemed to be having too many things kept on it. Not a good idea at all. Specially in case of sudden braking at high speeds these things can cause havoc. Keep your dash clear of all stuff. Specially of cell phones, as they can become missiles at when you brake at 90 kmph.
5. Your driving position is stiff. Not seem to be enjoying your drive. Hold the steering at points where the clock's hands are at 10 past 10.


Wish you many more safe long drives.

Ciao,
Dushmish

[GenuineOptimist]

This is the funniest thing I forgot to tell in my reply. My wife has a driving license even though she dont know how to drive a car and she accompanied me.

I have a Learner Licence only. So the 'L' Sticker on the car. Any rule in motor vehicle act that not allows driving on highways with 'L'?

But she never likes to wear seat belt eventhough I argue with her to wear it.

These are very typical Indian attitudes & practices towards laws & safety.

If there is any law which prevents Learners to drive on highways, will we obey it? Its not about laws, its about our judgement and doing what is safe for ourselves and others. Law enforcement is already pathetic in our country. All it takes is Rs. 200/- to get away on flouting even serious laws like drunken driving.

Secondly, if your wife doesn't know how to drive it just doesn't matter whether she has a driving license or not. You might use this to bargain with the cops to reduce the bribe on getting caught, but pls think about derisking for your own convenience. What if you are unable to drive for some reason, but you want the car to be moved to another place? Who will do it? (Maybe you are away from the car, maybe you are drunk, or maybe you are stuck in the hotel)

Seat belts have nothing to do with likes/dislikes. Its the difference between education and illiteracy. I've seen a lot of my well learned colleagues ridiculing me when I wear seatbelts. They say its not required in India. Same attitude when I talk about air bags & abs. Not required in India. As if India has some divine powers and Lord Ram will descend to stop the car & protect the bodies from being thrown around..

I don't know when we'll get educated, irrespective of our degrees and respectable professions.

[zen91]

Originally Posted by muralisk

I think it is near Nandigama. People, correct me if I am wrong.

The statue is in Keesara..a place close to Nandigama.