[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Reversing:

Always turn off your music when reversing, and never reverse faster than 5 km/h (walking speed).

6) Turning off the music will help you hear early warning signs, be it a scrape or a warning yell

You might consider adding

--- Open the front windows. This is one of the biggest aids to being aware of what is happening.

[virgopal]

Please Never try to overtake(on Bangalore-Mysore highway) on a up-gradient when there is every chance of a sudden looming of an overtaking oncoming bus/car from opposite down gradient over the horizon.You wont have time to go back to your lane and an accident happens.
Happened to me and was thrown off my scooter on to sidewalk.Luckily escaped serious injury as I had helmet on.

[saket77]

Never trail a vehicle closely. Particularly which are high. They often scrape against the branches of the trees along the road. Some small branches may break and fall just in front of your car, or worse, on your car itself (worst, if you are riding a two-wheeler or open hood car), giving you no time to react.

[Travelling_Monk]

I have driven extensively on Indian highways and I am here to share my insight on road safety from what I have personally experienced.

1. First of all wear seatbelt and never set a fixed target time, instead start early and reach with full peace of mind instead of hurrying.

2. Never use mobile while driving on highways and also make it a point not to distract yourself while driving. Being responsible is the first and foremost necessity, by being distracted you are not only putting your life at risk, but also other unsuspecting road user's lives at stake.

3. Trust your instincts and be 110% alert while maneuvering at high speeds. You never know who's going to pop up all of a sudden as people living in rural areas do not know much about traffic rules.

4. Never trail a heavy vehicle at close quarters as the visibility is obstructed and you cannot figure out what's going on in front of it. Stay clear as cars stand no chance of survival in front of these mammoth sized monsters. Maintain a minimum of 150 ft distance while tailgating.

5. I would not recommend any body to drive at night. Driving during the day is the safest bet in a country like India.

6. Don't show your racing skills when not required. Control your urge, be generous and let that honking vehicle pass.

7. Indicators and parking lamps come with a purpose, use it wisely.

8. Always ensure that the tyres are in good shape with equal tyre wear and filled with recommended pressure, also make it a point to check the depth of the grooves once every fortnight depending upon how much you drive the vehicle.

9. Always drive with both the hands on the steering wheel. It increases your chances of survival by 50% during an event of tyreburst.

These are my share of tips and I would be glad to hear from fellow BHPians if I have made any mistake and also provide more tips, if possible so that it can benefit me and others as well.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by saket77

Never trail a vehicle closely...

Originally Posted by Travelling_Monk

Maintain a minimum of 150 ft distance while tailgating ....

Good tips, but let me pick up on this one and say just don't tailgate.

According to the UK govt Highway Code, 150 feet is not enough even for 80 km/hr (50kph, 175ft; 96kph, 240ft; 112kph, 315ft). To be honest, I never remember those numbers (got lucky on my UK test ) and have to look them up, but I think that we all underestimate safe stopping distances and safe driving distances.

We are not trying to make friends with the guy in front: just stay well back!

[luvDriving]

Good thread with very useful tips.

Here is one thing I follow regularly whether in traffic jams or nicely flowing traffic. I try to keep an eye on proceedings 2-3 cars ahead. This always gives me a good warning time to slow down or if in traffic then start moving. E.g. suppose the third or fourth car ahead puts the brakes then I know that eventually it will ripple down to me and hence I start taking my foot off the accelerator.

Another thing is if stuck in traffic jam on a slope, keeping one hand on the hand brake to control the car helps.

[volkman10]

Maruti Suzuki releases eight ad films on road safety.

As part of its effort in creating awareness towards road safety, Maruti Suzuki has come out with its latest communications campaign -- a series of eight films that take on the challenge of positively impacting people's attitude towards road safety.

The campaign, conceptualised by Dentsu Creative Impact, features eight TVCs which address the issue of non-adherence to road safety rules and norms. The ads are currently on the digital platform and will soon be aired on television.

http://www.afaqs.com/news/story/4790...on-road-safety

[condor]

A good video on turning radius of large vehicles:

https://www.facebook.com/Roads.sg/vi...4559365576464/

note:
Video from Roads.sg. Shared by Sridhar P on HVK Forum. Thanks to everyone mentioned here for sharing the video.

[volkman10]

This news draws global attention,

Cows Get Reflective Horns to Prevent Road Accidents in India

Faced with a somewhat weird problem, Traffic police in one district of Madhya Pradesh state had to get creative, so it thought that it couldn't hurt to make the cows more visible. And since the bulk of the incidents happened at night, they figured putting some glow-in-the-dark stickers on the beasts' horns might stand a chance of lowering their numbers.

Source