[StopUnderrides]

Originally Posted by car_is_matic

[b]"Eventually, I saw an opening on the left side and began to overtake. However, as I finished overtaking, I suddenly noticed a vehicle that had either stopped or was moving slowly on my lane, which i didnt see due the curve. As I was already going at a high speed, I had to take a sharp right turn to come back to the middle lane. Unfortunately, at the same time, another vehicle was merging into the middle lane after overtaking the same truck.

In a split second, I slammed on the brakes, causing my Alto's tyres to screech as I struggled to stop the vehicle ramming the other one. It was a close call, and my heart was pounding in my chest. The truck behind also had to brake suddenly to avoid a three-vehicle collision. It was a scary moment that taught me the importance of being extra cautious on the curves, especially overtaking from left side around curves

Overtaking from the right without the road being clear for 8 seconds is itself a bad habit. From the left it's worse. Once I was overtaking a truck from the left, had good visibility and I had almost cleared the truck on my right but then a truck started to come out of the truck laybye from the left trying to merge.

I was stupid enough that I did not slam on the brakes and the truck driver was sane enough to stop and let me go. Else it'd have been a nasty crash. One of the principles in the "Smith system" of defensive driving is "give yourself an out". When overtaking from the left this principle is violated since you can't move to the right if there's someone coming in your path

[GKR9900]

Originally Posted by car_is_matic

It was a scary moment that taught me the importance of being extra cautious on the curves, especially overtaking from left side around curves

Originally Posted by StopUnderrides

Overtaking from the right without the road being clear for 8 seconds is itself a bad habit. From the left it's worse.

Oh…I tend to agree 100%! The following is an incident that happened a few days back which literally ripped my heart out from my chest and plugged it in my mouth. Here's the dashcam footage of the incident:

https://youtu.be/6pciayLeRpc

So I was commuting to work along this 2 lane highway near the Cochin airport. As you can see, I was behind a red Ignis waiting for it to complete overtaking an auto-rickshaw ahead of it. After finishing the overtaking manoeuvre, the Ignis didn’t look like it was going to shift to the left lane, although there was a Tata Iris ahead of it. The road ahead was curving to the right, but seemed clear, and I proceeded with an overtaking manoeuvre through the left side. BIG MISTAKE! As I was clearing the curve, there was this grey Baleno in the distance as well as a scooter guy behind it, so I prepared myself to move back into the right lane. This was when the guy on the scooter suddenly decided to cross the highway ending up dead straight (would have been a terrible pun) ahead of me! I was shocked for the first 1/10th of a second. Slammed on the brakes, the tires screeched like anything and deflected the car back into the left lane. There was a cyclist and a pedestrian walking through the right side of the road, and I thanked my stars for not losing control of the vehicle. The scooter guy waved his hands apologetically and I was just glad that he could do that. He wasn’t even wearing a helmet and an impact there would have been an instant death sentence.

To be fair to the guy, I wouldn’t blame him, as he might have noted the Baleno going past him, and most probably my car would have been in his mirror’s blind spot. I am also thankful that the car responded to my steering inputs. I could literally feel the ABS, ESP and TC systems playing their roles. I can vividly recollect the locking and unlocking of wheels, something external assisting me to change directions in such ultra-short notice and the like. I am not sure if those are the correct terminologies to describe the functioning of these systems, but I am so relieved I am here, penning this down, rather than drowning in regret killing a guy. Our highways are so unpredictable, that the margin of error is so low. All we can do is to be cautious.

[mygodbole]

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Thanks for the support & understanding

[Arwin07]

I am a experienced biker and done 1.2 lakhs+ kms but new to car driving. I have done only 3000kms so far. My first highway drive is on weekend with 350km each day. Requesting advice regarding highway driving:

1. Which is the best lane to drive in a 4 lane highway?
I drive Jazz petrol and my comfortable speed is 80-90kmph.
When I drive in slow lane, I have to move to fast lane every minute or so to overtake lots of motorcycles, local traffic which are abundant in Tamilnadu highways.
On the other hand, if I drive in fast lane, every 2 minutes or so cars doing 100+kmph honk at me to give way. I have to either move to slow lane or indicate the faster car to overtake from my left.

Either way, I change lanes every minute or so and I indicate my every move.

In the six lane highway, I take up the middle lane and it is comfortable. No issues mentioned above. Kindly advice which lane is the best in 4 lane highway for a safe, sedate driving at 80-90kmph.

[chaitanyakrish]

Originally Posted by Arwin07

Requesting advice regarding highway driving:

There's no safe lane, as each lane has its own hazards in our country.
I've seen wrong side drivers on both lanes on many highways.

However, as a best practice, drive on the left lane when you are not overtaking anyone.
Use right lane for overtaking for someone and come back to left lane again.
When you see road signs where there are intersections on the left, merging roads on left, just follow the signs and slowdown and be prepared to change lanes or stop as needed.

Sticking to right lane, just because there are bikers on left lane, risks everyone on road.

Also, on our highways, the center median is not well designed to prevent over speeding vehicles jumping the median and hitting vehicles on the other side. This is a rare occurrence, however, being on the left lane gives an extra second or two to take an evasive step.

Also, if the traffic on highways is slowing down due to any reason, being on the right lane increases the risks of rear ends, as there is a median on the right and vehicles on left lane and you do not have an exit route.
Being on the left lane, gives an exit route on road shoulder at least.

In addition to these, you can refer the following thread :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...es-safely.html (The Art of Following & Changing Lanes safely)

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by Arwin07

I am a experienced biker and done 1.2 lakhs+ kms but new to car driving. I have done only 3000kms so far.

Hello Experienced biker. I am one too

Don't worry about the car too much, just remember that it is much larger than your bike and that means 2 things.

Smaller vehicles (like bikes, 3 wheelers etc.) might give your car more respect than the bike, use this to your advantage.

Try to stick to the speed limit. If you get bored, keep up with one of the larger vehicles (like Safari/XUV/Fortuner/Crysta) and stay close (but don't tailgate). Don't overspeed alone or the Traffic Police interceptors will be waiting for you.

It is mandatory to indicate your lane changes on 6-lane highways for your own safety. On 4 lanes, it is kind of known that you will keep overtaking. Trucks usually hog the fast lane so we eventually have to overtake from the left. Otherwise, stick to the right lane. Small cars like ours are supposed to stay there in order to make swift progress.

Anyways, best of luck on your first roadtrip. Drive safe!

[Early_Adopter]

I just undertook a 1000+ Kilometres round trip between Hyderabad and Bangalore in my Maggie (MG ZS EV). This happened to be my first highway solo drive and it allowed me to reflect on road safety on highways. I just made a wish list of things that would have made the drive pleasurable for anyone driving on the highways.

Just to set the context - this was NH-44 with two lanes on either side with a median all along the highway.

Fellow T-BHP members can add on more to this list.

Please note that this is just a wish list and I know it would perhaps take decades for some of these to get eventually implemented.

Here's the list not in any particular order of priority:

Note to Mods - Please merge this thread if this topic is already covered elsewhere.

1. The slow moving trucks do not hog the right most lane leaving the other faster vehicles (including the other trucks) to weave in and weave out around them. The entire highway traffic at that instant unnecessarily slows down because of one slow moving truck. On a long highway, there are several such instances that may lead to avoidable collisions.
   
2. Everyone uses highbeam sparingly and responsibly. I had to break hard at least on 3 or 4 occassions (at the cost of getting rear ended) because of the blinding high beam from the vehicles coming from the opposite side.
   
3. The ugly metal barricades, the broken plastic barriers and the broken blue drums put on the highway crossings will go away and the cross traffic use the bridges built across the highways.
   
4. No biker drives on the wrong side of the road while also holding a mobile phone on his tilted neck. The local villagers can be provided with a service lane in parallel to the highway so that they can drive safely.
   
5. The tractors, the tillers and the bullock carts that occupy the left lane use some kind of warning red lights or illuminated strips to warn the other road users of their presence.
   
6. No tractors or trucks pack 20 to 30 people on their trailer beds. One bad manoeuvre on the highway end up in loss of precious lives and possible disabilities for no fault of theirs.
   
7. Proper & visible signages are displayed well in advance and properly lit up in the nights to warn the motorists well in advance in case of any construction activities
   
8. Vehicles merging onto the highways from the side roads will wait and merge only if the oncoming traffic is clear
   

[fhdowntheline]

If you are talking about access controlled highways then they should allow only highway worthy vehicles. So no slow moving ST buses, minibuses, two wheelers, tempos plying on inter village route . No carrying of outsized cargo unless accompanied by pilot vehicles . So no bales of straw, heaps of vegetables/ cement and whatnot.
Highway rest stops with clean water/ toilet every 50km, and food plazas every 100 km. Food chains with national presence should be given priority to ensure uniform standards.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Early_Adopter

This happened to be my first highway solo drive and it allowed me to reflect on road safety on highways.

This isn't a "highway wish list" as you call it. It's one of your dreams where you have immigrated to a country where road safety and rule-bound driving are seriously followed.

You'll get used to the chaos once you undertake a few dozen more of those highway drives in India. You'll stop reflecting and start paying intense attention to your own manner of driving.

[dhanushs]

Apart from one fact that Highways save a lot of travel time, I dont enjoy Indian highways at all. I'm infact scared of it.

The Mysore - Bangalore highway has recently opened up and is a very good and wide piece of road, but atleast in my opinion, the traffic is not educated or mature enough to handle it and there are cars all over the place at all speeds you can imagine. It doesnt matter if you go slow or fast, I always feel unsafe there.

Please give me a multi lane ghat sectioned highway, I'd take it with open arms.

Sorry to be a spoil sport at the start of the thread.

[Early_Adopter]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

You'll get used to the chaos once you undertake a few dozen more of those highway drives in India. You'll stop reflecting and start paying intense attention to your own manner of driving.

I beg to disagree sir. As you would know, paying attention to one's own driving is just not good enough when there are a hundred other road users on the same road at the same time.

If we, in this forum start accepting the status quo, nothing will change. As part of this august group, I am sure all of us are in some way influencers for change. It might take months, years or even decades for these changes to become a reality, but then, status quo is not the solution especially if it hurts the safety of the fellow road users and precious lives are lost!

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Early_Adopter

I beg to disagree sir. As you would know, paying attention to one's own driving is just not good enough when there are a hundred other road users on the same road at the same time.

If we, in this forum start accepting the status quo, nothing will change. As part of this august group, I am sure all of us are in some way influencers for change. It might take months, years or even decades for these changes to become a reality, but then, status quo is not the solution especially if it hurts the safety of the fellow road users and precious lives are lost!

Well said. This forum strongly believes that road safety is the first point of focus when driving. Fun, power, speed, comfort are all of secondary importance. However, we need to live & drive safely with faulty road design, not crash and die to prove that the design is faulty. Perfect road design cannot compensate for bad driving.

As to accepting status quo, what can a few thousand ordinary citizens on this forum say or do, when the Hon'ble Minister for MoRTH has thrown in the towel already, saying:



https://m.economictimes.com/news/ind.../100828246.cms

I think the Team-BHP store needs a sticker that says:

I Drive to Stay Alive

[grease.monkey]

"Life in the fast lane"

The number of cattle grazing on highways have gone up dangerously high! I had couple of close calls on the way from Goa to Udupi, when few of them suddenly popped out onto the right most lane from between the shrubs on the dividers. Night journeys have become more risky, especially on roads without street lights









Couldn't spot this one on the fast lane from far


An entire side blocked, with no one to control or guide them




PS : The pictures were clicked when the car had to be stopped / crawled because of the obstruction.

[anjan_c2007]

This image speaks a lot, and is shared from the Russian campaign for safe driving.

[krishnakumar]

While India woefully needs better and faster highways to raise the average speeds, it also woefully (and at a much higher priority) needs better educated drivers who can drive fast but safely.

As someone who loves driving, this is nothing short of an exciting news for sure. But I’m worried that our country is not ready for fast corridors yet.

Most of us here agree that it has become common sight on our highways for things like (1) Wrong way driving - hell even trucks, MULTI AXLE trucks (2) What I call as “Lane straddling” or “Lane encroachment” when people put their vehicles across two lanes (3) What I rather disgustingly call as “ass kissers” - people who love to follow the vehicle in front with only inches to spare, and many more such shenanigans. I have seen cars from old beaten Marutis to imported Porsches displaying such behaviour. Even I am constantly learning as I drive.

Government should also allocate some budget to improve grassroot level education for better road safety and a way even experienced drivers can improve their skills. The driving training program and the testing are so insufficient currently that they are due for a major overhaul. I sincerely hope we get there someday.

Once this extensive road network is in place, it is expected that the average travel speed on the national highways will nearly double, increasing from the current 47 kmph to 85 kmph.

In comparison to other countries, the average travel speed on highways in the United States exceeds 100 kmph, while in China it is around 90 kmph. By raising the average speed, the Indian government aims to achieve its target of reducing logistics costs to 9-10% of the GDP. Currently, these costs account for approximately 18% of the GDP.

https://m.timesofindia.com/business/.../106172837.cms