[dust-n-bones]

Great thread. A few that I can think of:

• Learn to anticipate - stay aware of what is happening 2 cars ahead of you, and 2 cars behind and around you. This will help you to be predictable. You will anticipate braking, improve fuel efficiency and not stop and move suddenly.
  The same applies to changing lanes and turning. Anticipate, give 5 secs with your turn signal on, check your blind spots and then switch lanes. Do not start swerving your vehicle and then switch the indicator on gratuitously.
  
  Sudden moves always invite trouble.

• Do not 'appear' from a side lane into a bigger road without checking your surroundings. Imagine there is a STOP sign before you turn. Stop your vehicle from where you can see the cross traffic, and complete your turn quickly when it is safe to do so. Do not turn your vehicle assuming the through traffic is going to adjust for you.

• There is a difference between dashed and solid lane markings. Do not change lanes across solid lines. Solid lines are marked for a reason.

• Do not lurk in the blind spot of another vehicle, specially larger ones like trucks. Unless you can see the driver of the vehicle in his rear view mirror, he cant see you either.

• Similarly, do not drive parallel to a vehicle. You are not only blocking others who may want to overtake, but also in a dangerously shallow Crash Avoidance Space (the 9th commandment on this thread) on your side. Overtake, or slow down.

• Do not stop on the shoulders of highways, specially on blind curves. Your selfies and videos can wait. Shoulders are for emergency vehicles and emergency situations only.

• Do not honk un-necessarily. I personally do not honk unless I have to draw attention of a motorist who otherwise seems oblivious of her surroundings. Or worse, on a phone call. Goes without saying, distracted driving (with all the door to door touchscreens now in our cars) kills.

• Be kind to pedestrians and animals in our cities. Let them cross. We have atrocious infrastructure for them to use roads safely.

• Not really for safe driving. Regardless, do not block an intersection in a traffic jam. You are stuck anyway, do not make it worse for others by getting stuck in the intersection.

[BlackLight]

This is an amazing post and everyone who drives a car on the road must ensure that these 10 commandments are followed. Out of the 10 things mentioned here most of them were my first driving lesson and also for my kids.

But, driving in Indian road conditions where a surprise is just around the corner, a driver who follows all the rules of the road will be a bigger hazard to everyone around. In my opinion, Indian driving style is unique either you get it or you don't.

[mbilung]

These are not just commandments this is a complete bible @SS-Traveller sir. Thanks for sharing.

[sdg4wheels]

Amazing Thread. This must be followed as a checklist. I only hope that before issuing licences these are also included as the parameters that gets tested by the RTO officials. I know it's a very distant dream with the sad state of affairs that we face currently in any of the RTO offices.

[Gansan]

My 2 cents' worth.

1) I always maintain a straight line while driving or riding, as far as possible. And try to do it as smooth as possible with blinker on, when I have to deviate.

2) I always place my foot lightly on the brake pedal for a couple of seconds, enough to illuminate the brake lights, before actually braking. Needless to say, this is not possible during emergency braking. But the trick is to try and avoid an emergency braking situation as much as possible.

3) All our movements must be smooth. Don't surprise other road users; and don't be surprised by them.

4) While trailing any vehicle, if we can see ahead of it (see through it's windshield) we should maintain a particular safe distance; the distance should be more and we should be more alert if we can't see ahead of it.

5) Always expect the brake lights of the vehicle going ahead of you NOT to work. And expect pedestrians or animals to suddenly emerge from near parked vehicles or bushes.

6) If following another vehicle in your bike, especially during night or rainy weather, follow either the left or right wheel, never it's centre. That way we will not be surprised by a pothole or rock which may suddenly emerge from underneath it.

[purohitanuj]

Awesome thread. One of my "must" yet stupid to-do is to crush any plastic bottle laying (thanks to public, one can find plenty) on empty roads(after checking) with either Left side or Right side tires in flow(both side should get equal opportunity). This way, now I know my track very well.

[JoshMachine]

Great stuff to follow, thanks for sharing

Another one, that comes up frequently during such discussions: The Dutch Reach

A method known as the "Dutch reach" is to be introduced to the Highway Code in the UK this year after years of campaigning.
The practice is used widely across Europe and encourages people to open vehicle doors with their opposite hand to avoid injuries to passing cyclists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzIf80eSfCg

Source

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Great stuff to follow, thanks for sharing

Another one, that comes up frequently during such discussions: The Dutch Reach

Maybe I am not Dutch enough, but I don’t think I ever heard of this in the Netherlands. It always comes up on foreign Internets. A bit like the little boy who stopped the Netherlands from flooding by sticking his finger in the hole in the leaking dike. Or the tearjerking movie Hans Brinker and the golden skates. None of them Invented or happened in the Netherlands.

Irrespective of what it is called, it does make sense. I must try it sometime.
On the whole Dutch motorist are very much aware of cyclist. All of us are cyclist, most of us motorist too. It helps a lot!

That doesn’t mean there are no bicycle/car accidents but it helps a lot and of course dedicated cycle infrastructure in many places.

And legislation that puts the responsibility of a cyclist/car accident with the car driver by default, unless the cyclist was obvious in the wrong. Car drivers, by law, need to anticipate irratic cycle behaviour, e.g. swerving.

Jeroen

[Sen]

Thank you for sharing another amazing safety-oriented thread!

The mirror adjustment is something I still get wrong, will be fixing it in the coming future, but as rightly pointed out by sravankrishnan above, the bit where seeing how close I am to something side-by-side in bumper-to-bumper traffic is a priority for the city as well. I'll try and see how it shows up when driving and adjust accordingly.

Definitely using it for highway trips though!

The earlier CAS post was also super helpful to adjust my driving dynamically to ensure I've got enough space to avoid a potential situation that could lead to a crash.

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

It's actually 25-30 cm from the centre boss of the steering wheel to the face. At 30 cm from the chest, the driver will need very long arms to reach the steering wheel properly.

First of all, thank you for a wonderfully detailed write up with practical examples! These commandments can serve as a Bible of sorts for new learners!


About the space from steering wheel, I usually follow this -

In relaxed sitting position, I extend my right hand to the top of the steering wheel, such that the end of my palm (wrist) rests comfortably on it.

My usual way of holding the steering wheel is 3'O clock and 9'O clock position. This gives sufficient flex to my elbows while also maintaining a healthy distance from the steering wheel.

Any thoughts?

[sumeethaldankar]

What I like to advise to new drivers "If you can't see the road ahead your foot should not be touching the accelerator pedal".

[tunedv8]

Originally Posted by dust-n-bones

Great thread. A few that I can think of:

• Learn to anticipate - stay aware of what is happening 2 cars ahead of you, and 2 cars behind and around you.

This is the golden word of being a motorist - "ANTICIPATE". I always say this to people I am teaching driving.

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Maybe I am not Dutch enough, but I don’t think I ever heard of this in the Netherlands. It always comes up on foreign Internets. A bit like the little boy who stopped the Netherlands from flooding by sticking his finger in the hole in the leaking dike. Or the tearjerking movie Hans Brinker and the golden skates. None of them Invented or happened in the Netherlands.

Since you mentioned, my curiosity was piqued to try to find out the origins of this Dutch Reach thingy.

Came across some information about protests in Netherlands, titled: "Stop de Kindermoord". An article posted, here, about the initiative.

It says:

450 Child Bike Ped Deaths & Over 3200 Total per Year Drove Decades of Reforms in Holland - & Likely the 'Reach'

..and..

That the 'Reach' practice has faded from practice and Dutch memory as NL's road culture and infrastructure transformed, making safety for all the norm and reality, should not be surprising. That today many Dutch citizens are unaware of the traffic carnage half a century ago, nor of those grieving parents and reformers who made Hollands roads now safe, is also not surprising. But this history is very much worth knowing, honoring and emulating.

Infact, the closing statement from the article:-

Protest and advocacy is essential to achieve universal and safe road sharing, by policy, enforcement, infrastructure, and culture change.

..is very apt to this thread and also in general, to what is happening right now after Mr Mistry's unfortunate demise.

[Aritra]

An excellent thread!!

Just a few cents from end -
1. Be ALERT. No matter how beautiful the outside scenery is or how interesting the conversation in the vehicle happens to be, one need to always scan surrounding and anticipate what can happen
2. Never exceed Your or Your Vehicle's capability. No matter how good the road seems to be, a driver should always know what are his/her capabilities in terms of vehicle control (considering the fact there are other road users / animals who are bound to react irrationally) and the vehicle's capability. Always drive within the limits of these factors whichever is lower.
3. Take adequate REST. No point in rushing through during long drives; if your body feels tired, definitely your reaction time will increase and split seconds means a lot. Better to take rest and loose an hour here and there than risking / loosing own / someone's life.

[RGK]

On the road, don't be egotistical. You must exercise patience and resist letting your ego drive you to make mistakes.