[rahulpandita]

# Maintaining safe distance from other cars on the road while in motion as a lot of drivers (esp. Cab Drivers) tend to make sudden moves in moving traffic.
# Watching out for the odd pedestrian or two wheeler trying to swerve through traffic.
# Maintaining safe speeds at all times where I am less likely to lose control in case a sudden decision has to be taken (sudden braking due to a pothole or a car trying to swerve without indication, clearing the way for emergency vehicles etc.)
# Letting people overtake if it is safe to do so. I believe there is nothing to be gained by engaging in a clash of egos.
# Choosing the appropriate lane so that traffic behind me is not blocked. I see this happening quite frequently - cars will stop in the left lane at a signal and then cut across traffic to turn right.
# Using turn indicators whenever I need to switch lanes or take a turn well ahead of time. It gives other motorists an early warning and I also get to check if there's any vehicle trying to overtake me from that side (People can overtake from any side if they spot an opening)
# I keep a gap between me and the other vehicles at all times. Funnily enough, two wheelers see this as an opportunity to move around in stopped traffic.

[condor]

Space. Sufficient Space:

in front and behind the car.
to do this, if you need to let the guy behind go ahead, do so.
At the sides
And when required, complete the overtakes as quickly as safely possible without hovering beside the other vehicle for more than necessary. (An "aar Ya paar" approach)

[Amrit@wheels]

I follow three rules -
1 - Drive slow. By slow, I mean to never go faster than the vehicles around.
2 - Maintain enough space from all sides.
3 - Be patient, don't let my emotions control me.

[amitayu]

My two pence on defensive driving:

Shift to the left lane.
Stick the average lane speed. I don't like slowing down too much and getting bumped from behind, or having everyone trying to overtake me.
Avoid huddling of vehicles. At times I actually accelerate to get to some open space.
Read signal from far. There are 2 kind of drivers; (a) those who make a dash for it when they see the lights turn yellow and (b) those who slow down when they see the lights turns yellow. I belong to (b).

[FAIAAA]

Keep margin of error, for others and yourself.
- slow down and stop at signal when I see less than 5 seconds of green at a traffic signal
- slow down when I see traffic piling up ahead, animals ahead
- keep adequate space with the car ahead and sideways
- slow down on highway entry and exit points
- on highway stretches where generally there is sparse traffic, I try to drive in the middle lane or middle of the road to have buffer / time to react in case a human/ animal/ vehicle suddenly darts from anywhere

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Maybe you shouldd elaborate a bit why you feel this makes for safe driving. Because I don't think it does. I can tell you for sure, that if you drive like that in a country where they perform proper Driving Examinations, you will fail. Because you need to be able to show that you are able and are confident merging in and out of traffic in different conditions without causing disturbances in the traffic flow

I did not say anything about merging did I ? Yes merging needs acceleration to the speed of the traffic. I am talking about starting from a stopped position at (1) Say traffic signal waiting for the light to turn green (2) At a junction, fork or dropping of at a market place or in general any crowded place.

Real life incident (s).

1. I was at a Y shaped fork and had to enter the right lane (all these lanes are narrow and two vehicles can barely cross). So was waiting for a pick up truck to exit out so I can move in. As I was getting ready to move in a boy jumped in front of my car from the left because his (father or uncle) called him from the other side. The kid was barely visible when he was in front of my car but I heard the father call and noticed him jumping
in my peripheral vision. Had enough time to make the connection between the father calling and the kid jumping because I move out slow.

2. Multiple times at signals while turning left at Kanjikode satrapadi (for god sake even a left turn in a right hand drive country like india is not safe) a bike fellow appears out of no where and barges in. People who know this place know how chaotic and unscientifically designed this junction is. On top of that there is complete chaos when the signal turns green.

3. At signals (while going straight) when cars scramble to close the gap and overtake the truck in front. I have escaped multiple times from a pile up because of taking it slow.

4. At least one instance (not from a stopped situation but when crossing a traffic junction in green). When the bus in front of me brakes rather hard (not his fault but due to some idiot in front cutting across I guess) and I had the necessary gap to brake slow (and the person behind me who most likely jumped the amber signal had time to brake (hard).

5. Another instance when at a signal had to brake (again slowly) because of the car ahead did not anticipate the sudden narrowing of the highway. This time was a bit unlucky and the overloaded truck behind me rear ended but thanks to slow braking got away with a minor dent on the tail gate.

I can go on and on an on.

Merging safely into fast moving traffic requires fast acceleration, not slow! Very dangerous.

No questions here. Merging needs (close to) zero relative velocity (i.e. almost at the same speed of the traffic merging). But I am not talking about merging. Did I use the word merge at any point of time ?

Coming to the closing the gap comment. I guess there is no question here that one should not close the gap but widen the gap when starting out at a signal (going straight say). The reason is simple because most likely the gap when you were stationary is smaller than what is safe when you are moving. And as you accelerate the gap should be increasing (remember you and the car in front are increasing the speed). So accelerating to close the gap is not a good idea.

The honk thing is crazy here. People start honking before the signal turns green. I am expected to start crawling as the "countdown" for the green signal reaches 5 sec and then when it is green hit pedal to metal. Sorry I will not be entertaining such requests. To be fair this has come down after the Kerala govt has installed the so called AI cameras and folks have got fined left right and centre.

[shibujp]

In my view defensive driving can be summed up as taking those steps that prevent a dangerous situation from developing or manifesting itself. This may mandate going fast or slow as the situation demands. There are no hard and fast rules for this. Some ground rules I try to follow :

1. Anticipation - use any tactics to give yourself more time to anticipate. At a curve for e.g. do not tail gate but hang back a bit so that you can see into the curve throught the left side of the car in front.
2. Ensure that drivers around you have a clear idea of what you are planning to do. Sometimes this clarity may result in other issues so be prepared to pre-empt that too.
3. Help other drivers achieve their legitimate objectives. If someone is overtaking you give them as much space as possible to complete the move. There is a very bad habits in India where driver move over to the extreme right of the left lane when someone is overtaking. This is especially true of private car drivers. My driving school instructor used to tell me to lift my foot off the accelerator when someone is overtaking.
4. When overtaking others do it as fast as is safely possible. Down a gear if required and don't be fixated with overtaking in top gear. You are potentially creating an unsafe situation by hanging beside another car and also frustrating drivers who are waiting to pass after you.
5. Collaborate not obstruct.
6. If someone is faster than you let them pass when safe to do so.
7. Know your limits and drive at speeds that you are comfortable at. This also means keeping off roads where the speeds may be something you are not comfortable with. Not so applicable in India. Always keep a good margin of safety in hand.
8. In India always keep in mind that the other driver may not have full knowledge of rules. So act accordingly. No need to be paranoid but don't get stressed like I used to do till a few years back. Just take it into account. I realised that my stress and rage use dto seriously degrade my driving enjoyment so started focusing on making it more enjoyable.
9. Avoid making unreasonable schedules. Leave enough time for arrival and margin for delays.
10. Try to make life easier for other drivers too. If someone is waiting to cross at a un-signalled junction try to help them if possible.

One of the best things that helped my driving was preparing for the learners test in California. I was amazed to read about how almost every practical situation was discussed and the focus was on being able to take clear decisions.

It was a common knowledge that driving too fast and too slow than the average speed of traffic was dangerous and you would be likely to be pulled over.

However the basis for defensive driving is a good knowledge of road rules which in India the standards have gone down instead of up. Driving in Bangalore traffic yesterday and watching bikers and scooters weaving in and out of traffic a thought struck me that our fundamental driving kindergarten (two wheelers) institute all bad habits which are then carried over into cars. Due to the big difference in size this then leads to incidents when then result in some learnings.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

. Because I don't think it does. I can tell you for sure, that if you drive like that in a country where they perform proper Driving Examinations, you will fail. Because you need to be able to show that you are able and are confident merging in and out of traffic in different conditions without causing disturbances in the traffic flow

One of my friends failed his driving test in the US years back as he was driving too slow and did not utilise his right of way at a junction.

Drive on,
Shibu

[GTX+]

The only rule I follow while driving, especially in Noida/Ghaziabad is to keep my 2 eyes focused in the front, 2 each focused either side and 2 focused towards the rear and then let my brain and reflexes do the job. Simple!!

Trust me, nothing else will work or save you in the kind of traffic (& drivers) you get here!!

[null]

My defensive rule for the highways - Drive at 80-90kmph speeds while everyone else will be trying to go at 100-120kmph speeds. They will go ahead and pile up behind a pair of slow moving trucks where as I can step off the accelerator and watch them fight their way through and I go past those trucks with relative ease compared to them.

[hdburner]

Adding my own two cents to this thread:
I consider myself a fairly defensive driver and always tries to follow some certain rules.
Rule 1:- Never drive too close to the divider
There will always be someone either on the bycycle or on foot, heck I even encounter some bikes too, suddenly jumping from the divider to cross the road. Always maintain a safe distance and whenever you see a broken fence(usually the spot for pedestrians to cross the road) honk before approaching.
Rule 2:- When stopping keep atleast as much distance to see the number plate of the vehicle in front
This may depend on car to car but to sum it up one should be able to clearly see the outline of rear bumper, if you don't then maybe you are too close.
Rule 3:- Don't join the busy fleet of vehicles
Sometimes you may encounter a busy fleet of vehicles on highways. This happens when there are several high speeding vehicles slowing down at a same time(mostly due to some traffic), in such scenario if you ended up there you may trap yourself as there is no where to go in case of emergency. I personally keep atleast 50 metres of safe distance and when the road is clear again then only I move.
That's all I can think of now hope this post may be of any help at all

[Chetan_Rao]

The single best thing anyone can do for proper driving, is to stop thinking in terms of 'my rules' and 'your rules'.

The biggest reason our roads are such a mess is everyone makes up their own 'rules' instead of learning standardised safe driving practices. That's how we get hazard lights galore the moment it drizzles, or people using hazards to indicate they'll go straight at a junction, or people tootling along at 40 on the passing lane of highways because 'my rules say it's safe for me'. Endless list of well-intentioned but ignorant, dangerous traffic foolishness.

Stop learning to drive from random friends and relatives, stop teaching kids and random relatives to drive. Haul yourself to a proper, certified driving instructor. Even if you're middle-aged and 'experienced', it's never too late to unlearn bad habits and pick up good ones. You'll learn all the actual rules of safe driving, instead of needing to make up your own.

[Gaur]

A few practices that i follow when driving on highways or in heavy traffic situations.

: Avoid unnecessary fiddling with vehicle controls/infotainment while driving, particularly in situations when i need to be extra vigilant, e.g on congested highways and slow moving bumper to bumper traffic situations where we all are driving at a brisk pace or are driving at very close proximity, even a second of lapse can lead to a unpleasant situation.

: Music is always played at a low volume so as not to effect situational awareness.

: Try to look through the 1st car ahead of me to have a view of the 2nd vehicle ahead of me, provides me an extra second of reaction time.

: Avoid speaking even with co-passengers if navigating thru a trick situation, full focus on driving.

: In tight situations ask the co-passenger to look around his side and see if its all clear.

: Try to avoid getting distracted from billboards/posters, i generally avoid looking at them unless stopped at a signal or at a completely halt.

[sarathlal]

The best mode for all kinds of driving, be it defensive, offensive or normal is to be considerate to other fellow drivers and road users. Don't be this red car person (this is just one scenario), thats all.



I also make it a point that, if there's someone honking from behind incessantly, I will let them go past me. It's better to have him/her to be in front of me, than behind my car.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by electric_eel

I did not say anything about merging did I ? But I am not talking about merging. Did I use the word merge at any point of time ?

From what you have written in your initial post, it certainly appears that you are merging into moving traffic when you "start from the side". Unless you'd like to explain it as some other scenario that you meant.

Originally Posted by electric_eel

...this: whenever I start off, ...from the side of a road, I do it as slowly as possible.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by electric_eel

I did not say anything about merging did I ?
But I am not talking about merging. Did I use the word merge at any point of time ?

Sorry, but this does sound like 'merging' into traffic.

Originally Posted by electric_eel

whenever I start off, whether it is from a traffic stop or from the side of a road, I do it as slowly as possible. Granted, this leads to a lot of honking from impatient fools particularly at signals but to hell with them; I don't care nothing about nobody.

Also add to the fact, that vast majority of Indian drivers do not even have a concept of merging into traffic. So easy to assume that you meant to slowly merge into traffic for safety reasons, even if it leads to holding up the flow of traffic. Blame our driving license system and our infrastructure where 'merging' or accelerating to highway speeds is all but existent, and we are still stuck in the slow and safe Ambassador era of driving instruction.