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Originally Posted by bullinb I disagree. Long distance truckers usually drive on the left lane in the highways and come to right only when overtaking and switch back to left after completing. |
Can't agree more on this for having done frequent Bangalore-Pune runs in the recent past here were my observations:
Yes, the long distance truckers do heed to your flashing/honking, sooner in case of night due to lesser private traffic like tractors, 2 wheelers etc. During the day, the effort is a bit more but worth the wait.
For instance, from Bangalore all the way till Haveri, most truckers (Read TN, AP, KL and KA) don't really bother to give way from right unless you stick to the right and constantly flash/honk till you are given way (eventually you will be given way from right). C'mon, as a responsible driver you are doing right when you are overtaking from the right hand side.
The same morons then behave like decent drivers after Hubli-Dharwad bypass and are usually seen occupying the left lane allowing you to overtake without a fuss ![EEK!](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.png) !
However, the case is different with KSRTC buses (Non Volvos) who "prefer" the fast lane and will never give way. I have seen only 30-40% of them understanding the flashing and giving way by changing lanes. Rest don't even care.
My other observation was that regular long distance truckers have so much patience that if they come out on the fast lane and realise that they cannot overtake in time and may block traffic behind them, they actually get back to the slow lane.
Usually Flashing of lights has worked very well for me especially at night (a horn wont do the same job even during the day) but I am extra careful whenever I am overtaking a brownish TN, AP or a KA truck who suddenly decide to jump onto the fast lane and when they realise that a faster car is right behind them now, they wave their hands asking for a "few minutes"
If one does long distance driving across various sections of the country, the patterns and behaviours change drastically at times. Travelling from Pune to Aurangabad via Ahmadnagar was an uncomfortable experience since overtaking was usually from the left. I blame this on the design of the road since it is a state highway with too many punctures in the median and traffic passing through various towns and villages where the left lane is always occupied by a waiting Trax or a 3 wheeler or even roadside hawkers. Same is the case while travelling from Bangalore to Mysore as well. It is like unlearning the rules.
Last edited by paragsachania : 21st April 2010 at 14:48.
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