Happy Driving!. Review on General Tips on Safe Driving

Driving on Indian roads tends to be difficult at time. specially in Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation gets pleasure in digging up the roads in monsoon so that there can be unnatural holes on roads that lead to accident. Water which appear as Puddles, most of the times turns out to be gutter! Anyways, but few precautions can help in safe driving.

Beware of Truck and Bus drivers

Just because they drive those king size vehicles, they think that they rule the world. Most of the time, they leave behind large amount of black coloured smoke. You should see Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation(ST) buses. Generally they are tilted on either of the sides and produce some strange sounds. Their tagline is ’’Haath upar karo ane bus ma beso’’(Raise your hand and sit in bus) but most of the times, drivers not only fail to watch other people’s raised hands, they also notice that other people also drive on the same road.

Tip - Keep a safe distance. atleast till you can see their rearview mirror.(if it is till in their bus. that is.) so that by chance if they manage to see you in the mirror, then a lot of trouble can be saved!

Drive away from puddles

Some people get thrills in splashing mud water on other people. But if you think its fun, then think again! Instead of a puddle, it can turn out to be a gutter or something dug up by the Municipal Corporation. Moreover, avoid driving from the places which you know that were recently dug and then covered. They may be hollow and the earth may sink anytime specially in monsoon.

Beware of cyclists and pedestrians

Most of you will wonder what harm can pedestrians do! But believe it or not, most of the pedestrians cross the roads without seeing the traffic flow! They will either look when they are half way down the road or when they hear screeches of brakes. And even if it would be their fault, they will look at you as if you have commited an unpardonable crime! Cyclists(not the health freaks who go for early morning cycling.) think that they can take a turn whenever and wherever they want. And after when the two vehicles bump into each other, they will show their orange coloured teeth and say something which looks like ’’sorry’’ and go!

Keep safe distance from Auto Rickshawwalas

First of all, they put some different adulterated fuel in their tanks and then, they drive recklessly on the road. They belong to the bus and truck drivers’ species. Whenever they want to take a turn, all the do is put their foot out and take sudden turns. I have never understood why they put their foot out! How hard is it to show side by hand?(When I was in primary, I used to go to school in School Auto. and the driver used to show his foot out whenever he wanted to take a turn. Me and my sister used to mimic him at home and laugh!)

Be Patient

Don’t loose your patience and honk unnecessarily. The person in front of you is not your enemy and is not deliberately driving slowly. Put yourself in their position and then honk! Moreover, if the vehicle of person in front of you stops functioning, don’t loose your cool. Its not his fault that the car stopped working. it is a machine! How will you feel if your car stops functioning and people behind are honking and shouting obscene words at you? So, patience is the key in driving.

Fasten your seatbelts

Last time I visited Mumbai, I was surprised to see that people were wearing seatbelts while driving! I was so amazed that I told my sister, ’’Look didi, they are wearing seatbelts! Have you ever seen that in Ahmedabad?’’ Yes! Most of the us either don’t wear it or if they wear it, they wear it ’coz its the rule, or the traffic police will catch hold of you! But, it has more to it! You wear seatbelts for your life, not for the traffic wala police.(It is not for strangling the other person when you pick up the fight!)

Take care of stray animals

It is a common sight to see dogs and cows on the already congested roads of Ahmedabad. Some of the cows are so well trained that they cross the roads after seeing the traffic flow! But even if you find these cows annoying and dirty, drive slowly whenever you see them. because you don’t know how unpredictable they can get!

Switch your cell phone off

Either don’t talk to anyone on your cell while driving, or if you can’t resist the temptation, switch it off so that it doesn’t ring. The same talk can wait for another 15 minutes so that you can reach the place you want to go and then talk sitting on a sofa or chair! Do just one thing at a time. that improves efficiency!

Phew, these were the tips I found that might be useful on Indian roads, specially in Ahmedabad.

Happy Driving