How I drive in Hyderabad.scratchless
Note: Here I narrate my driving skill tips to all who need to drive in congested city like Hyderabad, India. Please consider this narration as my experience and use the information accordingly. I would not be responsible for any injuries, accidents caused by following what is written here, nor am I explaining any traffic rules here.
Hello. I got my Santro Xing(Yess.a new one) in Oct’2003. Well, I had a four wheeler license since 1999, but that was just a piece of paper. No need to elaborate how I got that license. Well, in short, I had purchased a BRAND new car few days before the Diwali. And, I was delivered to me at 11 pm(yes, night) at the showroom which was open due to extended sales during that time.
The big problem, how to get it to home? Well, it took a few hundred bucks to get somebody to drive MY NEW CAR to home. You can imagine how wrecked I was feeling(like on first night, somebody else…well, I leave the imagination to you, just imagine my frustration).
My housing complex basement is the carparking area. That is a real weird maze of pillars, (now I understood after I got the car, why my flats design is weird).
Day1: Morning 6.15 am, right.i could not sleep the whole night.
I took the car keys and proceeded down the basement alone. There was the Xing standing. I started the engine. The problem was, it was parked between two narrow pillars. I need to reverse the car and immediately take the left turn having few centimeters of gap between the pillar and the car to come in the lane and then proceed. I reversed the car but took the reverse after a long time, .result.i got stuck in the diagonal pillars in the lane. Now, I could not go ahead or go back. It is a long story, how others got it out. But, after 1 hrs of inching the car front and back, I was fully drenched in sweat and all my joys of owning the car was just evaporated somewhere.
I dare not touch the car for next 1 week.
This was my position when I got the car. It is now two years that I am driving the car and it is almost(well almost) scratch less condition even after driving the neck to neck traffic or breakneck speed at nights in Hyderabad while returning from office in night. Atleast I can call myself a good driver after this performance.
As of now, my driving nature is that I am a fast driver(not a rash driver). I don’t like to follow but generally I try to be first after the traffic light.
Here are the wisdom pearls after the first day ordeal to present day driving position:
- Have confidence, not a overdose of that, that you can drive.
If you don’t have, please don’t venture out with your vehicle otherwise you can either put yours or somebody else’s life in danger. Driving as a process is a simple thing, but there are those moments of dangers where a confidence prompts your subconscious mind to take reflex actions.
- Be comfortable in the car.
Either you are driving yours or others, either first time or anytime, please make yourself comfortable before you start the engine. Feel the seat, its distance, gear position, windscreens, steering wheel position, brakes, accelerator or clutch or everything. If you are used to a car, the time taken for this activity would reduce considerably.
- Learn to drive a manual gear car first.
Don’t think that you have a automatic car and you know the driving. Who knows, someday, you need to drive a geared one.
- Get mastery over reversing the car.
There are a few driving schools or masters who teach yourself the art of reversing very well. Almost every difficult situations involving car are related to reversing techniques, like parking, reversing in the maze of cars, pillars, reversing on uphills. Unless you are good in reversing, don’t venture out in city traffic or malls.
- General driving skills on city roads(each line is a gem learnt after driving till today):
• Keep safe distance between your car and the next car whether you are driving at 15kmph or 100 kmph. The safe distance is exponentially varying with car speed i.e. much higher distance at high speed.
• Never apply sudden brakes even within close quarters, unless you don’t love the but.t of your car.
• Give the left-right signal well before so that people all around you know your intentions.
• Keep good distance between your car and the vehicles parked along the road for some very good reasons. Anybody can flung there doors open in them without checking the vehicles behind. Especially beware of parked Autos. No auto in India starts straight ahead.
• Don’t frustrate the vehicles behind if they want to get ahead. Please try everything to give them way unless you want some part of car, especially the corners dented.
• Don’t drive behind vehicles if you can see thru them the road ahead, like bus, trucks, cars with tinted black glasses. You won’t get the enough reflex time in case they brake suddenly.
• Make a habit of knowing to observe the vehicle positions all around the radius of 20 meters of your car. You don’t know who would suddenly appear from the left or right intersection of narrow road that you are driving.
• Learn the art of driving uphill or downhill. Here the gear position learning is very important than the art of relying braking. As a general rule, the gear what you would use while driving uphill should be applied if you are going downhill, instead of keeping your foot on brake hard. The high gear provides the inherent speed control on the car and keeps it in control.
• Even for a momentary flash, if you seem that you don’t have the control on the car, slow down, stop or given the steering wheel to somebody else.
• Yes, I have got occasionally drunk somewhat and drove. Before you drive, please think(yes, I can state emphatically that it is possible to think somewhat no matter how much you are drunk), if you can really drive, and remember you family. Set a safe driving speed in mind and no matter what, don’t cross that speed.
• Be fast, not rash. Changing lanes on road like a serpentine, is recommended only when you can change or buy another car when you wish.
• Learn to drive uphill bridge in neck to neck traffic. Simulate this situation on an empty bridge on Sunday morning.
• In night or empty narrow lanes, beware on blind corners, cross lanes. Give horn to let somebody know that you are passing.
• Learn and understand the power of your car with various load conditions. Unless you master this, don’t attempt daredevil overtakes.
• Please learn the dipping of headlights unless you want make the other guys coming in front blind and bang into you.
• Incase, the guy on the opposite side is too happy to flash his Hella headlamps, dont look into the headlights, it would make you blind and you might hit some other poor cyclist, pedestrian or some of our those poor car owners who can not afford taillights. Instead, try to look into the road and concentrate on the other edge of road on your side, and try to move into the safe passage between the edge and the headlights.
That’s all I can remember. Please add more if some more experienced soul want to contribute.
Have a great drive! Cheers!
Ajit.
