Some time back we had shared a post stating that driving in India prepares you for life's challenges. However, if you seriously ever want to get an international driver's permit or want to drive anywhere other than in India, you need to understand the importance of lane discipline. Lane discipline is as sacred and important as you consider wearing a helmet for a long drive. Here is a quick guide to lane driving.
When you are driving on a highway, you should always use the left lane to drive and use the right lane only when you are trying to overtake a vehicle. The speed of vehicles increases as one moves from the leftmost lane to the rightmost lane and hence, slower vehicles like trucks and two-wheelers are always in the left lane.
If you want to switch any lane, there should be a proper indication of headlight that would help other vehicles to stay away while you are crossing. Generally, people give indication 5 to 10 seconds before changing, which is really not the right thing to do. The driver in the car behind you needs time to react to your indicator.
You use this sign made on your car's dashboard when your car is facing some technical problem or there is poor visibility like heavy rains, fog etc.
The major reason why there are so many accidents in India is that the gap between the vehicles is negligible. Most of the people keep their vehicle too close to another vehicle which sometimes lead to accidents. Make sure you always drive, keeping a safe distance from another vehicle.
Okay, let's admit it, we all have faced or escaped accidents due to potholes. What would you do if you see a large pothole on the lane you are driving? You will swiftly take your vehicle to the right and then come back to the normal lane. The car in that lane however didn't see the pothole, had no clue you'd swerve. recipe for disaster.
Not once or sometimes, most of the time you see traffic jams just because of a few vehicles who did not follow lane discipline. You will find them driving on the extreme right and suddenly trying to take an exit on the left lane. This is the reason why most of the roads are choked because they have been shifting to another lane suddenly. So, if you want an exit from left, make sure you drive on the same lane in advance.
So the next time you curse the traffic think back to how many times you did each of the above and then take a minute to curse yourself for your predicament. It is time that Indians take responsibility for the results of their own actions.
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