India is a country with a
population of over two billion and where there exists only one rule to driving:
do your best on the road and leave the rest to the insurance company. If you
were to compare the traffic rules of UK and India the chances of finding a
difference is remote except for the fact that in India they exist only in text
books. Driving in India is like playing a video game and if you can manage to
reach your destination without causing any scratches on your vehicle, then you
win the game. During my first week in UK I was amazed to see the cars all lined
up and moving through the left side of the road(only!!). If it were in India,
you drive along the left if you have space on the left, else you drive on right
or wherever you find space for that matter. Scared? Already? Wait till you hear
about the traffic lights. Everywhere around the world, red light signifies to
stop your vehicle, green to go and orange to wait. Technically so is it in
India, though it is often interpreted as green means to go, Orange means to go
and Red means to go faster. If you are wondering whether the traffic police has
any say in this, then think no further. They do have a say but then ultimately
the drivers decide what they want to do and where they want to go and how they
want to achieve this and nobody can stop them. When it comes to honking, the
rules are completely different in India. While it means “move out of the way,
stupid!” in most of the countries and hence its usage is considered rude and is
limited. But in India it could mean a greeting, an acknowledgement, a sign of irritation,
a signal of frustration or just another wake up call for the lazy cow crossing
the street. And due to its diverse meanings it is used abundantly and may be
this is one of the reasons why they say if you can drive in India, then driving
anywhere in the world is like a country side cruise.
Here are some hints of survival
for anyone visiting India and daring to drive on the roads:
1. Always
carry a stack of books in your car compartments because you are bound to
encounter one or two traffic blocks on your way to the destination and which
might take hours to clear up.
2. Never
think of stopping at the pedestrian crossing as neither are the people
expecting you to nor are the cars speeding behind you.
3. Do
not hesitate to blow your horns whenever or wherever needed.
4. If
you see a triangular shaped vehicle with three wheels( Auto Rickshaws) carrying
items that surpasses its weight or school children arranged inside without
leaving even tiny bit of space, do not bother to question. They have their own
road rules and are licensed to irritate.
5. Do
not overlook the mopeds that run on a teaspoon of petrol. They are slow but
they have the most courageous drivers who might rather choose to go under the
heavy vehicles to overtake them rather than going around them.
6. The traffic in India is incomplete without
mentioning the heavy trucks. The drivers often consider themselves to be Indian
James Bond with the license to kill. At night if you happen to see a single
light at above 6 feet from above the ground, it should not be mistaken to be a
flying bike. It is one of our trucks with a broken light and a drunk driver.
Having learnt
these rules if you think you are qualified to drive in India, then wait till
you hear about the head lights. All the vehicles do have headlights(broken or
not) and as per the rules they have to be on after 6pm. This simple rule can be
read and followed in three different ways: always keep the lights off, to save
the battery or always keep them on so that everyone sees you coming or switch
them on at high beam suddenly at the vehicle coming opposite and blind them.
Having said all
this let me this article on a happy note. Isn’t it surprising that accident
rates and related traffic deaths are very low in India when compared to the US
and many other European nations?
