Rocky Road Home

Driving in India is already chaotic, unpredictable and crazy. However, there is always something new to keep you on your toes and feet.

Here are more tips for driving:
1. Watch the road! (literally). Never be over confident about driving in the 5th gear or about speeding. Even on a six lane highway in our area you will find unmarked speed breakers with no warning signs whatsoever. Get ready for the nice bumpy rides :)

2. The missing lane game. Never assume that a four or six lane street will have the same number of lanes throughout the street. On several local streets two or three lanes will suddenly merge into "one" tiny 15 foot lane and separate out again in several lanes. The merge happens as the streets are built around temples and mosques which are now bang in the middle of busy thorough fare or a multi-lane road.

3. Watch out for the Rocks! Its quite an experience to follow a large truck (like the one in the picture above) carrying huge rocks and boulders which are not fastened in any way or form with no enclosure at the back of the truck. Several areas of Hyderabad are rocky and hilly and no one would ever want to ever be stuck behind one of these trucks along any uphill route. Its absolutely a disaster waiting to happen -- there needs to be ban on this.

4. Look out on both sides and keep your rear view mirrors extended out and open. Two wheelers whiz past your car on both sides and confuse the heck out of you. As a friend pointed out, atleast having the mirrors out gets you a few inches between your car and them.

5. Avoid sitting in the front passenger seat. This will save you some nerves and reduce stress (esp. for someone like me as I also duck while sitting in the car to avoid the traffic :)).

6. Be prepared for oncoming traffic on YOUR lane (even though there are separate lanes for oncoming traffic this doesn't stop people from driving on the wrong side). There seems to be this strange confidence in people that--- the other person (ie the rest of the traffic) will look out for me and drive defensively so I don't have to worry about following the rules.

I drive on weekends and holidays and stick to a certain radius where the roads are less crowded. However, all of the above still apply in someway or the other.