Driving in City: Do's and Don'ts.

TSIVipul · Sep 12, 2012

Disclaimer:All the views mentioned completely mine and are based upon my own personal experience and hence one can expect some deviations depending upon driving style,traffic behavior etc.Rest I have tried to keep shortest possible in every chapter.

Hello guys,after the successful completion of my car buying series(based on financial issues),which has three threads viz..

Now we can hope that you have chosen the right car for you.So now here is the new series which is no more boring finance related thread,instead this time its again a new series which is based on driving,driving,driving and DRIVING-The thing we people love at its best.
In this new series I have mentioned various tips and tricks(purely based on my own driving expereince)which can be useful while driving on various kind of roads…err…various environments.This new series is based on how to change your driving style and some other factors which makes the difference between driving and good driving.Here we will discuss some points which if kept into consideration while driving in different environments like crowded cities,open highways or twisty hills can help you enjoy your drive at its best and of course very safely.So this series will comprise of four threads:-

Driving in City-Do’s and Don’ts.
Driving on highways-Do’s and Don’ts.
Driving in hills-Do’s and Don’ts.
High speed driving-Do’s and Don’ts.

So as the thread title suggests,this is the first thread in the series “Driving in City-Do’s and Don’ts”.
So let’s move ahead,once again in same style..what style?Its chapterwise,so the chapters which we are going to discuss are as follows:-

Know your city.
Know your car.
Know your daily roads.
Know the traffic behavior.
Move in the lane.
Your ORVM and all round visibility.
Indications.
Your steering.
Your horn.
Know how to assume.
Your brakes.
The gears.
Parking is never that easy.

TSIVipul · Sep 12, 2012

Re: Driving in City-Do's and Don'ts...

Chapter 1:Know your City.
Do you remember the day you joined your first job?Why I asked this question?Simple,because in the initial months you were taught on what your job really will be and what all you will have to look at.
Same way,knowing your own city is also as much important before you hit its roads.
But then again one questions arises:’I know my city very well,what do I need to know’?And my answer is even simpler-‘Its to know the roads you are going to hit in your car’.Actually every city is different like in Delhi you will find wide ring road etc while in Jaipur you will find dense streets,in Delhi you will find people obeying traffic rules but in Haridwar you will find people breaking the rules at every point.Same way every city has slight difference in the way people drive or say the traffic behavior.
If you will know the streets,roads and of course the traffic condition of your city then it will help you adapt to it quickly and not to mention it will keep you and your car safe and scratchless.In other words,knowing the city you are going to drive in is as much important as much is knowing your car…oh yes,knowing your car-our second chapter.Let’s move on it... [:)]

Chapter 2:Know your car!!
Let me again start with a simple question.Haven’t you seen your to-be-wife before getting married to her?Or haven’t you noticed the +ves and –ves of the girl you are committed to before moving ahead in relationship?I am sure you have done both,then why not know your car?
I have seen people making silly comments after getting involved in minor accidents like:

I had no idea the car will hit the pole.
I never thought the car will tail gate the front vehicle.
My car moved all of a sudden and kissed the car in front.
I thought the car will pass through the gap but it got scratched.
Etc etc etc..

What’s the basic reason behind these complains?It’s simple driving your car on the streets before knowing it.
But I know my car,it’s long and has 4 wheels.What else I need to know?
Oh,even an unborn child may also know that car has 4 wheels and is ‘slightly’ long.What you need to know in your car is:-

How long it is?
How wide it is?
How wide it is after opening ORVMs?
What’s its ground clearance?
Your seating position.
How long is your bonnet?
How long is your car behind you?
The power delivery of your car.
The braking of your car.
How much responsive the steering is?

I mean you need to know nearly everything your car has(except the technical terms as they are not that necessary while driving).Though there are a lot more points but I think I must put a full stop on this chapter here itself(keeping its short).In case you feel like I must elaborate on any points then please feel free to ask me to do it for you... [:)]

Chapter 3:Know your daily roads.
Now you have the right to ask “When I know my city then what’s to know about my daily roads”?And my reply is simple:
Are your daily roads same as your complete city?
Your city has wide roads which are just perfect but it isn’t necessary that the roads you cover daily for your office or work may not be the best ones.It may be possible that you drive on narrow lanes with a foot deep pits every 10 meters.
Let’s break it into 75-25 style.Its always better to adapt yourself and of course choose a car which is more suitable for the 75% of the roads you travel while you can ignore those 25% of the roads to an extent because you can take various other ways to cover those 25% of roads but if you go wrong then 75% thing will make you cry on the unsuitable roads.
All in all you need to have an idea of the roads you daily cover and must be able to adapt yourself to driving on those roads without any stress.For example:I am always disturbed on dense city roads and is always happy on the open highways because I have adapted myself for the highway journeys.
So for the cheerful driving its always good to know the roads on which you are going to drive on a daily basis also it will help you keep your vehicle too happy and long lasting... [:)]

TSIVipul · Sep 12, 2012

Re: Driving in City-Do's and Don'ts...

Chapter 4:Know the traffic behavior..
Once again a question “Now what’s there in traffic to behave”? and again my reply is simple “Its not the traffic but the way the people in your city drive is what we call traffic behavior”.
First of all,how does the traffic behavior change?Traffic behavior is specific to various areas like In Uttarakhand you can find local traffic to be on the polite side while in Delhi you can find traffic to be in let-me-first style and in Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh you will find traffic quite violent where people are quick at quarrel too.
This way you must be aware of the behavior of the traffic in your city.Traffic behavior includes various points which you need to know:-

What’s the average traffic speed on your city roads?
Do people use any signals before changing lanes etc?
How do the people use hand and indicated signals?
What is the mentality of the road users?
How much active is the administration of your city in enforcing the laws?

The basic reason for knowing the traffic behavior is your and your car’s safety and of course a hassle free drive too.For an instance in a city where no one gives to damn to laws you can’t drive with a cool mind if you are following the laws and you will in fact disturb other road users too and same way if you are driving in a city where everyone follows the laws,there you can’t break them.It can result in serious safety hazards too added to the miscomfort you will cause for yourself and other road users.. [:)]

Chapter 5:Move in the lane!!
In my views,this is the safest way of driving throughout India weather its City or highway or hills.Why?Because at least you will be safe in yourself and letting other lane-cutting-experts do their job and pass you or get passed.
Actually moving in one’s own lane means you will cut down at least 75% of dangers like bruising a biker or another car or getting into quarrles etc.The way is simple,weather slow or quick,if you move in your own lane then you will end up driving peacefully and of course safely.
Even if the people in your city do not give damn to any kind of traffic rules then also you will keep yourself and your ride quite safe by following this small rule.How?Because every driver has one special talent and that talent is of “Predicting the next step then another road user will take”. And if you will move in a specific lane following the lane discipline strictly then no one is either going to cut your way that easily nor anyone is going to disturb you for any reason because everyone will be knowing that you have nothing to do with anyone and is moving safely in your own lane.
Also always remember-“People always keep away from the one who is always silent.Why?Because everyone is scared of a person who does keep silent”... [:)]

Chapter 6:Your ORVM and all round visibility..
Hmmm,it seems to be a quite complex part.I have noticed that most of the people are unaware of the fact that ORVMs are needed to be adjusted differently for driving in various environments.
Some days I was talking to a person and he told me that “What’s there to adjust again and again?I can see what’s following me with same setting throughout my drives”.And I came to know that nearly 90-95% of our drivers are same.
What’s the basic purpose of ORVM?It’s to give you a perfect view of any vehicle following you on your sides and now let’s move on how to adjust them for different surroundings:

In city:In city you need to adjust the ORVM to give you the view of anything which is near the car.Your ORVM must be able to cover your car on at least 1/4th of it and must show you everything clearly which is at most 1-2 meters away from your boot.Since in city your speeds are not that high and steering inputs are also slow,hence you must adjust your ORVM such a way that you can see the near objects perfectly.
On highways:Since on highways the speed is higher and slight steering inputs can also result in cutting of a lane or two hence your ORVM must be adjusted in a way to give you a wider and of course must cover a larger ground weather its in length or quite far behind your car.

All round visibility:
All round visibility is amongst the biggest issues since no ORVM is perfect and all of them have some blind spots and hence my method of checking out around is simple:
Turn your car if no vehicle is running parallel to your rear doors and wait for the vehicle to pass if it is running parallel to your car.I other words I keep eye only on the vehicles which are running parallel to my car and take care if the drive rof the another vehicle will be able to see the indications given by me.If I find it difficult for them then I let them pass and if I find it easy for them then I take the turn... [:)]

TSIVipul · Sep 12, 2012

Re: Driving in City-Do's and Don'ts...

Chapter7:Indications..
Indications play a vital role while driving and are very crucial for safety of yours as well as other road users.
First of all when to indicate?It’s basically done for two reasons:

While changing lanes.
While taking turns.

While taking turns its always advisable to indicate from a good distance of at eat 50-100 meters before turning your vehicle as it will give enough time to other vehicles to adjust themselves to let you turn safely.In case you give indication and take the turn suddenly then you may end up getting tailgated or T-boned by another vehicle because you haven’t given them enough time to give you space comfortably.
Also its advisable to take the appropriate lane also before taking the final turn.For example:If you wanna take a U turn then its advisable to acquire right lane slowly with indication and same way if you wanna leave the road then its advisable to occupy the left lane slowly after indicating.This will help you 2 ways:

It will help you drive comfortably.
Chances of any kind of accident are minimized.

Hand indicator is used in the case you are being closely followed by any heavy vehicle,or any other vehicle is running parallel to you or your indicator is not working.And the correct way of using hand indicator is by taking your hand out at a quite high position and then wave it slightly so that it can catch the attention of other people.Else people may end up thinking that you have just took your hand out for no reason.. [:)]

Chapter 8:Your steering.
Steering wheel is the best friend you have in your car.It makes your car go the way you want it to go.The tips of steering the car in city traffic are simple:

Avoid sudden inputs.
Always be precise on the wheel.

Why to avoid sudden inputs?It’s because in case you give sudden steering inputs then it can result in panicking the other road users which can result in accidents.

And it’s important to be precise on the wheel because in the city roads or dense city roads you have no room for any mistakes as even the displacement of some millimeters can also result in minor or sometimes major accidents.Hence you need to be firm and precise while steering your car.
The people who have just upgraded from bikes,its important for you to be precise on the wheel because cars are no bikes and no doubt the steering never gives to such wanted feedback like the handle of your bike gives.. [:)]

Chapter 9:Your horn!!
Many times I have seen some silly souls who keep on blowing the horn while being trapped in a massive traffic jam,it looks like their car will start flying if they blow a lot of horn.
Your horn is meant for two reasons:

To tell other road users that you are also on the road.
To stop the another vehicle in case its doing anything which can be dangerous for you.

But if you are blowing excess of horns for no reason then you will not fulfill any of the above purposes and will end up frustrating other road users.And one thing for sure “Furstrated log maarte bahut hain(frustrated people give a fantastic beating)”.So horn must be blown only if necessary.In case you see that the vehicle in front of your car is also unable to move then why waste your battery?Its better to silently wait for the route to clear because your horn will cause only headache none else.
As you can read behind many autos etc “Bina baat ke toh kutta bhi nahi bhonkta-SO DO NOT HONK unnecessarily(even dog also don’t bark for no reason)”. [:)]

TSIVipul · Sep 12, 2012

Re: Driving in City-Do's and Don'ts...

Chapter 10:Know how to assume..
Its always said that “Never ASSUME because it can make an A## out of U or ME”.But while driving it becomes very important to make assumptions.
You always need to concentrate on various activities of pedestrians and other road users,this will help you assume their next step and most of the times this assumption proves to be correct.
Now you can take any mischevious guys playing or moving on the road,then its better to be careful because they can anytime come in your way and land you in trouble.Same way you can be careful of people talking on phone while walking or any two people who are more busy in gossiping than walking.Same way you can assume the next move of any other driver and save yourself from any uncalled trouble.
So for the safety of yours and other road users as well as a joyful drive.Now you must develop an eagle eye and keep on scanning every moving thing you see.This will help you make right assumptions and will save you from any kind of trouble. [:)]

Chapter 11:Your brakes..
The biggest misconception of the world is “Brakes are used to stop vehicle in emergency situations”.Instead the bitter truth is that brakes are meant to stop the car only if everything is going on as per your wish.
While driving in city,it’s never advisable to apply hard brakes as it can save you from frontal damages but you can end up hearing a voice like screeeech…boom.Why?Because you will be tailgated in this case.Instead it is always advisable to apply brakes but not so hard and give some minor steering inputs with them.
The steering inputs must not be very high as it can result in side crashes,instead with a slight steering input and okay braking you can end up saving the day.

Chapter 12:The gears..
The selection of the gear makes the difference between driving and good driving.In the city you always need to be in the mid range for the ease of driving and for least possible gearshifts.
Actually in the city you are never able to drive at a constant speed and in case you need to apply the brakes then since you was already in the mid range hence you will easily be able to pass without changing any gears else if you keep on driving at low revs then you will easily get bogged down in case you don’t shift down and in case you are driving at high rpms then you can end up messing up with the whole FE of the car. [:)]

Chapter 13:Parking is not that easy..
This is also one of the most serious concern in the city.In the cities its always tough for any person to find the adequate parking space.And hence being short I’d recommend you to always prefer the parkings to park your vehicle safely and then complete your works.
This will help you keep your car safe from various threats also it will help keeping your car safe from various legal issues like getting towed or other troubles caused by local authorities.

That’s all…thanks for reading-if done!! [:)]

TSIVipul · Sep 13, 2012

Hello again guys,any suggestions on any new chapter which you people feel must be added here?

dharmesh · Sep 13, 2012

Really nice thread. You have become Guru of car lessons.
I daily travel by same road, but during rains, the road I travel yesterday without potholes , now have the big pothole in very same place. So it does not help knowing roads of my city. Yes, as you said, If I drive cautiously and as I already know that potholes are welcoming me as it is rain. I will not hit any. It is back again to knowing my city and my roads.

And also yes, many times, when showing turning indicators have not helped, I have shown my hand to take right and car behind allow me to take turn, but not when I showed the turning indicators. Funny, Hand have more respect than blinking light.

Rated 5 star for the effort and write up.

sethumurugan · Sep 13, 2012

Vipul, Fantastic Thread and very useful one too. Still not gone thru the article. Will update later if anything need to be added.

Thanks for the info.

Gurrala74 · Sep 13, 2012

@Vipul

Wonderful narration which is very much true !! Really appreciate you efforts for this and is very useful [:)]

sandip24 · Sep 13, 2012

@Vipul
Excellent write-up.. really good helpful lessons for everyone

TSIVipul · Sep 13, 2012

Thanks for the appreciation mates. [:D]

dharmesh said:

Eh,are you joking?

BTW,municipal corporation is to be blames for the condition of those roads. [lol]

But one thing for sure,if you know the road then you can save your car a lot,even if the road is filled with water.But yes,if you feel anything wrong then its always advisable to let 2-3 vehicles pass and see if everything is okay and then move on.

See buddy,any vehicle which is not just behind your car but is very close to you has the chances that the driver may not see the indicator but hand indicator is easily visible to everyone.

Thanks again.. [:D]

vishnunarayanan · Sep 13, 2012

Nice thread again from your side ! Useful thread for newbies to driving as well as a refresher crash course for rash drivers.
Anyway nice work Vipul !

TSIVipul · Sep 14, 2012

vishnunarayanan said:

Thanks buddy.

In terms of newbies,maybe the thread can be helpful but newbies need to be courageous and of course confident while driving.These tips can be kept in mind but are followed correctly only if the driver is confident enough.

In terms of rash drivers..haha,they are not easy to handle.You can make them read anything but as soon as they keep their foot on gas,they forget the whole world!!

dharmesh · Sep 14, 2012

TSIVipul said:

That's what I do, I wait for others to try adn then follow them wisely. [:D]

dhruvpandit · Sep 14, 2012

also add this
1. never drive behind a female driver or rickshaw driver, they never know thair route until very last moment and they just take any turn ( they never know why the two arrows / orange light on both side are given by fool vehicle makers!! )
2. Bus drivers are the owners of Road, so if you don't want to scratch your vehicle, its good to follow them

Driving in City: Do's and Don'ts.

TSIVipul

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TSIVipul

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TSIVipul

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TSIVipul

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TSIVipul

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TSIVipul

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dharmesh

V10

sethumurugan

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Gurrala74

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sandip24

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TSIVipul

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vishnunarayanan

V6

TSIVipul

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dharmesh

V10

dhruvpandit

V6