Monday, January 24, 2011

Driving By Convention - 2 lane highways

Yesterday, I think I discovered that the driving in north India does have a logic. It may not follow 'rules' but that is simply because the rules are inconsistent with the conventions.

We have to realize that the two lane highway will convert to a 3 lane highway - when needed. Hence, you should overtake without worrying too much(see qualification below) about oncoming traffic.

The vehicle on your side and the one coming towards you will shift to the sides - creating an additional lane for you.

Of course, this is contingent upon the vehicle you are overtaking and the one coming towards you are smaller in size than your vehicle. Hence, make sure that neither of them is a truck or a bus.

The other point to bear in mind is that at the same time, a guy from the other side may also decide to overtake a vehicle. At that point, it is a game of chicken. All bets are off.

You also need to watch out for the guy who has not understood the convention. He will drive part way into the next lane in an attempt to overtake the slow vehicle. If he sees oncoming traffic, he will go back into his lane and try again. This is positively hazardous driving. The cars will pile up behind him and, sooner rather than later, someone will become impatient. This is when you may find yourself facing two and a half lanes of oncoming traffic and that can be unnerving.

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