DriveBlog

The Driving Dutchman

Dig into this hilarious article that's evidently been written by an expatriate from Baan, Netherlands who spent two years in Hyderabad.

Driving in India for the benefit of every Tom, Dick and Harry visiting India

Having dared to drive on Indian roads, I am offering a few hints for survival. They are applicable to every place in India except Bihar, where life outside a vehicle is only marginally safer.

Indian road rules broadly operate within the domain of karma where you do your best, and leave the results to your insurance company.

The hints are as follows: Do we drive on the left or right of the road? The answer is 'both'.

Also see:
How the world drives
Why driving in Massachusetts and India is so much alike

To tow or not to tow...

Since moving to Mumbai, I've had many a chance to marvel at the almost manic singularity with which towing crews swoop in on an unmanned car 'violating a parking rule' and proceed to haul it away...all in a matter of seconds. Blink and you might miss the sight of the tow-truck slowly coasting to a stop as the gents standing in the back of the truck spot an 'offending' member of the general traffic, the almost lightning-like descent of said gents from the truck, the deftness with which the tow-truck driver backs his vehicle up closer to the unsuspecting culprit and the almost-invisible action with which the towing line is hooked up. Then one of the guys from the team proceeds to scrawl something with a piece of chalk ("Gotcha!"? "Guess who?"?) on the spot where the car was parked and before you know it, he's back on the truck and they're pulling out with the 'towee' obediently following. It's a quick, silent and effective operation and an exhibition of such stealth, skill and teamwork that I've had to convince myself a couple of times that I did see a car stand in that spot just a minute earlier.

So should you be worried about rushing back to that spot where you parked your car for just a minute ago while you nipped into the ATM or stopped to pick up a smoke and finding it gone? Well, apparently there's a bit of discrimination afoot - the probability of your car getting towed is in inverse proportion to its perceived value. (Link via India Uncut)

(S)Milestones

Hospital ceilings are boring to look at. Avoid Accidents.

This and other interesting signs seen alongside the winding roads to Ladakh. (via Sepia Mutiny)

A little too fast...

What it must feel like to be in a car that clocks 400 kilometres to the hour.

Drive(r) carefully!

"You've been a bad passenger. Go back to your country."

FAQs

How many times have you wondered...

• ...just how safe your car is?
• ...why your car costs so much more in India than it would have abroad?
• ...just what the heck Maruti keeps doing right every year, year after year?

Don't dial and drive

Face it - there are some things that you just can't do well enough at the same time.

Also see:
Death on call.
Driving styles from around the world.

Got good driving scents?

They're saying now that how good a driver you are could be linked to the kind of smells you encounter while you're driving. Peppermint, cinnamon, lemon, coffee and the smell of the sea help you relax and are therefore good for you - and for everyone else on the road! But smells of food, camomile, jasmine or lavender have the potential of turning you into a mobile messenger of death.

I kid you not.

What women want

So the next time the lady of the house expresses the need to be able to drive herself to the supermarket, remember that it's just not about getting from place A to place B. It's about 'mobility, empowerment and independence' (sic).

Love ya, Mom! =)

Also see:
Maruti's move to safen Indian roads.
The Official Maruti Driving Schools Website.

Left, right or up yours?

Madman, who's never at a loss for words, whether he's talking about food, hyperlinking or simply getting stuff off his chest, has an interesting suggestion for a new kind of indicator light on cars. He also can't seem to figure out some car owners' strange proclivity for plastic sheets.