India's Road Rules

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Advice for your next India trip.

 

RULES OF THE ROAD IN INDIA

 

Traveling in India is an almost hallucinatory potion

of sound, spectacle and experience. It is frequently

heart-rending, sometimes hilarious, mostly

exhilarating, always unforgettable - and, when you are

on the roads, extremely dangerous.

Most Indian road users observe a version of the

Highway Code based on a Sanskrit text. These 10 rules

of the Indian road are published for the first time in

English.

 

ARTICLE I

The assumption of immortality is required of all road

users.

 

ARTICLE II

Indian traffic, like Indian society, is structured on

a strict caste system. The following precedence must

be accorded at all times. In descending order, give

way to: cows, elephants, heavy trucks, buses, official

cars, camels, light trucks, buffalo, Jeeps, ox-carts,

private cars, motorcycles, scooters, auto-rickshaws,

pigs, pedal rickshaws, goats, bicycles

(goods-carrying), handcarts, bicycles

(passenger-carrying), dogs, pedestrians.

 

ARTICLE III

All wheeled vehicles shall be driven in accordance

with the maxim: to slow is to falter, to brake is to

fail, to stop is defeat. This is the Indian drivers'

mantra.

 

ARTICLE IV

Autos: Long blasts (desperate) denote supplication,

i.e., to oncoming truck, "I am going too fast to stop,

so unless you slow down we shall both die". In extreme

cases this may be accompanied by flashing of

headlights (frantic). Single blast (casual) means "I

have seen someone out of India's 870 million whom I

recognise", "There is a bird in the road (which at

this speed could go through my windscreen)" or "I have

not blown my horn for several minutes."

Trucks and buses: All horn signals have the same

meaning, viz, "I have an all-up weight of

approximately 12.5 tons and have no intention of

stopping, even if I could." This signal may be

emphasised by the use of headlamps (insouciant).

 

Article IV remains subject to the provision of Order

of Precedence in Article II above

 

ARTICLE V

All manoeuvres, use of horn and evasive action shall

be left until the last possible moment.

 

ARTICLE VI

In the absence of seat belts (which there is), car

occupants shall wear garlands of marigolds. These

should be kept fastened at all times.

 

ARTICLE VII

Rights of way: Traffic entering a road from the left

has priority. So has traffic from the right, and also

traffic in the middle. Lane discipline: All Indian

traffic at all times and irrespective of direction of

travel shall occupy the centre of Roundabouts: India

has no round abouts. Apparent traffic islands in the

middle of crossroads have no traffic management

function. Any other impression should be ignored.

 

ARTICLE IX

Overtaking is mandatory. Every moving vehicle is

required to overtake every other moving vehicle,

irrespective of whether it has just overtaken you.

Overtaking should only be undertaken in suitable

conditions, such as in the face of oncoming traffic,

on blind bends, at junctions and in the middle of

villages/city centres. No more than two inches should

be allowed between your vehicle and the one you are

passing - and one inch in the case of bicycles or

pedestrians.

 

ARTICLE X

Nirvana may be obtained through the head-on crash.