Indian traffic regulations

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Date sent: Fri, 18 Oct 96 14:16 MST

 

--- Note: The following item was extracted from travel section of a UK

daily

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Please read if you are planning to go to India in the near future.

 

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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 an ancient 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

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

Use of horn (also known as the sonic fender or aural amulet):

 

Cars (IV,1,a-c): Short blasts (urgent) indicate supremacy, ie in

clearing dogs, rickshaws and pedestrians from path. Long blasts

(desperate) denote supplication, ie 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 recognize", "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 (IV,2,a): 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 emphasized 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 (VII,1): All Indian traffic at all times and irrespective

of direction of travel shall occupy the centre of the road.

ARTICLE VIII

Roundabouts: India has no roundabouts. 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.