Driving in Mumbai

1: Aim of post

            This is essentially a tutorial which I have mould into a post. Please read this first paragraph and use it as a introduction to how the post is written. I have a paragraph on driving schools and their cars. Other one on traffic etiquette and driving in traffic. Some tips here and there. I would like people to avoid mistakes I made. I have labeled each paragraph as 1,2 and so on for convenience. Paragraph 4 is where the real stuff starts from.

2: Introducton to uncivilized driving 

Some of the most uncivilized and boorish driving is done on the streets of this wonderful city. I am one of those polite type of drivers who waits for others to go and then makes a move much to the displeasure of my driving instructor. He goes “Himmat rakho, aage badhao” as he thinks I am scared of the other guy ramming into my car. Please note its my car and not some driving school’s crappy car with some sh%$ clutch plate.

3: The age limit for driving

            I start off from the very beginning. A law abiding family as is mine would hesitate to let anybody below the permitted age to drive. The age limit is 18 in India or at most in Maharashtra. Now with a drunk guy knocking off 7 people on a pavement at Bandra, it is extremely difficult to get a license while being under age. The school who somehow manipulated stuff and gave him a license before he was 18 was suspended or shut down. I doubt it was shut down. They probably bribed investigating officials and are still running. The guy was above 18 when he knocked off 7 people.

4: Driving schools and their cars

            First of all get some person you know who drives regularly on a decent car  to drive the car you might think of learning on at the driving school for 5 minutes. Most driving schools should allow it in their lunch break. Ask then to rate the car. The condition of the clutch and accelerator should be noted. You have a clue about the condition of the vehicle you will be learning on. Also ask them to try other cars in the school if the condition of the one you want to learn on is not satisfying. Now getting back to the point of this post. Please note when I refer to driving schools, I refer to them on a general basis. There are exceptions. Ascertain how good your driving school is from sources who have learnt there and then join.  Practice on your car at home simeltainously while learning on the driving school car. Adapt the same style it takes to drive your own car while driving the school’s car. Convince people at home to sit beside you while you drive or else the money you spent at the school is pointless. It starts off with the car you drive. If you drive a Santro it has electronic fuel injection and no carburetor. An Esteem on the other hand has a carburetor. Now the difference is that the Santro starts moving and gathers significant speed (upto 20 km/h) even if the accelerator is not pressed as electronic fuel injection system feeds some fuel continuously. Esteem also moves slightly (big 1000 c.c. engine) but an 800 might not without giving the accelerator. The state of the driving school car is pathetic. The clutch plate is all worn out. Your actual car plate is way more sensitive and the car will stop if the clutch is released fast while at a very low speed. You will be driving at a very low speed in traffic or when you stop at a signal. Also try this as exercise. Go up some road which has slope and stop the car. Now again put it in first and start moving up the slope. There should be no intervention from any instructor (using his clutch control) or it should be on your own car. Initially you might stall the car the first few times. Driving schools teach almost no clutch control and just teach you how to point the car in the right direction. In other words they just show you how to steer the car properly. For some people the judgement is a bit difficult to refine quickly. I do recommend the driving school if you are having trouble with your judgement as the instructor has a brake control and prevent you from ramming into something or scraping the side walk or some other vehicle while cornering a turn. Please note as we have right hand drive it is difficult to judge object to you left. You might make an error in judging something on the left as compared to the right as you are on the right. As a safety measure you should leave a slightly greater margin on the left than on the right as you can judge the stuff on the right side better. This margin thing is till you are confident enough and the it just starts flowing. A thing I realized later on after my driving school lessons were over was that either when I left the clutch fast on their car the instructor slowed down its release with his controls or their clutch plate was so worn out that it made no difference. Hold the clutch (completely or partially depending on the nature of the turn and traffic) down while taking a turn. This is seldom practiced in the driving school’s car. It is not necessary to do so but in most case there is a need for it. Also when I braked in the school’s car I was told that the clutch was not required. It is required at speeds below 20 km/h but the instructor probably handled the clutch and the car did not stop. There was no freaking need for him to do that. I suspect they probably don’t get their students drive well as they might come back for extra lessons with the instructor in their own car. So keep these things in mind and judge when the instructor does the controls for you. Its not good if he does it for you on a regular basis. Occasionally to save the car is fine. As far as car goes I feel it would be nice to learn on a car without electronic fuel injection system as you get a better feel for the car. You do have to adapt to the car with electronic injection system by slightly modifying your driving style. Be prepared for it to go ahead without giving the accelerator. Some driving schools have a decent instructor on a few cars like the one my friend goes to in Bandra.

5: License

It does help to get a license done from the driving school as they fill the forms and do most formalities including improving the chances of passing drastically. First you get learners license from the R.T.O. office. Now that its computerized they take a snap the at the time of making the learners license at the R.T.O. office and that snap is used for the permanent license. So make sure it’s a decent snap cause you are going to be stuck with it as your license (permanent) lasts. The procedure for the learners license takes about 100 minutes cause there are other people waiting to have their snaps taken too. The permanent thing is quicker as the only formality involves a test. At times the test is over within 5 minutes and you are free within 30 minutes of going for the permanent license. I know of 2 R.T.O. offices in Mumbai, Tardeo (near Bombay Central) and Andheri. There must be others also for Thane.

6: Driving

Get your clutch control right cause its useful and the better it gets the less your car randomly stops. Try some exercises such as reverse also. I had a regular driving routine for 5 days till I got perfect at the road. I removed the car from a tight parking spot. We parked it at a spot in some lane with very little traffic or almost none then we took it in reverse to a fixed spot some 12 metres away. Stopped at a fairly steep incline a few times in the lanes and started moving again without stalling the car. Also did reverse on the slope. We even stopped while going up a bridge with very little traffic and moving again. We also had a lane routine where we went through some very small lanes and had to manage with a compromise when a car came on the other side. After the handling becomes decent and the car does not stop we went to Imax Adlabs. It was a long drive.

7: Driving knowledge

Please note that the head lights should be kept on dim mode and not on full blast straight on. There are two standard options in most cars. The light is focused down on the road or either straight ahead, the second one giving a powerful intensity. Please note the second one is rarely used in regular driving and should not be as it makes it very difficult for oncoming cars to see. The other driver could make an error as he is not able to see properly leading to him hitting your car. The chance of him hitting your car increases in the lane. It is also good practice to switch off your light even if they are in the dim mode when a there is a car coming from the opposite road and switch it on once the driver of that car is just ahead of your lights. Please note it is necessary to honk in India. I don’t like people who honk unnecessarily. The bhaiya cabbies in particular. I avoid honking as much as possible because I don’t like sound pollution but it should be used whenever necessary. The crazy cyclists who keep moving sharply to the right on the roads should be honked at if necessary. I did not do so initially thinking they would see me and understand they have to wait but as they do not seem to co-operate it is necessary to honk. It let them know who has authority. Also some kids cross abruptly without any warning. They seem to be holding their mothers hand a waiting for you to pass and the next second they dash across the road free from the grip of their parents hand. Please note that most trucks and cabs don’t have the lights at the back of the vehicle working. So their brake lights and indicators don’t work. Be aware of this and drive with caution as you have to be alert about when such vehicles start braking or are going for a turn. I feel such vehicles should be fined Rs. 1000 if caught. Please give proper signals if you are going left or right. Rather than hand signals one prefer the indicator lights because it is more convenient and it more noticeable to others. Also maintain proper lane discipline. This is something I don’t like about driving in India. Very few people maintain proper lane discipline. Give indicator signals while switching lanes. Be careful that the indicator light goes off after every turn and lane switch. Stray indicator signals can cause accidents.

Shift gears to first or second at low speeds as car might stall if you don’t. Hold clutch while braking at low speeds. At moderate and high speeds you should brake first with out holding the clutch. If you still need to brake and reach a low speed from a moderate speed you might need to hold the clutch. These things in the last few lines shall come automatically once one becomes accustomed to driving and brakes in such conditions.

  

8: Basic car knowledge

a)      There are 2 intensities to your head light. It is recommended you use it on the lower intensity in most cases unless need arises.

b)      When in reverse the area near braking light of a car gives off white light showing the car is in reverse.

c)      When a person quickly flashes his head light (on and off or from low intensity to high intensity) while he is approaching you from the opposite direction he wishes you give him right of way till he passes. So slow down and let him pass giving him space. This is usually done at turns or in narrow lanes.

d)      When starting the car there are 3 lights. First one shows whether a brake (hand brake or normal brake is engaged) and whether the brake oil is less. The other one is for the batter indicating whether it is working. The third one is for engine oil. When the car is switched on all three lights should go off. If the brake light is on check whether the hand brake is engaged and your foot is off the brake pedal. If the light is still oil it means your brake oil is low. Do not drive the car as the brakes can fail leading to an accident.

e)      The hand brake works only on the rear wheels. The car may move with it engaged but the rear wheels will slide and it will increase the load on the engine damaging the car.

f)        Check the fuel level indicator before a trip. It sounds elementary but I know an aunt who ran out of fuel on the road and had to get some in a can to fill a car.

g)      If you leave your steering wheel on a straight road (without any potholes) your car should move straight. If it moves to any side the air in the tire/tires on that side could be less.

h)      Get your seat position right. Adjust the seat forward or backward till you achieve a position most comfortable to you. Most people overlook this and drive with the seat as it was set up by the previous drive. Also if its not the driving school’s car warn the previous driver warn them you changed the seat position and ask them to change it again when the drive.

i)        Use mirrors to keep tabs on traffic behind while turning. Just don’t keep looking in the mirror and ignore the road in front of you. You might ram into a car.

j)        Always give indicators while turning even though you might think there is no car behind you or in front of you. You might have not seen a car. Plus it can be used by a pedestrian or cyclist to judge your move and allow you to pass first.

k)      Also don’t waste fuel. Turn off the car on long signals.

9: Conclusion

            With this I conclude this. These are just some things I thought of. There might be other things which I might have overlooked. You will have some things to take care of specific to you. Go drive the car. It might stall initially but it will be minimized once you drive more and improve. Take turns sensibly and at an acceptable speed. A pedestrian could pop us from anywhere not seeing your car on a turn. Hold down the clutch on turns as it is needed in most cases. Drive safely. Don’t drink and drive. It sounds clichéd but still people don’t follow it. The guy who knocked of 7 people was drunk after a party. He could have taken a cab home but no he had to drive.