A helpful guide to city driving in India

Driving around Chennai City, India

1. Plan your route beforehand

Before hitting the road, you should plan your route beforehand. Google Map will be a good assistant for this task. The traffic on some streets could be very packed in the rush hours so you should avoid these routes and go with other milder routes. Five minutes for planning with the help of Google Map beforehand will help you to find a most convenient route and have a smooth drive. 

Use Google map to plan your route

Read more: 

• Safety driving tips: How to use GPS navigation safety while driving

2. Be focus

This tip might sound familiar but it is always the best guide to safe driving in any situation. The concentration level has to increase a bit when you commute throughout the streets of Indian cities. Some people would not stick to their lanes but keep switching lanes and overtaking other vehicles, or there might be innocent animals or even pedestrians to get in your way. So, it is the best that you keep focusing and always be aware of what is happening on the road. And again, using phones has never been recommended in any driving situation.

3. Be careful when night-driving

At night, the streets might become less crowded, but it doesn’t mean that you can let your guard down and free-speed all the way. The night might be the active time for drunk drivers. In order to drive safely, don’t try to tailgate or speed up, just in case there are cars jumping into your way.

Be careful even when you drive at night

Read more:

• How to navigate on Indian roads at night

4. Keep a suitable distance from other vehicles

In many big cities of India, you can see various vehicles, from cars, buses to motorbikes, rickshaw, and so on. With the many types of vehicles commuting together, it is not easy to have separate lanes and straight-forward driving. Usually, vehicles will blend together. That’s why there is a good chance that some motorbike could jump into the way without giving any signals. Therefore, it is advisable that you keep a reasonable distance from other vehicles in front of your car, especially with heavy vehicles. By doing this, you are keeping a space for timely responses to unexpected overtaking. However, don’t try to follow a theoretical 2-car distance as it is impossible within city driving. There are possible other vehicles trying to get into the extra space. You have to be mindful of the space when in driving city.

Always check two sides of the road through rear-view mirror as vehicles could overtake you from both sides. The excessive use of brake is normal when driving in Indian cities.

Don't run right after other cars on the streets

5. Keep Calm

One particular feature of city commute is that vehicles are always on the rush. It is important to keep calm and be patient. If there is any other vehicle rushing behind yours or anxiously preying to overtake, take a deep breath and give them space to go ahead. It will make your driving easier.

6. Know when to honk

Honk is the main source of city noises. Even when the noise could not penetrate into your cabin, you should consider other’s hearing and avoid excessively punching at the honk. Moderate honking is necessary to keep a good drive environment.

7. Be careful with buses

Be alert to the buses around you

In India, buses are wild. They could change lane instantly and surprisingly cut your way. These public vehicles are unexpected in their own way of driving. Whenever you spot a bus nearby, pay close attention to it.

Driving in city traffic is never an easy task. The insanely busy street of Indian city is not an exception. With the above tips provided by IndianAuto, your driving experience will become more comfortable and less of a nightmare.

Read more useful tips for driving:

• 7 long-road driving tips for beginner

• How to drive in the rain safely