Driving a Cultural Change in India: Better & Safer Road Safety and Traffic in India

Driving in India: Driver Education & Training Videos covering all aspects of defensive driving

2008-01-19T12:26:00.000-08:00

भारातीय वाहातुक नियंत्रण: एक पारंपरिक बदल लाने कि कोशिश मे बनाये गए विडियो। आशा है इस माध्यम से भारत के निवासी और सरकार अलग परंतु अधिक योग्य एवं सफल आदर्शोंको अपनाएँगे।
All 17 driver education Videos are now availble on a DVD, click here for more details

Traffic rules in India are rarely followed. Road safety in India is not given importance. 10% of the global accidents occur in India. The Internet is full of mocking of the indisciplined driving on Indian roads. This site creates awareness by providing driver education and training to all Indian road users. It covers all aspects of defensive driving. Learning simple road habits and skills can make Indian roads safer.

The 17 videos cover the following topics

Indian traffic rules, regulations and laws are not known to the common road users। The Indian traffic authorities have failed to publish an Indian National Highway code in the 60 years since independence. Licence is given to anyone who can use the clutch-accelerator, thus the Indian motor driving schools teach just that. Most Indian drivers are not aware of the concepts of defensive driving. Its believed that poor law enforcement of Indian traffic rules and regulations causes chaos on Indian roads. Yet lack of training & respect for the other contributes most to traffic chaos, congestion and jams on Indian roads. For a better understanding of the possible reasons behind the traffic chaos on Indian roads, please read my article Chaos on Indian Roads: A Psychiatrists Perspective

Launch of Driver Education and Training DVD for Indian drivers:

Lets make the Indian road traffic safer

The Driver Education, Training and road safety awareness DVD for Indians covers all aspects of road safety and defensive driving skills. The entire series of 17 videos is available on a Promo DVD. It has been sent out for free to over 50 people. However future requests may be entertained only if recipients are happy to pay for the postage and packaging. The DVD is sent out on the agreement that it will be used on a not-for-profit basis. Groups & NGOs working to improve road safety in India may be given preference. Individuals may make copies for friends /relatives and use it for free public education workshops. Mass copying or modifying the content or label without permission is unacceptable. The main reason for making the Promo DVD is to attract potential donors willing to fund mass production of the DVD for free public distribution. IT companies, banks and big corporates including automobile manufacturers and dealers may make enquiries by writing to me (visit feedback page for my e-mail Id).

When all people do what they are able to do, India will be a different country: Gandhi
Lets make road safety in India a priority

Traffic chaos on Indian roads: A Psychiatrists Perspective

2008-01-17T00:09:00.000-08:00

A wise man once said that the character of a nation can be judged
by how its people drive on the streets

Road sense on Indian streets is often completely missing. The consequent chaos is on display for the whole world to mock and laugh by way of hundreds of videos on youtube. Being a psychiatrist, I have always wondered and tried to understand the genesis of the pathology or indiscipline on Indian roads. Over time I have come up with a few theories, some I have discarded myself. I will however present to the interested reader below -

Indian masses have been subjugated and ruled over by others ''foreign powers'' for hundreds of years. People were left powerless and enslaved. Could it be that the chronic disempowerment of the masses has led to a paradoxical ''abuse of the freedom'' we gained about 60 years ago?

Then there is the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. As seen in the diagram below, the basic needs of hunger and safety (security is a better word) need to be fulfilled before being able to move to more civil ways of living, eventually leading to self actualisation. Again, could it be that the since gaining freedom we have struggled with ''poverty'' and hence for huge majority रोटी, कपडा और मकान is a bigger challenge to think and deal with rather than road safety.

But then look at the roads in South Africa, despite a similar history to ours and years of subjugation, lack of freedom and economic instability, their roads are far better than those in India with regards discipline and following of the traffic rules.

May be then the The Western / UK drivers can follow rules more easily as the roads are bigger and number of vehicles very few. Perhaps they can do so because they do not have multiple modes of transport (rickshaw, motor bikes et al). Or could it be that their road signage is so good that drivers find it easier to follow rules? In realty though, many Western cities have population densities similar to ours. In the Western world 80% use personal vehicles, this means car densities may be even higher than those seen on Indian roads. Most EU cities are historical and do not always have wide roads. Congestion and traffic jams are common, but one hardly ever hears any honking. And rules are followed by all, including those on bikes, cycles, mobility scooters, buses, truck drivers.....the lot. In fact as explained on my FAQ, The videos are even more relevant to 2/3 wheel drivers. Often these vehicles do not have mirrors (definitely there is no rear view). This then makes checking blind spot more important for such drivers. The principle of MSM (video 2), dealing with traffic lights, dealing with junctions (giving way), dealing with roundabouts, speed limits, keeping safe distance (far more important for 2 wheelers which take longer to stop than cars), tailgating and the biggest of all - showing courtesy - everything applies to all types of vehicles, cyclists included.

Could it be that the Indian culture and tradition of hospitality was lost by us over centuries? Some of our behaviours like spitting across each others face, littering, honking at each other and lack of consideration for fellow humans on our roads suggests this is a huge problem. But then will this be a reason for our poor record on road safety and indiscipline? Now the Western culture is not any more courteous or better than ours. From mugging to gun crime, all vices are rife in most cities. In fact ethical and moral violations are as common (if not more) in the Western world. I am hence inclined to think this in itself does not completely explain the chaos on Indian roads.

The other possible explanation is the ''power equation''. Being a populated country, there is competition right from the word go. We have to struggle to get places in schools, universities and jobs. Its cut throat. Perhaps this habitual competitive streak which we end up with is seen on our roads as well, where every vehicle driver tries to occupy every inch available at the cost of road safety and discipline. The other related thought is the powerlessness one experiences in our lives. My doctor colleagues render patients powerless, as a doctor in a bus, the conductor renders me powerless. The बाबू अ at the window or the telephone company man or the civic official meant to rectify the water supply...... the person in the seat of power constantly leaves the other feeling vulnerable and weak. Almost habitually then, perhaps the driver of a vehicle, suddenly finds himself / herself in the seat of power and ruthlessly deems or makes an effort to deem everyone else, especially the pedestrians completely powerless.

However, all the above happens between every interacting humans across the globe and yet traffic discipline in many countries is superior to that in India. One final piece of the jigsaw is ''education and awareness''. Yet, it is not formal education (whether one completed schooling) that matters. What matters is the driver education and training which instils the right road habits at the outset. Britain has one of the toughest driving test which can be taken even by school dropouts, the point is by the time one passes the test, the correct road etiquette is ingrained in to the drivers.

I would think that the above covers numerous possibilities. To me its know-how and training at the outset which is useful. This includes know-how which traffic authorities need to have. This very nicely brings me to collating my thoughts on how Indian road traffic can be reformed. Hopefully I will post the latter in coming weeks.

Dr Adhiraj Joglekar

Road safety initiative in India: Disclaimer notice

2008-01-16T15:30:00.000-08:00

Driving a Cultural change in India: Dedicated to reforming Indian Traffic rules, regulations & laws to help promote road safety in India.

Disclaimer notice

This site http://driving-india.blogspot.com/ is designed, updated and maintained independently by Dr Adhiraj Joglekar. All content on this site is the copyright (unless specified otherwise) of Dr Joglekar.

The site provides driving lessons, education and training with the aim of improving the Indian road traffic culture.

The information contained in this Web site is intended, solely to provide general information for the personal use of the reader, who accepts full responsibility for its use. The accuracy or reliability of any information is correct and up-to-date at the time of publication of a given page. No responsibility for any errors or omissions or for the completeness & accuracy, express or implied can be attached to the page/site owner.

Under no circumstances shall the page owner be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages of any kind whatsoever with respect to the service. Users of this site must acknowledge use of the information provided is at their discretion and responsibility.

Links to External Websites

Links to websites outside does not constitute an endorsement or approval by the page owner of any views, opinions or products / service displayed on the given site.

Please direct questions about via feedback page available at

http://driving-india.blogspot.com

Dr Joglekar

Driving in India: Making Indian roads safer & better

2008-01-16T15:01:00.000-08:00

Video 17: Dealing with in car condensation

Though weather changes are minimal in India, in car condensation does happen in winters and monsoon. Often the in-car condensation affects the windscreen and visibility. Drivers tend to use a cloth when there are simpler and more effective ways to overcome the problem. Last in the series, this video ends with some sundry rules of the road all Indian drivers must remember.

A road safety initiative in India to improve Indian road traffic regulation

Driving skills in India: Making our road traffic safer & better

2008-01-16T04:09:00.000-08:00

Video 16: Give Cyclists the Respect of a car

Cycling in Indian cities like Pune, Nagupur, Bangalore and others was once an important mode of transport. Considered unsafe amidst increasingly unruly motorised vehicles, cycling in India is on decline. This video emphasises the need to give the cyclist the respect of a car.

Sadly in India cycling is on the vain. This at a time when many Western cities are investing in preserving their cycling culture or improving it. Indian cities like Pune & Bangalore were once known as cities of cyclists. The picture below compares the parking lots outside Cambridge rail station and Pune rail station. The difference is obvious to all. Take a moment to watch the video capturing the cycling facilities offered in Cambridge. Its high time Indian urban planners ensure cycling facilites in the future. After all the average city commute in cities like Pune is just 8km.

Video: Cycling in Cambridge: Lessons for urban planners in India

Dedicated to improving mobility and improving traffic regulation in India

Indian road Etiquettes: Parallel (reverse) parking made easy

2008-01-16T04:07:00.000-08:00

Video 15: Parallel parking (reverse parking).

Indian drivers often park inappropriately. This may be either due to lack of consideration to others or poor driver training, education and awareness. Presuming its the latter, this video shows how parallel or reverse parking can be as easy as adding 2 + 2. Simply practice the steps explained on the video. The video also focuses on general principles that drivers need to keep in mind when parking. The recommendations made in this video are in keeping with the Indian Traffic rules, regulations and law as documented in Motor Vehicles act.

Additional information regarding parking

Parking on hills: If you park on a hill you should

park close to the kerb
apply the handbrake firmly (this sould be used even when parking on flat surfaces).
select a forward gear and turn your steering wheel away from the kerb when facing uphill
select reverse gear and turn your steering wheel towards the kerb when facing downhill

The picture below is from the Highway Code in UK. It clearly demonstrates the last two points made above.

Disabled Parking in India

Unfortunately in India there is no prority parking provision for people with disablities. There is a need for cultural change in this regard. While parking in parking lots, when there is plenty of space, try to park away from building entrances, leaving spaces closer to building entrances for those who are disabled or elderly.

Remember the old infirm and disbled

Motor Driving School for Indians: Low beams or high beams?

2008-01-16T04:05:00.000-08:00

Video 14: Low beams or high beams? कौनसे लाईट को कब इस्तमाल करे?
One feature of driving India at dusk or night time is the lack of understanding amongst drivers on when to use the vehicles headlights. Often drivers don't use any lights even when it is dark, on other hand, some use the high beam even in built up urban areas. This short film hopefully will help create awareness amongst drivers. This is vital as correct use of lights can avert accidents.

अनेक लोग शहरों मे तीव्र बत्ती (लाईट) का इस्तमाल करते है। ऐसा करने पर सामने से आने वाले ड्राईवर अक्सरअंधापन म्हेसुस करते है। ईस वजाहा से अक्सिड़ेंट होने की संभावाना बढ जाती है।

Indian motor driving schools often employ trainers with no real knowledge of traffic rules or driving ettiquettes. Often wrong information and habits are passed on to the new learner drivers. The commonest mis-information shared is with regards ''flashing of lights''. As per traffic rules in India or anywhere in the world, flashing lights is illegal. In India drivers flash lights to demand right of he way. In contrast, in many western countries flashing of lights means ''जानाब पाहेंले आप्''. Ideally one should not flash lights at all.

The other mis-information is around dealing with acute bends on a road. Again, driving institutes in India are culprits in teaching two wrong things - honk and flash lights as you approach a bend. The recommended and correct thing to do is to approach the bend as slowly as possible, this is the only way to ensure road safety around bends. When its twilight or night time, keep your low beam 'on' throughout without flashing it.

Finally, one recent abberation or shall I call it a misguided fashion is to use hazarrad lights inside tunnels. The correct thing to do is approach the tunnel and drive through it on low beams. The reason why hazzard lights should not be used is simple. If hazzard lights are used in circumstances other than 'actual hazzard' they become meaningless to the others.

Driving lessons for Indian: Speed limits, two second rule, lane discipline and overtaking

2008-01-16T04:04:00.000-08:00

Video 12: Speed limits, stopping distances and 2 second rule

Driving on Indian roads involves enduring indisciplined traffic. Over and above this, lack of training and information means few if any of the drivers are aware of speed limits, stopping distances and the rather useful 2 seconds rule. This video makes this vital information available to all drivers.

A number of people have asked me whether to follow the 2 seconds rules as recommended in UK and parts of Europe or the 3 seconds rules as suggested in America. Which one is correct? I have not come across the reasons for this difference, but possibly in US where cars are bigger, the 3 seconds gap is appropriate given the formula for momentum (mass x velocity). Thus bigger cars need longer time to stop. In contrast cars in Europe are smaller on average. In reality though, the minium distance ought to be at least 2 seconds but 3 seconds is even better and safer.

Video13: Lane discipline and overtaking

The driving test in India at best expects learner drivers to manage the clutch and accelerator. Given that there is no theory test, drivers have little understanding of blind-spots, principle of mirrors signal and manoeuvre. Both these concepts are vital to effectively manage changing lanes and overtaking safely. This video hopes to bring these principles to fore.

Driver Training in India: How to deal with rounabouts

2008-01-16T03:58:00.000-08:00

video 11: How to deal with roundabouts? राउंड-अबाउट को कैसे ज्हेले?

Roundabouts are one of the most cost-effective traffic regulation measures. Unfortunately much like driving on wrong side of the road, often Indian drivers go in front rather than around the roundabout. Again lack of driver training, awareness and education in India is the root cause of chaos on our roads. Traffic rules in India are clear - that at roundabouts traffic from right has right of the way. But there is more to dealing with roundabouts. This short video shows how following five easy rules helps deal with roundabouts effectively.

राउंड-अबाउट के नियम -

दाहिने और से आने वाले गाडियों को प्रधान्य दीजिए
सिग्नल और लेन नियमों का पालन कीजिये
बाए मोड़ने के लिए बायी लेन मे रहे। राउंड-अबाउट कि और आते समय बायी और मुड़ने का सिग्नल दीजिए
सीधे जाने के लिए बायी लेन मे रहे। बिना कोइ सिग्नल राउंड-अबाउट कि और चलिये। बाहर जाने का रास्ता लेने के पिछले रस्ते को पार करने पर बायी और का सिग्नल दीजिए।
दाहिने मुड़ते वक्त राउंड-अबाउट कि और आते समय दाहिने मुड़ने का सिग्नल दीजिए। बाहर जाने का रास्ता लेने के पिछले रस्ते को पार करने पर बायी और का सिग्नल दीजिए।
u turn या उलटी दिशा जाने के लिए राउंड-अबाउट कि और आते समय दाहिने मुड़ने का सिग्नल दीजिए। बाहर जाने का रास्ता लेने के पिछले रस्ते को पार करने पर बायी और का सिग्नल दीजिए।
राउंड-अबाउट को मिलते समय अगर २ लेन हो, तो बाये या सीधे जाने के वक्त बायी लेन मे रहे। दाहिने मुड़ने के लिए या उलटी दिशा मे जाने के लिए राउंड-अबाउट कि और दाहिने लेन मे चलिये। अगर राउंड-अबाउट को मिलने के ३ लेन हो, तो बाये या सीधे जाने के वक्त बायी लेन मे रहे। दाहिने मुड़ने के लिए बिच वाली लेन का इस्तमाल करे और उलटी दिशा मे जाने के लिए राउंड-अबाउट कि और दाहिने (सबसे अन्दरूनी) लेन मे चलिये।

Indian road habits: Gandhigiri - Show Courtesy on roads

2008-01-16T03:57:00.001-08:00

Video 10: Show Courtesy on roads क्या रास्तों पे गांधिगिरी का उपयोग हो सकता है?

Thanks to the Bollywood movie Munna bhai laage raho much of India has been preoccupied with Gandhigiri in recent times. But do we see Gandhigiri on Indian roads? My experience suggest that we could do well by being courteous to one another when on the roads. This video shows how it works.

Take a second to participate in the poll below and opine on whether Indian driving test and licensing should change

Driver Education in India: Giving way at junctions & Never cut corners

2008-01-16T03:38:00.000-08:00

Video 7: Merging With The Main Road

Driving in India is unique in that hardly anyone gives way at junctions. A typical intersection in smaller cities and towns of India is very chaotc. Whether you are in Patna, Agra, Pune or Banglore - hardly anyone follows road rules. This video demonstrates how disciplined driving helps traffic move smoothly and safely.

Video 8: Leaving The Main Road
A typical intersection in smaller cities and towns of India is very chaotic. Whether you are in Patna, Agra, Pune or Banglore - hardly anyone follows road rules. Leaving the main road to join the side road (off lanes) needs discipline (a virtue lacking on Indian roads). Hopefully this video will not only educate drivers but yet again show how following basic rules ensures smooth and safe running of traffic.

Video 9: Never Cut Corners

This video demonstrates how cutting corners is a bad and dangerous habit all drivers must avoid.

Defensive Driving in India: The Tyre and Tarmac rule

2008-01-16T03:37:00.000-08:00

Video 6: Tyres And Tarmac (rather than bumber to bumper)
One of the common experiences of travelling in India is the bumper to bumper traffic on the roads. This video suggests the need tofollow a different rule - Tyres and Tarmac. The benefits of Tyres and Tarmac rule are also demonstrated.

Road safety in India: The zebra belongs to the pedestrians

2008-01-16T02:51:00.000-08:00

Video 5: The Zebra Belongs To The Pedestrians

Indian driving is known for disrespect of the traffic rules. Worse still, drivers show no respect to a fellow human - the pedestrian. Most driver's fail to stop at the zebra crossings for the pedestrians. While disrespect for the pedestrians rights is one reason, the other is complete lack of awareness that Indian traffic rules clearly state that all vehicles must give way to pedestrians at zebra crossings. Perhaps this video will encourage the Indian driver's to follow the rule ''The Zebra belongs to the pedestrians'' and bring about a much needed cultural change on Indian roads.

Sadly its not just the drivers who disrespect the needs of the pedestrians. The town planners, civic officials, politicians & citizens are all to blame. Making an example of Pune, the video slide show below provides evidence for vehicles being given a priority over humans (pedestrians). Cities like Pune have over 40% of their roads without footpaths. And where they exist they are encroached not by hawkers or slums, rather by toilet blocks, badly designed bus stops, poorly placed electricity boxes and last but not least garbage skips. Its about times civic & traffic authorities in India mend their ways and make pedetrian safety a priority.

Additional information:

Sadly, most city authorities in India are spending money on deleveloping / widening roads and forgetting that a road is never complete without a pavement / footpath. The Indian Road Congress clearly reccomends that the minium width of a footpath should be 1.5 meters. Yet, many roads are either without one, or where they exist made of varying heights or as narrow as one foot wide! Further our footpaths tend to lose their identity and disappear at turns of bends. In reality, a footpath never looses its identity. This document is a compilation of images of pavements from UK and Pune. Also, there is nothing stopping our authorities from implementing a simple parking policy on roads wide enough to ensure that pavements are never encroached on. I share a template I sent to Pune Municipal Corporation demonstrating how pavements can be safe gaurded from parked vehicles as well as hawkers. Click Here to download this template. Our dictum should be - 'First Footpaths, Then Roads'.

Most cities in India are ignoring the guidelines of the Indian Road Congress when providing pedestrian facilities. To help overcome this, it is vital that citizens are empowered with the knowledge of the IRC norms. A summary can be found here.

Improving Indian road traffic discipline: Respect the traffic lights

2008-01-16T02:50:00.000-08:00

Video 3: At Signals Stop behind Stop Lines

The world wide web has many video's on driving in India. Most show how driver's fail to follow the basic rule of stopping behind the stop line at signals. Following this rule is vital for pedestrian safety. This video, a third in the series providing driver education, hopefully will provide the required role-modelling as well as the evidence of benefits of following this rule.

Video 4: At red lights, there are NO FREE left turns

Fourth in the series of driver education, this video emphasises the fact that at red lights there is no FREE Left turn. This short video hopefully will educate and irradicate such mis-conceptions from the minds of the Indian driver's. This is vital as the idea of a free left turn puts pedestrian lives at risk.

Additional Information regarding Traffic Lights in India:

Recently I have compiled a collection of pictures of traffic lights in UK across junctions of varying types and sizes. The pictures demonstrate clearly how location of traffic lights can help ensure that vehicle drivers stop behind stop line. Click Here to download this PDF document. In India, traffic lights are placed at far end of the junction, this makes it possible for drivers to stop well past the stop line. I hope traffic authorities in India implement this simple change to enforce better discipline on our roads. Further, various phases sequences are followed across different states in India. In Pune / Mumbai a 3 phase sequence is in use, thus the Red jumps to green without an Amber phase in between. The sequence we must implement uniformly all over the country should be the 4 phase sequence shown in the picture below.

Thus Amber alone clearly suggests to an approaching driver that the Red will follow. In contrast, the green follows a combination of Red and Amber. Adding the Amber between Red to Green is vital, as at time of transition, we should have a few seconds when the entire junction is free from all traffic.

Driving in India: Blind spots & Mirrors, Signal and Manoeuvre

2008-01-16T02:45:00.000-08:00

Video 1: The first video creates awareness about Blindspots. This awareness is vital during changing lanes and overtaking. अंधेस्थान का ख़याल रखे -

Some people have asked me whether setting the wing mirrors wide will eliminate the problem of blind-spots or not? The simple answer is 'NO' - in fact you are likely to end up with two blind spots. This article tells you why the traditional way of setting the wing mirrors is better. Click here to read the article.

Video 2: The second video introduces the principle of: Mirrors, Signal and Manoeuvre. The concept is explained within the context of driver actions such as- Moving Off, Pulling Over, Reversing Round the Corner and turning Left or Right.

ड्राइविंग करते समय, लेन या दिशा बदलने के पहले हमेशा ३ चिजो का ख़याल रखे -

पहले आयने को परखिए
सहि सिग्नल का इस्तमाल कीजिये
आख़िर मे अंधेस्थान पर नजर घुमाइए, अगर रास्ता साफ हो तो लेन बदलिये

Indian Road Safety Activity Page for Kids

2008-01-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

Teaching road safety in India needs to become a priority in schools. Instilling correct driving habits and etiquettes at an early age is very helpful. Driver Education for children is vital and this page offers 4 picto-games covering some important rules of the road. Having said, there is no stopping adults from trying the games out. Have Fun!!

Instructions: Allow few seconds for games to load. Click on the picture peice you want to move. Keep at it till the icons are in the correct order and the picture and the given rule of the road is revealed.

Make a game Share Free games Pictogame

Make a game | Share | Free games | Pictogame

Your feedback / ideas are welcome. Also please report any broken links for the above games by sending me an e-mail (please go to the feedback page for my e-mail Id).

Quiz on Indian Traffic rules and regulations

2008-01-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

Road safety quiz 1

Test your knowledge of the rules of the road. This is the first in a developing series of road safety quizes. The questions comply and test your knowledge of the Indian traffic rules, regulations, and laws. YOU MAY ALSO DOWNLOAD THE FULL QUIZ DATABASE HERE

Go to road safety quiz 2

Indian Driver Education, Awareness, Training Videos: Project Background

2008-01-02T00:33:00.000-08:00

Driving a Cultural change in India: Project Background Download Print Version

India is undergoing a rapid change. Small sleepy cities like Pune and Banglore are experiencing population rises at an exponential speed. With economic growth and growing middle income group, all cities are victims of quantum rises in number of vehicles. Pune for example adds 10,000 – 13,000 new vehicles per month (a rate of over 400 per day). With the advent of the Nano, things are set to get worse.

Unfortunately in sixty years since independence the authorities in India have failed to publish a National Highway code. Moreover an ability to use the clutch-accelerator is sufficient to get a driving license. Consequently the traffic everywhere is chaotic and undisciplined. Each year up to 400 people die on Pune roads, almost three times suffer from accidents. Between 6-10 % of global road traffic accidents occur in India.

India has copied the West - replaced the dhoti with denim, high-rise buildings for Indian cottages, burger and coke instead of Indian breads. Surely we can copy the Western driving habits too and make our roads safer.

While there is ample exposure to Western lifestyles through TV and Bollywood films, there is virtually no exposure to Western driving habits and road etiquettes. Without an alternative model to follow, Indian road users would continue with their previously acquired road habits.

With this in mind I produced a series of videos demonstrating the road culture in UK. Filming in London was advantageous as the road rules are similar to those in India. Vehicles ply on left of the road and contradictory to our beliefs, UK roads are not any wider than those in India.

The videos cover several concepts: blind spots, the principle of mirrors-signal-manoeuvre, stopping behind stop lines at red lights, giving way when merging or leaving main roads, respecting and showing courtesy to pedestrians at zebra crossings, the tyre and tarmac rule, speed limits, stopping distances, the 2 second rule, dealing with roundabouts, parking and lane discipline along with overtaking.

Though a Promotion DVD is available for potential sponsors to consider free distribution of the DVD to the public, all 17 videos are available at http://driving-india.blogspot.com

It is a misconception that traffic chaos is due to narrow roads, multiplicity of different vehicles on our roads, lack of education and poor signage. The videos demonstrate that Traffic problems have its roots elsewhere. We must be asking ourselves why we have lost our civilised ways of living, the mutual respect for each other and value attached to non-hedonistic ways of life. Why have we lost our ability to be rational - almost habitually drivers start honking as signals switch from Red to Green or how much time would be saved by stopping at signals well beyond the stop lines (on signal controlled zebras)?

Hope is that the videos will create awareness amongst road users and pave way to a better and safer road culture for all.

Finally, a note on how the videos were made: it will be fair to say that the driver education videos is a home production. No corporate funding was involved. The videos were first conceptualised, hot spots for getting suitable action identified and then filming proceeded. With over five hours of footage available, there was need to edit and with some effort, I managed to learn a few tricks while using Ulead Videos Studio. What was more challenging for a person with medical background was making animation. After much searching and trying several animation software's (which were increasingly beyond me) I came across a wonderful article written by an Indian teenager on the web, where he described a process if ''frame by frame'' animation. Painstaking as it is, this is what worked for me and with some help from the Ulead GIF animator I was on my way. The DVD with all the videos is also a semi-professional job and comes with an interactive menu page. Hard work as it has been, I have enjoyed it and the kind feedback I keep getting has made it all worthwhile.

Dr Adhiraj Joglekar

Indian Road Safety Puzzles

2008-01-01T09:20:00.000-08:00

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Indian Road Safety Kids Activity Page

2008-01-01T01:09:00.000-08:00

Patience is a virtue which is missing on the roads in India. Often this leads to chaos on our roads. Driving in India is often described by many as a clamour for every inch of space available. Here are 3 word search puzzles for you. Try them out, remember patience is a virtue, develop it and it will come handy when stuck in jams. Once you locate a word, left click and drag your mouse across the entire word. Words could be in any direction and either horizontal, vertical or diagonal.

Have another go, Enjoy!

And here is the last one. This one has 20 words! Have fun.

Any broken links or puzzles are not working, please get back to me via feedback page.

Free Download - Road Safety E Test and Quiz

2007-12-25T09:45:00.000-08:00

Here is the entire quiz database available as an interactive quiz e-book to test your knowledge of road safety related issues. This is a free downloadable resource for all who are preparing to sit the theory driving test as a part of licensing procedure. It is also a perfect wayb of refreshing the knowledge base for those who have been driving for several years. This interactive quiz book is best suited for drivers from countries such as India and UK where cars are driven on the left.

The 170 questions are available as two separate e-books.

Basic Road Safety Quiz (67 questions in all) - As an exe file or as a zipped file (under 1mb).
Advanced Road safety Quiz (103 questions in all) - exe file or as a zipped file (just over 1mb).

Hope is that Road Traffic Authorities in India use the above as a starting point for implementing a mandatory theory test for all new learner drivers.

Feedback is welcome. Please contact me via contact page on this site.

Thanks.

Driver Education DVD for Indians: FAQ

2007-12-20T00:06:00.000-08:00

Frequently Asked Questions about - Driving a Cultural Change Project Download Print Version

These videos are made in West (UK), why is that the case?

These videos are filmed in UK for various reasons.

I am not aware of any place in India where I could get a chance to film vehicle drivers following all the rules. Hence the videos had to be filmed in UK.
UK is ideal because the road rules are exactly the same as in India
Also vehicles in UK are driven on the same side as in India (left of the road) and cars have a right hand drive as well.
''We have copied the West: Replaced the dhoti with denim, high rise buildings for Indian cottages, burgers and coke instead of Indian breads and perhaps sugarcane juice. Surely we can copy the Western ways of traveling too''.

The Western / UK drivers can follow rules more easily as the roads are bigger and number of vehicles very few.

For practical reasons the videos had to be shot on a weekend (the only time I had). This has turned out to be advantageous as many things seen may not have been captured on film in typical rush hour traffic - most people are aware or can easily be shown pictures of what a rush hour in London looks like. Peak hour traffic moves at only 05-10 miles per hour - the roads are packed, yet no one breaks the law (in fact I have regularly been in ‘mile long queues’ without hearing the sound of a horn).
Many Western cities have population densities similar to ours. In the Western world 80% use personal vehicles, this means car densities may be even higher than those seen on Indian roads.
I can only try to assure you that most roads in UK are narrow/ narrower as they are in India. The only videos where you see 3 lanes are the ones on overtaking and speed limits (in the latter, there are many clips of narrow roads too). Overtaking footage needed me to have the angle of standing on a footbridge to catch the action on my camera; this does not mean overtaking on narrow roads happens without discipline. In fact video 2 has a bus at a bus stop and cars’ overtaking it - that road is one lane on each side with a central reserve.

Are these videos applicable to two / three wheel drives (bikes / rickshaws)?

The videos are applicable to all types of vehicles. It just happens that vehicles in UK (West) are largely cars. The videos are even more relevant to 2/3 wheel drivers. Often these vehicles do not have mirrors (definitely there is no rear view). This then makes checking blind spot more important for such drivers. The principle of MSM (video 2), dealing with traffic lights, dealing with junctions (giving way), dealing with roundabouts, speed limits, keeping safe distance (far more important for 2 wheelers which take longer to stop than cars), tailgating and the biggest of all - showing courtesy - everything applies to all types of vehicles, cyclists included.

Western Roads have very good signage; Indian roads have virtually no signage. How can one then expect Indian traffic to be disciplined?

That good road surfaces, quality signage, road markings, signals, etc are needed for traffic to be disciplined is a ‘myth’.

Concepts such as blind spots, principles such as Mirrors Signal & Manoeuvre, showing courtesy on roads, keeping to speed limits and safe distances (2 second rule) and much more has nothing to do with quality of roads or signage.

In fact in many towns and cities in India where signage is present people are seen regularly ignoring them – not stopping at red lights, not giving way to pedestrians (including the old and young children) at zebra crossings, passing in front (rather than around) the roundabouts as well driving on wrong side of the roads is very common.

Traffic problems has its roots elsewhere - not narrow roads which are poorly designed, not the multiplicity of different vehicles on our roads, not the lack of education as some want us to believe, not poor signage nor the fact that we are population of economically poor people.

The core is - where / when did we loose our civilised ways of living (most people rant about India and its grand civilisation) - the mutual respect for the other, value attached to life, the non-material and non-hedonistic values of our fore fathers. Where / Why have we lost our ability to be rational / use our common sense - We must be asking ourselves why we are in such a hurry that almost habitually most drivers start honking as signals turn from Orange to Green or how much time would be saved by stopping at signals well beyond the stop lines (on signal controlled zebras)?

Will these videos help bring about change in India’s road culture?

As a Psychiatrist, I am constantly working at getting people to look at alternatives to the habitual (often problematic) ways of thinking, feeling and behaving. I often have to role model this to them. The videos provide an alternative model to people who until now have not been exposed to it. Hence I believe a lot can be achieved just by seeing them.
There is always resistance to (change) any suggestion where ones core beliefs have to be set aside, its such a lot of hard work, that it is much easier to stay put with the old habits (no wonder the smoker smokes and an alcoholic drinks even more). It hence not going to be common for people in our shoes to be told ''some one else needs to change''. The educated will say the rickshaw drivers / lorry drivers need changing and I am sure the latter will say the so called educated classes have no clue about how to drive.
Important question is – when and how soon will you start following the alternative model provided by the Driving a Cultural Change Project.

When we can copy the West and build multiplexes and shopping malls, use mobile phones and computers……surely we can copy their driving habits too.So give it a shot, use the videos. Check how well you do without honking for one day!!

Feel free to write to me with your thoughts or additional questions. I will do my best to get back to you.

Regards,

Dr Adhiraj Joglekar

Tips: Drivers in India can increase fuel mileage

2007-12-16T00:07:00.000-08:00

Climate change is a concern for all. Yet, our lifestyle and work requirements are such that many cannot just give up on driving. But there is a lot drivers in India and elsewhere can do to increase their mileage. This is not only beneficial financially but it also helps keep the pollution low.

Recently I saw a TV documentry tracking different methods one can use to increase the kilometers or miles per liter / gallon. I am giving a gist of the findings below and hope the readers finds the tips for increasing their mileage useful.

Drive Green: Essentially this means the driver must drive gently. Raving your engine, rapic acceleration and harsh braking increase fule consumption. Also by driving gently, one can avoid stopping and starting repeatedly. The stop-start consumes more fuel. Using your gears wisely by changing up a gear a little earlier can also reduce revs. If you drive a diesel car try changing up a gear when the rev counter reaches 2000rpm. For a petrol car change up at 2500rpm. Drivers can hope to increase fuel efficiency by 25% using this method. The best bit is it does not cost anything.
Reduce speed: Driving too fast increases fuel consumption. At 70mph you could be using up to 9% more fuel than at 60mph and up to 15% more fuel than at 50mph.
Revving: Revving up like a race car only wastes fuel and increases engine wear.
Tyre Pressure: Low tyre pressure causes higher resistence when driving thus leading to poor fuel efficiency. Make sure your tyres are pumped optimally and you could reduce emissions and pollution.
Clutter: Reduce anything heavy in your boot and your car will become more fuel efficient. Less clutter = less pollution.
Idling: When the engine is idling you're wasting fuel and adding to CO2 emissions. If you're likely to be at a standstill for more than 3 minutes, simply switch off the engine.
Service your car: This alone enhanced one car drivers mileage by 30%. Yes, you would have to spend money, but the cost is off-set many times over from the fuel efficiency you get.
Going diesel: Diesel engines offer more for every gallon or liter, but there will be the costs of adapting your engine and also, though CO2 emission reduces the particulate emission increases (not good for city driving). In India, there are other options to consider i.e. LPG etc. In the long run with advances in technology, it will be the hybrid cars which will offer the best value for money in terms of mileage and pollution control.
Fancy gadgets: A magnetic fuel-saving device gave an 8% improvement.
Premium petrol: Switching from unleaded to premium petrol increases fuel efficiency, but you pay more for the petrol and hence this does not lead to direct savings (unless you get premium petrol cheaper where you live). But there could be indirect savings as premium petrol is less corrosive and better in terms of the life of your vehicle. If you can afford it, then do it for the sake of reducing the risk of climate change.
Upgrade: Older cars are not fuel efficient and hence if you can, you must consider upgrading - this will offer ~ 8% fuel efficiency (unless you buy and upgrade to a 4x4 gas guzzler).

This is not rocket science, but if we allow common sense to prevail, we stand to gain substantially without having to spend anything. Several tips above do not need any spending - the only thing needed is changing our driving habits.

I will end with an appeal to all to sign-up to the Earth Hour 2008 Campaign and join me and thousands worldwide in off-setting the carbon footprint. Further you may want to have a look at a video explaining climate change and how it happens below.

Do consider visiting this resource for more information on how to reduce you cars carbon footprint.

Driving in India: Driver Education and Training covering all aspects of defensive driving

2007-12-14T22:48:00.001-08:00

When all people do what they are able to do, India will be a different country: Gandhi

भारातीय वाहातुक नियंत्रण - एक पारंपरिक बदल लाने कि कोशिश मे बनाये गए विडियो। आशा है के इस माध्यम से भारत के निवासी और सरकार अलग परंतु अधिक योग्य एवं सफल आदर्शोंको अपनाएँगे।

Current video's: Use links on side bar --> to navigate
Video 1: Covers the concept of Blind spots
Video 2: Introduces the principle of Mirrors, Signal and Manoeuvre
Video 3: At red lights, stop behind the stop line
Video 4: At red lights there are no free left turns
Video 5: The Zebra belongs to pedestrians
Video 6: Tyres and Tarmac (rather than bumper to bumper)
Video 7: Merging with the Main road
Video 8: Leaving The Main Road
Video 9: Never Cut Corners
Video 10: Show Courtesy (Gandhigiri) on roads

Video 11: 5 Rules that help deal with Roundabouts

Video 12: Speed limits, stopping distances, tailgating & 2 seconds rule

Video 13: Lane discipline and overtaking

Video 14: Low beam or high beam?

Video 15: Parallel (reverse) parking made easy

Video 16: Give the cyclist the respect of a car

Video 17: Dealing with in-car condensation

Video 1: Covers the concept of Blind spots

This video is suitable for any driver wanting to understand blind spots better. This knowledge is vital when changing lanes and overtaking.

Defensive Driving DVD Launched: lets make the Indian road traffic safer

The entire series of 17 videos is available on a Promo DVD. The Promo DVD has been sent out for free to over 3 dozen people. However future requests may be entertained only if recipients are happy to pay for the postage and packaging. The DVD is sent out on the agreement that it will be used on a not-for-profit basis. Individuals may make copies for friends /relatives and use it for free public education workshops. Mass copying or modifying the content or label without permission is unacceptable. The main reason for making the Promo DVD is to attract potential donors willing to fund mass production of the DVD for free public distribution. IT companies, banks and big corporates including automobile manufacturers and dealers may make enquiries by writing to me (visit feedback page for my e-mail Id).

Indian Road Safety Campaign: Privacy Policy

2007-12-07T22:57:00.000-08:00

This blog owner does not collect and store personal information in anyway. If you have submitted your contact details, please be assured that your details will not be shared with anyone without your explicit permission.

The blog owner cannot however contol the behaviour of third party advertisers used on the blog. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise. This is generally used for geotargeting purposes. You can chose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in Internet Security programs. This may affect how you are able to interact with our site as well as other websites.

Indian Road Congress: Pedestrian Facilities Norms

2007-10-31T04:54:00.000-07:00

I will split this in to following parts -

Summary of IRC on above topic

What is missing

What we should do to fill in gaps

Action the above by getting local civic body to ratify document Praja creates after step 3

Forward plan

Summary:

General: 3 revisions (1980, 82, 87), finalised in 88

Introduction: Walking is an important mode of transport. Significant trips up to 2 km are on foot and every journey starts / ends with a walk. Requirements partly also covered in IRC:70-1977 Guideline on regulation and control of mixed traffic in urban areas and IRC 86-1983 Geometric design standards for urban roads in plains.

General Principles:

Pedestrian facilities should be planned in an integrated manner to ensure continuous flow.

Reduce conflict between pedestrians and vehicles.

Convinience is paramount.

Footpath / sidewalk:

Should be on both sides

Minimum width 1.5 meters

There are criteria based on pedestrians per hour and width of footpath may have to be as much as 4 meters

In shooping areas, width should be increased by 1 meter (to be treated as dead width)

When adjacent to building, fences - dead width has to be 0.5 meters

Gaurd rails: This is covered next, but I won't go in to it right now (the aim is to first get footpaths, rails come later).

Pedestrian Crossings:

Types - at grade and grade separated

At grade crossings (crosswalks): Covers both - crossings at intersections and mid-block, can be controlled / uncontrolled by signals.

Zebra width - 2 to 4 meters

Not within 150 meters from each other

Median strip should be adequate width (this is the only reference to pedestrian refuges)

Mid-block crossings should be provided when distance between two consecutive intersections is more than 300 meters

Controlled crossings - warranted when one or more of following apply - peak pedestrian volume per hour (P) and vehicles are such that PV (V is squared) more or equal to 10 to the power of 8, approach speeds 65kph, wait times for pedestrians are too long (time not specified) and finally accidents records indicate 5 or more pedestrian injuries a year (not deaths, so threshold is low)

Control measure could be a push button pelican signal when pedestrians are fewer.

Grade separated: subways / foot over bridges - 2.5 meter width and height, but 4-6 meters width is advisable (there are criteria based on capacity considerations)

What is missing:

No mention of right of way for pedestrians at non signal controlled zebra crossings (though delhi police website says so).

No mention on height of footpaths

No mention on dipped kerbs and gradients

No mention of slip free tiling (needed usually on dipped kerbs)

No mention on pedestrian refuges and types.

Signal phases are mentioned but no guideline on timings

No mention with regards width around street furniture (bus stops, trees, benches, bins, electricity meter boxes, post boxes, signage poles, street lighting, telephone company boxes, etc).

Dr Adhiraj Joglekar

Principles of Traffic Demand Management

2007-10-31T00:27:00.000-07:00

The principles of Traffic Demand Management

This is a very complex issue and people have written books on the topic. Here I am going to simply attempt to provide a summary for the casual reader.

Essentially the equation is demand / capacity. The solution thus is to either reduce demand or increase capacity.

Typically, demand is reduced by way of congestion charging, road pricing, tax on vehicles, removal of subsidy (on petrol), limiting parking and removing paid parking. Sometimes the equation is tilted by prioritising buses, high occupancy vehicles and NMT.

Typically, capacity is enhanced by more road building. And we have dozens of case examples making this evidently a useless option. The term used to explain the failures is 'induced congestion', where after flyovers, under-passes or road widening, more vehicles start plying on them negating any proposed benefit.

Now there can atypical measures of changing the equation. Within the UK health service we had a crisis a short while ago over waiting times/lists. Initially this was attributed to lack of manpower. Root cause analysis showed that it was to do with queue management. Now take our railway ticket booking counters - we have 10 windows and 10 queues. But try remembering going to a Bank in the Western world; they have 10 counters but one queue!! Which works better? Research shows the latter works better.

This applies to our roads when we decide to use road space optimally. Recently I circulated a link to an article describing giving an experimental explanation of how traffic jams happen even without bottle necks. This is simply because every road has a given capacity for a specified speed limit. Motorways have a sped limit of 70 miles per hour, but at that speed, stopping distances / 2 second gap is 315 feet. When more cars exceed capacity but attempt the above speed, chaos begins, usually there is a rear end collision and this takes out a lane causing further delay. To improve reliability and also get more people to their destinations safely and quickly, motorways’ now have two implements - 1) Ramp / slip road meters (signals) - these will restrict number of vehicles on motorway at a given point in time. 2) Variable speed limit - thus when it starts getting saturated, the speed limit is dropped to 50 (or even 40), and this reduces the 2 second gap to 175 or 120 feet respectively, allowing more cars to travel reliably.

Now a motorway connects 2 cities with no habitat in between, hence traffic can be handled more easily.

The city is rather different. It’s only natural that after every 100 yards there will be a cross road or a T junction. Our planners (and urban residents) need accepting this fact. Because right now all they seem to want to do is try and create a flow which is non-stop (an urban motorway or freeway) - to do this they use flyovers, subways, viaducts, underpasses.

And in the process some simple creative methods are ignored. One being the 'banning of certain right / left turns. This works when - traffic is diverted away from a busy segment to an unused or underused segment. Most people think if they take a bigger arterial road they will get faster to their destination - this is not true (and we will all have experienced this). In the process, the majority try and use the arterial road and saturate it but smaller parallel feeder roads are oft lying vacant/under-used.

The solution then can be like how the banks manage their queues, by removing a certain road, pedestrianising it or creating one way gyratory systems or banning right / left turn to divert some of the vehicles to unused sections - a detour, but overall traffic flow improves, journey becomes reliable and people reach their destinations more quickly (I suspect this also has a positive impact on pollution). Sometimes, this is done by synchronising of signals - a method used is phasing signals - i.e. green at junction one, the next junction becomes green by the time cars reach it and so on. But by phasing, what they mean is that junctions 2,3 and 4 will have incrementally longer green phase to improve throughput. Often when traffic is made to detour on smaller unused road to make the most of available capacity, this raises concerns over pedestrian safety - hence these measures may have to be used with traffic calming methods.

Thus, there is nothing wrong in the method as long as -

Pedestrians are not compromised.

If the overall flow is improved.

However it could all go wrong IF -

Pedestrians are not given a priority
Traffic flow will not improve if chaos and congestion is simply to be pushed from one junction to another. In other words a lot of research needs doing with regards traffic counts during peak and non-peak times to implement the above methods successfully.

Dr Adhiraj Joglekar

Road Safety not a Priority for makers of Tata Nano

2007-10-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Tata Motors: The makers of Nano do not consider Road Safety their Priority

I write after a long pause on this matter. After letting go off intial anger, I still wondered whether or not to blow the whistle (in a way) on Corporates that oft claim to be the Champions of people and society. Part of me perhaps was worried of becoming infamous for the wrong reasons, being mis-understood etc.

But now I have decidede to take the risk. Here's the story that tells the tale of double standards -

As most are aware, I have worked on driver education videos. The response of those who have viewed them, including a DCP from a city in South was very encouraging. The DCP in fact said, he had as yet not come across anything equal to what the videos offer within India.

Naturally, encouraged by positive feedback I was and am keen for the videos to be seen by everyone who drives in India. In the process I started wondering whether the industry would be keen to sponsor distribution of the videos. In May 07 I wrote an e-mail to Tata Motors, I got two positive replies from two different offices (one in Thane and the other in Colaba, Mumbai). I send them both a DVD with the 17 videos for their perusal. And then waited, waited and waited for them to come back on this.

No communication is communication. But given that they had made me go through the trouble of sending them DVDs all the way from UK (via my parents in Pune) I thought I will ask for a feedback. So I wrote again in Jan 08. Much of me thought that there will be no communnication. Part of me imagined they will reply with a polite 'no thanks, but we have better videos, we have other plans on road safety.......'

What I got from Debashish Ray, Head - Corporate Communications, Tata Motors Limited however shocked me. While I may produce a PDF print of the communication trail, here is the reply -

Start quote

Thank you very much for your mail.

We do appreciate the importance of drivers' education. As you will have noticed, companies choose focus areas in which they want to play a role in larger society. We have chosen health, water management, livelihood generation, environment protection, in areas adjacent to our operations, as our focus areas.

We believe that driver education is better achieved through public-private partnership between state authorities and NGOs like yourselves.

I am responding to you, because you said you will appreciate a response.

End quote

While I have remained stunned questioning where the legacy of Sir Jamshedji has gone, I still can't make out how the company that sepnt millions making a Nano and are proud owners now of Jaguar and Land Rover do not think road safety as one amongst many of their corporate social responsibilities? And roads in India kill more than most diseases. Equally I must say I am baffled by their wish to acquire agricultural land or a 1000 acres from an Agriculture University but claim to work on enviornment protection.

To be fair to Tata, I also attempted to contact Maruti in this regard, they never responded (although one dealer who also has a franchise for Maruti Driving School said, they seem to want to rather use antiquated videos from Australia, although your videos seem more relevant).

Perhaps my effort to keep everything FREE was a stupidity.

A mistake I have no regrets about.

Dr Adhiraj Joglekar

Why India's BRTS projects do not excite me

2007-10-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

Critique, Analysis & Review: Why Bus Rapid Transit (Transport) in Pune and Delhi have failed?

This is with regards BRT projects as implemented in two Indian cities. Despite being a campaigner for improving Pune's bus public transport system, I have not managed to share the optimism over BRT projects in Pune (and perhaps Delhi) for various reasons. Unfortunately a number of factors are being over looked in the ongoing debates. Concepts such as cost effectiveness and opportunity costs remain forgotten. Equally to run after a dream called BRT without having basic pre-requisites in place is nothing but foolish. For more details on my views with 15 embedded links please read my article by clicking here.

I am happy to discuss contrary views but I request the reader to study every link referenced to before writing back to me. The reader may also be keen on exploring the bus priority videos showcasing the London bus lanes technology in action by visiting http://driving-india.blogspot.com/2007/04/bus-priority-page.html

Here I would also like to point you to a road layout proposal I have submitted to the Pune Municipal Commissioner, demonstrating how a 80 feet wide road can be used optimally to enhance bus priority using the principles of bus lanes used in London, UK. Click Here for part one of the proposal and here for part two.

Dr Adhiraj Joglekar

Road Layouts for optimal space utilisation

2007-10-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

Learning from road layouts:

For some time now, I have been making an attempt to observe, study and share different road layouts used in the UK to reduce entropy (disorder) on their roads as well as optimise the use of limited space depending on the local need and purpose.

I have now collected several examples and put them together and shared them with Pune Municipal Corporation with the hope that authorities plan our and make most of our roads.

Here I would also like to point you to a road layout proposal I have submitted to the Pune Municipal Commissioner, demonstrating how a 80 feet wide road can be used optimally to enhance bus priority using the principles of bus lanes used in London, UK. Click Here for the proposal.

Dr Adhiraj Joglekar

What Do I Do If I’m Hit By An Uninsured Driver?

2007-08-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

Despite car insurance being a legal requirement in order to drive on UK roads, you will still find a surprising number of uninsured drivers behind the wheel. Unfortunately, given the number of drivers without insurance and the sheer volume of traffic on UK roads, instances of uninsured drivers colliding with other road-users are bound to occur from time-to-time. Some estimates say that as many as one in twenty motorists have been involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, and that this will add between £15 and £30* to the average premium paid by conscientious motorists.

What do I do at the time of the accident?

Any motorist that collides with you is unlikely to admit that they have no insurance. To that end, you should endeavour to collect as much information as possible, including the following:

The other driver’s vehicle make and model, and registration number. This is really the most important piece of information to collect, as if the driver is uninsured, then any name or address that they give you could be false.
The driver’s name and address. Your insurance company will require this for all accidents.
Take notes regarding the damage to the other vehicle involved.
Take note of as much detail about the accident scene itself as you can – including road markings, weather and light conditions, whether the cars had their lights on, signals being made by cars at the time etc.
If there are any independent witnesses, be sure to get their contact details in order to collect statements.
If you have a camera, take lots of shots of the scene – and try to get the other driver in there. Remember, your mobile phone can be handy for this too.

Should I call the police?

You should call the police as a matter of course if any of the vehicles are causing an obstruction, there is bodily injury, or you have hit third party property such as a wall. They will file an accident report, and a copy of this will prove handy when dealing with any other parties later involved with the incident – such as your insurance company.

If you do call the police, then they will request that the drivers involved produces their license, certificate of insurance and MoT certificate, in order to ensure that they are legally permitted to be on the road.

However, if the incident does not warrant a call to the police and you suspect the other driver in uninsured, inform your insurer and do not take matters into your own hands. Insurance companies have tools to see if an insurance policy on a particular car has been taken out, or can otherwise make inquiries based on the registered keeper of the vehicle.

How will my level of cover affect my claim?

In the event that you are hit by an uninsured driver, you will be in a far better position if you have comprehensive car insurance. You may lose your no claims bonus, but at least your insurance company will pay for the repair of your car. You will probably have to pay the excess too, unless you have a policy which waives the excess payment if you’re hit by an uninsured motorist.

Things get a lot trickier if you only have third party cover. Your repairs will not be covered by your car insurance company, and any offers of informal compensation from the other driver may well not be honoured – especially if the damage to your vehicle is likely to be expensive to repair. You may not even be able to trace the driver. If you do, there is no guarantee that they will cover your costs – even if taken to court. The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) will be your only recourse in this instance and your insurer can give you advice on the best way to proceed.

The MIB is a company which enters into agreements with the government to compensate the victims of negligent uninsured and untraced motorists. If you choose to seek compensation via the MIB, then you will have to have an accident report. You can find out more information regarding making a claim on their website (http://www.mib.org.uk/). The MIB seek to compensate victims fairly and promptly. However, bear in mind that any claim made will be reduced by £300 – a bit like an excess payment. So if one claims for damage to the value of £500, then they will receive £200 in compensation payment.

This could be a valuable resource, should such an incident occur. However, it is always wise to check your own insurance policy, to discover the terms and conditions related to accidents involving uninsured parties. If your not certain, contact your insurer.

* Motor Insurers’ Bureau figures, May 2007. They add: “the cost continues to rise in the light of increasing levels of compensation, legal costs and changes in legislation”.

Improving India's road traffic culture: Request DVD / Feedback / Support / Advertise

2007-05-20T06:55:00.001-07:00

Request a Driving a Cultural Change in India Road Safety DVD:
All 17 videos are now available on a DVD. Enjoy and share the videos without buffering problems. The videos will be superior in quality compared to what you watch over internet. The DVD is sent out on a not-for-profit basis. The Pune based NGO, Save Pune Traffic Movement help coordinate this. The DVD cost is Rs30.00 plus packaging and courier charges extra. For a limited time only, Pune citizens call get the DVD for just Rs 10.00 provided they collect it in person (otherwise Rs 10 + packaging and courier extra). You can request the DVD by writing to me at adhiraj.joglekar@gmail.com - Please put DVD request in subject header and provide full name, complete address with post code and contact telephone numbers.

Supporting this road safety project in India:

Changing our road habits is a not a one man job. I hence welcome your support. Please do all you can. Some suggestions are as under -

Start a road safety project / initiative / campaign to help improve traffic in Inida

Please share the link http://driving-india.blogspot.com with everyone you can.
Start a group of likeminded people. In Pune there is a group called Save Pune Traffic Movement. They arrange public workshops in schools / colleges / IT companies etc. There is much to gain from making this a group initiative.
When you are ready to start road safety workshops, I can arrange to send you the Driver Education DVD. This is a promotion copy for attracting sponsors to fund free distribution of the DVD, but can be used for group road safety training and awareness.
Involve the local traffic authorities in any of the above.
Involve local media to help spread the message.

Sharing the Driver Education for Indians DVD

A Promotion DVD containing all the 17 videos is available for any business or corporate houses (big or small) wishing to support distribution of the the DVD for free. T & C apply but corporates investing significantly can insert their logo and message on the DVD label and packaging.

How Non Resident Indians (NRI) can contribute to road safety in India
It takes me 50 pence (UK sterling) to make one DVD. An additional £1.58 (postage with Royal mail) is needed to send the DVD to India plus 25pence for packaging. In fact I can send up to 4 DVDs in one envelope for same postage cost (anything up to 100g). If you wish to send out a copy of the DVD to your near & dear ones / friends and feel they could benefit, get in touch with me.

Adverts on this site are welcome. Proceeds are used for supporting not-for-profit road safety projects in India. I have sent out over 50 DVDs in last 6 months to interested individuals / NGOs. All but one DVD have been sent out free. Also, there is plenty of work left on the project, especially translating the videos in to Hindi and other Indian languages.

Feedback:

If you wish to feedback / support this venture in anyway or wish to request a DVD , please get in touch by writing to me by e-mail at adhiraj.joglekar@gmail.com DVD is sent out a not-for-profit basis and cost will also include packaging and courier charges in addition to that of the DVD.

Thanks.

Dr Adhiraj Joglekar

Resources for improving Indian road traffic discipline

2007-05-20T06:54:00.001-07:00

Indian Road safety initiative/ projects/ campaigns/ groups/ NGOs

Save Pune Traffic Movement: It's all about transformation of Pune traffic through a small, unconditional, positive action by large number of conscientious citizens. This group recently used the Driver Education Videos to train Wipro Drivers in Pune.

Individual contributions to improving our road safety in India:

Pudumai Balakrishnan, Chief Traffic Warden, Pondicherry: Find out more here about his work. Mr Pudumai Balakrishnan also recently released copies of the Driving a Cultural Change DVD in Pondicherry. The event was facilitated by Rotary Club in Pondicherry Cosmos. The picture below provides a glimpse of the action.

Streetwise: is an resource created by Malcolm Wolfe. The site provides snapshots of Malcom's book 'Driving skills for India and abroad' as well as links to several useful services.

Easy Drive Forum: is an online platform to share, discuss, views and opinions related to plight of Indian roads, traffic, automobiles and woes of common citizens on roads.

nriinformation.com: Useful article on Indian driving license for NRIs returning back to India

Worldwide Resources on road safety:

Arrive Alive: Road Safety efforts are required world over. Check out the inspring work in South Africa by visitng here

2 Pass: The complete resource for all your FREE Learner Driver information. This UK based site is very generous in providing a massive number of video and animated tutorials. Because the rules of the road in India and UK are similar, this site is well worth a prolonged visit.

THINK! road safety website: Here you'll find news of our latest campaigns and road safety advice to keep everyone safer on the UK's roads. You can download leaflets, factsheets and posters.

Bikesafe: BikeSafe is an initiative run by Police Forces around the United Kingdom who work with the whole of the biking world to help to lower the number of motorcycle rider casualties.

Highway Code: Used in UK, but essentially covers most theoritical aspects related to rules of the road. Indian rules are not any different and in te absence of a similar resource publication from Indian authorities, this should be more than handy.

Cycle Sense: This site gives essential tips to cyclists for staying out of harm's way. Get street wise now by checking them out.

A detailed paper on road safety written by Captain Amjad H. Faizi, Chief Executive, Institute of Safety & Human Factors, Pakistan.

Test your knowledge of Indian traffic rules, regulations and laws

2007-04-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

Road Safety Quiz 2

Test your knowledge of the rules of the road. This is the second in a developing series of road safety quizes. The questions comply and test your knowledge of the Indian traffic rules, regulations, and laws. Come back again to check for additions. YOU MAY ALSO DOWNLOAD THE FULL QUIZ DATABASE HERE

Go to Quiz One

The Bus Priority Page

2007-04-03T01:35:00.000-07:00

This pages showcases the bus priority methods used in London. The measures taken are far simpler, more cost-effective and pragmatic. To restrict bus priority to BRT on what were meant to be highways is limiting the reach and success of bus based public transport. Note from the videos below how kerb side bus lanes are in use on narrow roads in London. This page also covers concepts such as contra-flow bus lanes and pre-signal technology. Further, it looks at bus gates and also how bus lanes may paradoxically reduce bottle necks on our roads!! Best of all, bus and pedestrian only streets are always an option and the Hosunlow High Street is an example shown below.

Indian Driver Education & Training DVD Contact Page

2007-02-24T04:36:00.000-08:00