There is such a huuuuuuge difference between driving in India and driving in the UK ! I am fortunate to have the experience of driving in both these wonderful countries, and I thought of jotting down my views about it.
Everyone is in a hurry in my India - the drivers leading us from the front - and everyone in UK are absolutely calm and cool.
In India, driving rules are quite simple - there are almost no rules ! There is no concept of right of way or any such thing . Generally, whoever is faster gets to go first. Whoever happens to think about safety or about getting his car scratched or bumped goes last. I was so used to honking in India - you just cant drive from point A to point B without honking . Honking in India is a way of making your intentions known. Whereas in the UK, you honk mainly on 2 occasions - one - if someone is in extreme danger and you need to make him aware of your presence, and two - if you are annoyed at someone else's driving. Normally, I dont think that you get much occasions in UK to get annoyed while driving...
There is one unofficial trend that exists in both countries - the one that got me into a little trouble in UK. Am talking about a quick blink of headlights. What this means in the UK (unofficially) is something like 'I'll wait - you go'. It was quite hard for me to grasp this the first time I drove in UK because in India, a blink means exactly the opposite - 'You wait - am going' !!
Blinking lights are also used in India on high speeds to make the car ahead to move out of your way.
In India, if you come to a narrow road, or a road where vehicles are parked on both sides, its very rare to find a driver who waits for you to pass. Normally both of you are supposed to charge towards each other - a la Sylvester Stallone in one of the Rambo movies, where he bids his tank against a chopper - And when you come to a point where one driver has to back off, thats when you start calling names.
One extremely irritating driving habit in India is seen at nights - driving with headlights on upper beam. Its so hard to see ahead when facing such harsh lights, especially since many of the roads have huge potholes. In the UK, this is an absolute no no.
I really appreciate the way drivers in the UK show concern for fellow drivers. I wish there could be a way to make my fellow Indian drivers see the benefits of driving the way its done in UK.
Maybe I'll someday sit down and analyze the reasons why driving is so bad in India, and write about it... Thanks for reading
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