Five things to know if you're planning a driving adventure in rural India
carsales' Ali Lawrence recently visited India for a tour of Mahindra's production facilities, and the wild and wacky scenes witnessed on the roads during the short trip to southern India will stay with her foreverAnyone visiting India for the first time will be able to tell you how insane the roads are. Akin to a ginormous moving obstacle course, with farm animals to dodge and a constant flow of seemingly organised chaos, you’ll go cross-eyed just trying to take it all in.
We were lucky enough to see Indian roads in all their glory during a recent trip with Mahindra to Tamil Nadu in the country’s south. It’s also worth mentioning, we spent the majority of our time in and around Chennai, which is a fairly rural area.
That means we can’t speak for other parts of India, which recently overtook China as the most populated country in the world.
So if you're planning on visiting for a driving adventure whether that be by motorcycle or by car, here are a few things to keep in mind.
Lanes exist but you don’t use them
Even though there are proper lane markings on most major roadways in the south of India, they are more of a suggestion than a requirement. At least, that’s how they’re treated.
It’s rare to see anyone driving/riding in a marked lane, and if they are, it’s probably only for a split second while they’re darting across multiple lanes to make a turn or overtake.
It seems as though nothing is off-limits… and that includes the break-down lane.
You can do a lot on two wheels
In Australia, we think of motorcycles and scooters as a transportation device, good for taking one or two humans from A to B, sometimes with some takeaway if you work for a food delivery service.
In India, a motorcycle is much, much more.
Four people? No problem. Two-metre steel pole? Sure. Boxes of eggs? Chuck ‘em on!
It might not be legal and would certainly get you in trouble in Oz, but you’ve gotta admit – if you overlook the dangers – it’s very resourceful.
Safety gear isn’t essential
According to Indian traffic laws, wearing a helmet on a two-wheeler is a must, but it’s not uncommon to see people travelling on two wheels with very little protection…including without a helmet.
Strangely though, there are plenty of riders getting around with helmets... just not attached to their heads. We saw quite a few riders punting along with a helmet in between their legs, resting on the fuel tank.
While riders are subject to hefty fines and licence suspension if they’re caught without head protection, our guess is there are just too many people doing the wrong thing, and not enough law enforcement to stop it.
Other safety-related items you don’t see much include gloves, motorcycle jackets, Kevlar jeans, or boots. Heck, there are some people even riding around barefoot.
We'd recommend that you wear a helmet if travelling overseas and riding any type of motorcycle or scooter.
Toot toot, beep beep!
If you enjoy blasting your horn, you’ll love driving in India.
That’s because it’s as common to hear horns blasting in India as it is to see cows snoozing in the right-hand lane of a busy highway.
The best part is that it has nothing to do with road rage or anger. Horns are used in India to warn other drivers, riders, pedestrians, and animals that you’re approaching, entering a roadway, turning into a driveway, attempting to merge, and/or passing.
Sometimes, it’s difficult to tell whether they’re being courteous or whether a lot of people in India simply enjoy tooting their own horn.
Holy cow!
Thought to symbolise wealth, strength, and love, cows are worshipped in many parts of India, where Hinduism is practised by around 80 per cent of the country's population.
They’re a prominent force and very well protected, with anti-slaughter laws introduced in 2019. And, while it might not technically be illegal, the word on the street is you’ll get into big trouble for tormenting or hurting them (not that you’d want to harm the big softies).
It’s common to see them wandering the streets, and therefore, roads. Be it standing around in the break-down lane or wondering the median strips, they’re not shy when it comes to traffic or people – and there are a lot – and naturally, they get right of way.
There’s no shortage of dogs, monkeys, goats, or sheep either. Keep alert.
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