My 10 Commandments for new Car drivers in India

A new car...wow...a dream come true for many aspirants desperately wanting to drive their own vehicle. If this is not your first Car then no need of reading further. Before you hit the roads on a frequent basis its always wise to carry some handy tips desperately required while driving on Indian roads.

Driving Tips -

1. Practice regularly on empty roads before being a part of the maddening traffic.
2. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH YOUR POWER STEERING. We mostly learn driving on vehicles without Power Steerings & this is where all the problem starts. Since your new Car comes with a Power Steering you will notice that a small turn on the Steering causes your Car to turn more than expected. But believe me, once you get accustomed to your Power Steering you would find yourself handicapped without that. Warning you again: BE VERY VERY CAREFUL WITH YOUR POWER STEERING.
3. Install a Front Bumper metal guard along with a Pointer to give you safety as well as good judgement. The metal guard would ensure that your Front Bumper as well as the Engine is protected in case of minor bumpings here & there. The Pointer on the Left Hand Side would give you proper judgement about how much space your Car occupies on the road.
4. Practice U-turn & Parking with Reverse gear ample number of times. Do remember that you can park your Car much more precisely while Parking using the Reverse gear. While practicing U-turn do not accelerate much else you might end up ramming your Car onto the divider (just like I had done :-). While negotiating a U-turn drive very slowly & use the Steering based upon how much the Car is turning. Practicing U-turn would also give you a better control over your Power Steering.
5. Have a practice of looking onto all your mirrors (Left, Right & Rear View) during driving. Negligence can lead to accidents.
6. DO NOT TAKE SHORT LEFT TURNS. Remember, judging your Car's left portion of the body is much difficult as compared to the right, since you drive while sitting on the right. Whenever you try to overtake someone or try to take a left turn, turn slightly right before you turn left. This would give your Car the bare minimum space required to take the turn. A short left turn can also turn out to be very costly if you are Parking your Car in a congested area. You might end up having dents on your left doors or the rear bumper.
7. APPLY BRAKES GRADUALLY rather than applying suddent brakes. Suddent braking causes inconvenience to people in the traffic, & can also cause damage to the rear portion of you Car if someone ramms onto your Car due to sudden braking.
8. How much ever gentleman you are, you need to be very bold, aggresive & need to use abusive language while you are on the roads. Else its a tough day out for you on the field. People can easily take you for a ride if you accept your mistakes while on the roads. Its clear... you are a perfect driver (even though you are not) when you are on the road ;-)
9. Be very confident while you are driving. But never be overconfident. Overconfidence would cause a lot of damage to your Car which would turn out to be very heavy for your pockets.
10. Always keep a Nail Polish of the same colour as your Car's body. In the initial days you are bound to have minor scratches on your Car which can get easily covered using Nail Polish.
    

If you drive regularly for 3-4 months, there are fair chances that you would be a very good driver after going through my Driving Tips. All the best to you & happy journey...