Businessweek.com -- Most Popular

Friday, June 07, 2013

Driving for dummies

I got my LMV (light motor vehicle) driving license in 2002 – a good decade back. It’s only since the last 5-6 days that I’ve actually been taking my new car to my office and have a sense of actually driving. For people accustomed to the Indian car market and road conditions – I used to own a Tata Indica and now have a Tata Nano. I tried taking the Indica about 5 years back, but was not too confident or comfortable. That stint lasted for exactly a week at the end of which I realized that I was better off just bargaining with the auto drivers and then sitting back comfortably for the rest of the journey.

But with the new car a lot has changed. I think it has to do majorly with a few factors:

·         It is a new car and I bought it for full cash. So the fact that it just stands there and rots is bound to cause you tremendous pain. So you will take the car out just so that you feel you haven’t wasted your hard earned money.

·         It is relatively cheap – it must be the cheapest car in the Indian market currently @ 2.67L fully loaded and on road. The biggest fear of a novice driver is that they will bump the car. With a car which is so cheap, the heartache caused by a bump is not too painful. Of course, you have to be prepared for the fact that there will be a few dents and scratches before you could graduate to a better / bigger car.

·         It is really small – and hence is quite easy to maneuver. In my view if an auto can get into a gap, so can a Nano. For a novice driver who doesn’t have mastery over steering control, this is a very big boon as a small change in direction really doesn’t cause much disruption on road. But you do have to be careful and have to look at the mirrors when you try this.

With my new found confidence in driving ( and I’m writing this at 6 days into my driving stint), I thought I could share a few tips and tricks for those who have licenses, technically know how to drive but are scared of practical application of their knowledge.

1.       Get familiar with the car – how to operate the windows, the signals, the wipers etc. Will give you some sense of comfort. Ask someone who has operated the car before about pickup. Nano is not a very powerful car, so when you try driving it after you have driven a 1.2 cc or 1.6 cc car, you are bound to have a lot of trouble keeping it from shutting down in the middle of the road because you expect it to behave like the more powerful car. So knowing how much gas should you press, when and how much to let the clutch go etc are things that you will obviously get to know when you drive, but it is always safe to get a sense of these factors from experienced folks.

2.       Practice while still – The biggest challenge that most people face is shifting gears. So practice with the car switched off. Just keep shifting gears, try all possible combinations – in normal order 1-2-3-4 and back, then jump between gears, 4th to 2nd, 3rd to 1st etc. Don’t forget neutral and reverse – very important gears indeed.

3.       Drive on empty roads – find a stretch of road close to your house where you can practice. Try shifting gears, going for a long distance in 1st gear at really low speeds, imitating bumper to bumper traffic i.e. stopping and then going a few feet and starting again. If possible find a stretch with an incline and practice stopping and moving ahead on this. This is extremely critical and one of the most commonly used skills on Indian roads where leveled roads are extremely hard to find.

4.       Find a friend to drive with you – when you do these practice sessions, get someone whom you trust (not necessarily someone who knows driving) to sit with you on the passenger seat. This person will give you confidence that in case something happens you are not alone and also can be a good sounding board. Avoid know it all kind of friends who try correcting everything you do or the ones who will undermine your confidence i.e. who tell you to go uber slow, keep extreme left and at the 1st sign of trouble tell you that you are not ready

5.       Go on familiar roads at early hours – When I decided to take my car to office, I took it for a trial run to my office on a Sunday at 7.30 am. What this did is made me familiar with the road, give me confidence that I can do it (even if it is at very minimal traffic conditions) and make me aware of common mistakes that I commit – jumping over speed breakers, slowing without shifting gears, moving on inclines etc. Be sure to take your friend with you.

6.       Start driving – make up your mind to take the car to office or some place that you frequent. Start early. I used to leave home at 7 am for the 1st 3 days. Even at 7 am on working days there would be medium traffic. I remember the 1st day when my left leg (the one on the clutch) shivered in fear the whole way through a busy stretch. I also remember that the car stopped in the middle of the road at least half a dozen times. Don’t let this deter you. Do this for a few days – start early from home and office. This really gets your confidence high!

7.       Find your leader – When you are just starting to drive, my biggest advice on getting it right in traffic, especially unruly / unorganized traffic is find a vehicle in front of you (preferably one without a L board) and follow it closely. The vehicle in front of you will do the navigation for you, all you need to do it follow it closely and not allow anyone else to come between you. For those few hundred meters, this vehicle is your best friend.

8.       Use the mirrors – I always knew technically how to drive. But I had zero road sense. I have never really used the mirrors effectively before. I realized in the last few days, that looking at the mirrors is actually required. I am yet to learn how to effectively use the passenger side mirrors but I believe it will come in time.

9.       Don’t be bothered – Don’t be bothered by small things – small dents, scratches etc. Also ensure that you never try multi-tasking while driving – don’t pick calls (put your phone on silent to avoid distraction), don’t try changing music channels etc.. Remember you are still learning and have your hands full just keeping the car on the road and keeping yourself alive.

10.   Measure yourself – if there are speed breakers that you jumped over yesterday, evaluate what you did wrong and try to do better today. You will realize that everything which looked like a big uphill task on day 1 start slowly getting demystified by day 3-4.

11.   Don’t worry about fuel efficiency – Nano is supposed to give a mileage of ~20KM/L in city traffic. My last full tank of petrol gave me around 16. I am good with that. There are a lot of inefficiencies when you are learning. For ex: the whole stretch of nearly a kilometer and half which is the most crowded on my way to and from office, I drive the vehicle in 1st gear. An experienced driver would effortlessly shift between gears, but I’m still building confidence. My aim is to keep my vehicle moving… so there will be some loss of fuel, but it is collateral damage in your effort to be a good driver – it’s an investment.

12.   Build courage but don’t be stupid – slowly try and take the car out at medium traffic times or to reasonably congested areas to build your confidence. But beware of being over confident. Remember, you are still learning – don’t try tricks like weaving between vehicles, speeding, driving with one hand, overtaking from the left etc. These are dangerous in the best of circumstances and can land the best of drivers in trouble. You are easy bait.

Hopefully  these practical tips will be useful for all those new, under confident drivers out there.

No comments:

About Me

My photo
Mumbai product - went around the world - got hitched and escaped from the Silicon city of India to the land of glamour and royalty - London. I write every time my heart stirs......