The Right Way - #BeTheBetterGuy

As a part of our endeavor to make Indian roads safer, we continue with the #BeTheBetterGuy series and tell you the importance of lane discipline, the perils of wrong-side driving and how mobile phones can be a big distraction while driving.

In the first part, we spoke about the fact that over-speeding causes the most number of accidents on Indian roads. What is more surprising is the fact that most of these accidents tend to happen on straight roads. This time around we talk about a violation that we see nearly every time we are out on the road. We are talking about the tendency of Indian drivers and riders to go the wrong way. You will be astonished to know that in 2019 when MoRTH decided to generate a report on traffic violations, it found out that over 7,000 accidents were reported related to wrong side driving. Now considering this, we must say that you, the driver, should understand what the offence is and how it can affect you and other road users.

Wrong side driving explained

In India, cars follow the Right-Hand-Drive format, which essentially means that one has the steering wheel on the right side of the vehicle and that we drive on the left-hand side of the road at all times and when needed, we overtake from the right. That’s how our roads and highways are designed. If it’s a two-lane road, a lane for either side, you stick to the left side of the road. If there are four lanes, two on each side of the dividing line, then ideally slow moving vehicles should use the left most lane. However, in case of intersections, you use the left lane for turning left and the right lane for turning right while both lanes are okay to use if you’re driving straight on. If there are three lanes on either side, it is generally advised to leave the right most lane for those who are turning right. There are usually arrows on the road to help you pick the right lane.

On highways, where there are two lanes or more on each side, the rightmost lane is designated as the overtaking lane and that’s the only thing it should ideally be used for. For exits, stick to the left of the road. As you can see, this arrangement is rather straightforward. Wrong side driving or counterflow driving is fairly self explanatory if you’re driving against the flow of traffic the lane(s) is designated for, you’re on the wrong side. Doesn’t matter if it’s just for a few hundred metres, or if if that U-turn is a little too far and you’re trying to save fuel and time, wrong side driving is dangerous and cannot be justified. Reversing against the flow of traffic because you missed your exit is considered wrong side driving as well. The possible consequences far outweigh the benefits. The right way is the only way.

Consequences of wrong side driving

The first issue with wrong side driving is the fact that you are heading into oncoming traffic. This means that traffic has to bypass you and, as a result, people driving correctly have to move on to other lanes to avoid hitting or colliding with the vehicle on the wrong side. Then there is the problem of wrong side driving at night. People tend to drive on the wrong side with high beam which blinds oncoming traffic. With the driver blinded thanks to the high beam coming from both sides, the chances of an accident increase rapidly. It will also be apt to mention here that driving with the high beam is rarely the right thing to do especially on the wrong side. The other eventuality is that when people come out of intersections, they have the tendency of checking on the right before merging into the traffic. However, they often tend to not check the left which is perfectly alright! However, if there is a vehicle coming on the wrong side, chances of a collision increase again. This is also the case with pedestrians crossing the road on a divided section. They are not expecting a vehicle coming from the left and hence they tend to ignore that side.

Violations and fines if caught