Long drives, wide stretches and smooth driving – This is what probably every road traveller’s dreams are made of. However, given the road rage component often dampens the fun aspect of Highway Driving. Drivers often apply “tried and tested” practices to make highway driving a comfortable experience. One thing that such drivers often ignore is the fact that what is “tried and tested” for himself may not be so for others on the road. 

Here are a few “sab karte hain” ideas that you can avoid on your next road trip :

Feeding oneself up to the brim in order to avoid stopping during the trip:

Feeding oneself is essential, but stuffing oneself has more hazards than the one that shows on the weighing scale. Overeating tends to make one drowsy and the constant seated position adds to the probability of blinking an eyelid or two behind the wheels, and this can never be good when in motion. So do yourself and the fellow drivers on the road a favour, eat sufficiently and stop by dhabas if hungry.

Blinkers to “allow” tailgaters ahead:

This is one of the most common practices applied during highway driving. Why this made to the list is that it is counter-intuitive as it highly likely that the driver behind you may not be aware of the altruistic motive behind your indicators blinking. This could easily mean that you are planning to move in the direction of your blinking indicators and your other side is open for him to overtake, thus an inevitable collision.

Flashing to request space to overtake:

While this is ofcourse not usually frowned upon in city driving, however is in highway driving. Primarily because it obstructs clear rear vision for the driver in front. He may change lanes in momentary blindness or even push the brakes to let you ahead, either cases may not end up in happy notes, i.e. probable collision in both cases.

Not Honking Enough:

Being the responsible driver that one is, a driver may choose to drive “calmly” at nights to avoid ruckus. However, not honking enough may also lead to collisions near blind turns, catching the other drivers unaware of your presence etc. Honking while overtaking, turning on a hairpin bend or even driving on relatively less busier highways helps one avoid unpleasant experiences on the highways such as sharp braking, near/complete collision etc.

Not Checking Tyre Pressure:

Few of the major vehicle breakdowns that could happen during highway driving are flat tyres & tyre bursts. Drivers usually miss getting their checked because it isn’t “Open Bonnet – Fix Oil” easy, it is not manual, you need to show it to a mechanic who knows tyres and ideal pressures to understand correct tyre metrics. This doesn’t make to the “to-do” lists prior to the trip as the driver may believe that it is unnecessary since he drives this vehicle regularly and gets the tyres pumped often. 

NEWS FLASH: Just inflating tyres isn’t enough to maintain tyre health and since it comes with a tedious trip to the mechanic, we decided to help you manage your tyres better by doing it for you. Smart Tyres are now paving the way for safer and hassle-free drives no matter the distance you like to travel! TPMS Sensors help track air pressure and alert you in real time and avoid all breakdowns.