Driving On Accident Prone Indian Roads

Those who have driven automobiles on Indian roads know exactly how annoying and

frustrating it gets. Those hours of being stuck amidst never ending line of vehicles

and ear-deafening honking is not an unusual sight on Indian roads. To evade traffic,

people drive their vehicles in wrong way leading to even more hotchpotch. As a

result, roads become oversaturated with cars and frequent accidents are inevitable.

Word of advice is caution when driving in India. So is it possible for people holding

International driving license to drive in India?

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Infrastructure of Indian roads and road ethics: Most often roads and even highways

in the country are poorly maintained. Here and there one might easily find potholes

in the roads. This kind of lowly maintained infrastructure also slows down traffic.

Highways tend to be overcrowded with buses, cars and overloaded trucks. It seems

like everybody is participating in some kind of virtual car race with everybody else

and the goal is to go first. As a result, people tend to drive fast, ignore traffic signals

and buses rash drive with each other all contributing to fatalities. People even tend

to drive without driving licence.

When driving in India one must remember, people don’t drive here like that in

Northern America or Europe and it is next to impossible to understand drivers’

reactions. And in India, people drive on left side.

So, driving in India can be tough so one must really think and then apply for their

driving license.

Accident prone country: India is considered as one amongst most dangerous

countries when it comes to dangerous driving. In 2007 alone, Indian roads were

ranked as the deadliest globally, accounting to a whopping toll of 130,000 deaths by

road accidents. The main causes being poor traffic management. Also driving schools

were to be blamed due to imparting poor driver’s training and issue of driving

licenses to everybody without proper qualifying tests.

A proper driving license is mandatory to be able to drive in India. If a foreigner plans

to stay in the country for handful number of days, it is best to hire a car along with a

chauffeur. And if the person wishes to drive, they can do so by producing their

International Driving License. But if the individual stays for a longer time, then in

order to drive an Indian driving license is required.

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How to apply for an Indian driving license?

Indian driver’s license can be obtained by applying at a local RTO (Regional Transport

Office). Through taking driving lessons with any driving school, filling up application

form and showing proof of address and other details, people obtain a learner’s

license that gets converted into a permanent driving license after three months until

residence permit expires.

Foreign nationals can get probationary Indian driver’s license valid for 3 months

before they receive their Indian license. International driving license can be received

from RTO and is valid for only one year. It requires producing an address proof, valid

passport, valid visa, a birth certificate and the individual’s driving license from their

own country.