Rules of the road, in India

rosalan

rosalan

Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Posts
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Location
The City of Henlow
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26,906
MH
Adria Supreme
Exp
Since 1980
A few years ago I bought a book in Cochin rather like our Highway code. Every page is a gem. This is just a sample.
Rules of the road.jpg
 
I particularly like "sleeping is the cruel goddess" ???
 
In one region the test consists of setting off in a straight line, steering left and right through a chicane and stopping safely.
That's it
 
Cochin?, Now there's a blast from the past. The only way you could have an alcoholic beverage is IF you where a registered Alcoholic.! (y) Hence, one British Registered Vessel with 20 registered alcoholics!. Including Captain and Chief Engineer. Hic!, Hic,:rofl: Altogether now. "show me the way to hoooooooome".
 
pappajohn said:
In one region the test consists of setting off in a straight line, steering left and right through a chicane and stopping safely.
That's it
Click to expand...

...... Which was somewhat more sophisticated than the Belgian driving test.
You went to the Police Station, you filled in a form to say that you could drive. errrr, that's it.

Driving licences of this type were finally rescinded in 2013!

I believe the Belgian driving test was only introduced in the late 1960's or early 1970's, and that was only because Belgium's neighbours threatened to block all Belgian driving in their country, as they caused more accidents than the locals.

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In Goa a fellow Brit asked my first husband (whilst the 4 of us were travelling in a taxi) on which side of the road they drove in this part of the world. Bas was silent whilst he considered the question and then replied that it was his considered opinion that the answer was 'Yes'.
 
I had to take a driving test when I first arrived in Oman. The authorities used to just swap UK licences but something went on and someone high up decided we should take their test.
So I drove to the test centre in my hire car, met the instructor and drove his car for the test, failed because I went around a round-about in third gear ( a heinous crime it seems!), and then drove back to work in my hire car. Seems sensible to me......
The day I passed my test I just drove the policeman (the police do the driving tests there) back to the station as it was lunchtime. The only time he looked up from the paperwork he was getting a head start on was when the speed limit changed from 80kph to 60kph. He just looked over at my speedometer and then went back to filling in forms.
 
Neil Bedwin said:
I had to take a driving test when I first arrived in Oman. The authorities used to just swap UK licences but something went on and someone high up decided we should take their test.
So I drove to the test centre in my hire car, met the instructor and drove his car for the test, failed because I went around a round-about in third gear ( a heinous crime it seems!), and then drove back to work in my hire car. Seems sensible to me......
The day I passed my test I just drove the policeman (the police do the driving tests there) back to the station as it was lunchtime. The only time he looked up from the paperwork he was getting a head start on was when the speed limit changed from 80kph to 60kph. He just looked over at my speedometer and then went back to filling in forms.
Click to expand...

My Dad arrived in Oman in 1966 (and left in 1976)

In 1966 There was no airport, so they drove for 2 days on a compass baring overland from Sharja in Series 1 landrovers.

At the time Oman had 6 miles of road in the country.

They set up a forward base in Muscat, and the first job was to see how far to the west they could get in the landrovers.

The solution was to get a bulldozer bought in on a Dhow to Muscat harbour which was a logistical 'challenge'. They also had to bring in enough fuel for it as well as it ran on deisel and the landrovers (the only vehicles in the country) ran on petrol

The convoy of landrovers and bulldozer then proceeded west.
They drove down the beaches as far as they could, and every time they reached a headland the bulldozer took over and carved a track that the landrovers could use and then the carried onto the next headland and so on.

They were resupplied by dhows sailing along side them who would draw up on the beach each evening

It took them months to reach Ash Ashuwaymiyyah when they ran out of beach and had to proceed for 200km on foot/donkey for Mirbat (near Salalah) where they set up the next base. The final 200km of track took over a year to make it passable by landrover. It's called route 42 today.

After that it all got a bit rough and you can read about the Battle of Mirbat in the history books.
 
I know about the battle of Mirbat as I have been to the BATT House with an SAS man and an airforce man. Said airforce man had to keep mentioning the Strikemasters saving the day..... :)
 
Even watching it on telly scares me but, rather weirdly it fascinates me.
Always looks a bit like a busy shopping centre, lots of people walking but, no-one colliding?

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Back to driving tests ...

I took a motorbike test in Nigeria when I was 18. The examiner asked to see my UK license as well as the Nigerian provisional.

"OK, you pass" (y)
 
Brains said:
...... Which was somewhat more sophisticated than the Belgian driving test.
You went to the Police Station, you filled in a form to say that you could drive. errrr, that's it.

Driving licences of this type were finally rescinded in 2013!

I believe the Belgian driving test was only introduced in the late 1960's or early 1970's, and that was only because Belgium's neighbours threatened to block all Belgian driving in their country, as they caused more accidents than the locals.
Click to expand...
My friends dad did the same in the UK a long time ago he was still driving into the 1980's
 
The Wino said:
My friends dad did the same in the UK a long time ago he was still driving into the 1980's
Click to expand...

I looked it up.

Most European countries introduced driving tests in the 1920's or 30's
Some were a bit late to the party and introduced them in the late 1940's
The European standards for driving tests to make them broadly similar were introduced in 1960

Belgium did not introduce the driving test until 1977!
It was only bought into line with European normal tests in 1990!
(At that was only at the insistance of Holland & France who both threatened to block Belgian drivers as they were so bad)

Which means any Belgian driver much over 50 is liable to have never been taught to drive properly!
(I'll be giving those red number plates a wide berth in future!)
 
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My Grandad, had a licence, pre WW2, never took a test. He sat alongside my dad in our first car (1946 Hillman) which allowed dad to drive on L plates!. He (dad) passed his test on the day of the Suez "Invasion".

"mirabat" was the subject of a Documentary, about the SAS I believe some years back now?.

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We hired a Honda 90 a few years ago whilst on holiday in Rarotonga. The hire guy said that we would have to get a Cook Island driving licence to comply with island law. We were told we could get it from the post office in Avarua. "How do we get there" I asked ? "Just go on the Honda" was the reply. :LOL:
 

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