When you own a car, you can give up worrying about your transport issues. You can rely on your car for all of your travels – be it driving to work or going on a leisurely road trip. Your reliance on your car increases with time, and it becomes a big part of your daily life. As your dependency on this automobile increases, you must take extra precautions to protect it. Most Indian drivers and roads are not always at their best and your car is likely to suffer damage at times, even without any fault of your own. One of the ways you can protect your car is by purchasing a car insurance policy.
If you wish to buy car insurance in India, you can visit the website of companies that provide motor insurance in India. Through the online process, you can also use the car insurance calculator to make an informed decision.
While getting a four wheeler insurance policy for your car is a legal compulsion, it will also protect your car from unforeseen events. Another way you can stay safe on the road while protecting your car at the same time is by learning the truth about the various myths around traffic rules in India.
One of the biggest causes of road accidents is individuals not following the set traffic rules. It is one of the main reasons India is among the top few names when it comes to road accidents. While the knowledge of these laws is important, it is also essential to learn about the common myths circulated about the traffic rules, as many individuals believe in them.
Some common myths around traffic rules
- ‘There’s no law against reversing a vehicle on a one-way road’:
It is against the law to reverse a vehicle, even on a one-way road. A one-way road goes in the direction of the traffic flow and not in the direction the vehicle is facing.
- ‘Traffic laws do not apply after 10 PM’:
In many instances, vehicles are involved in accidents at night because of their disregard for traffic signals. It is a famous myth that traffic laws aren’t applicable after 10 PM. However, if the traffic lights are functional, the laws are to be obeyed. If the traffic lights are partially working, then you must analyze it accordingly. A blinking red light indicates you must stop and wait for the green signal. If the yellow light blinks, it means you must slow down, look in all the directions and then proceed.
- ‘Overtaking is always allowed from the right’:
As per the Indian traffic rules, drivers must drive on the left lane and overtake only from the right. However, if a car in the front is going right and has its right blinker on, then it is permissible to overtake from the left. It is alright to overtake from the right only if the driver lets you do so.
- ‘You can park anywhere as long as there’s no ‘No Parking’ board’:
Parking cars anywhere on the roads is a common practice in the country. People generally tend to park their vehicles anywhere as long as the ‘No Parking’ board is missing. But this is not how it is. You cannot park the car at the entrance of a hospital or a housing society, at a bus stop, outside a school gate, main road, at the zebra crossing or traffic signal. Parking in these locations may lead to your vehicle being towed away and you might also have to pay a fine.
Some traffic rules you may not know of:
- Generic laws (applicable everywhere in India):
- Dysfunctional horn: A car owner may get a fine for driving a car with a faulty horn on the road. A horn is used to alert the other vehicles on the road about your presence and should be working well at all times.
- Getting blocked in a parking lot: If you can’t move your vehicle because it’s being blocked by another vehicle parked in front of your car at a parking lot, you can inform the police about it. The vehicle’s owner would have to pay a fine for blocking your way.
- City-based laws:
- In Delhi-NCR, smoking inside a car is against the law, and anybody caught committing the act will have to pay a hefty fine.
- In Chennai, if you’re going to borrow someone’s car, you will have to inform the car owner. If you fail to inform the car owner, you may face a hefty fine or a three-month jail sentence.
- In Chennai and Kolkata, if a driver cannot provide first aid to the injured passengers after an accident, they will have to serve three months in jail or pay a heavy fine.
- Leaving your car’s ignition on for a long time is against the law in Mumbai and can lead to fines.
- Installing a T.V. or a screen on the car’s dashboard in Mumbai is a punishable offence.
- In Kolkata, parking your vehicle in front of a public utility building or service spot like a bus stop is against the law and may lead to heavy fines.
Summing it up, if you’re a car owner, you must learn about the traffic rules and abide by them when driving on the road. Apart from this, it would help if you also refrained from believing in common misconceptions about the road rules.