Driving on a highway !!

I should have completed about 10,000 kms on a 4 wheeler thats just about an year old now..and in no way consider myself an expert in driving. About 70% of my driving has been on highways and I am one in the group that thinks that anything less than 500 km ought to be covered on a car instead of bus/train(leave alone flight).

Here are some tips for making your long drive a pleasant one. Many of the tips I have mentioned below should hold good for those whose driving skills are upto average.

• First and foremost plan who all are going to drive. In my experience it is always good fun to drive for long periods of time but still it is a good idea to take a break every 4 hours or 200 kms whichever is earlier. Also having one experienced person amongst a group of 4/5 should really be of help.
  
• For those who plan to drive, make sure you have had enough rest and that you don't feel tired in any way while you start.
  
• Check my other post "Prepare your car for a long drive" (coming soon)
  
• Take care to drive slower while you enter a village/town or a city. You tend to maintain the same speed as you traveled on the highway even after you enter a village/town/city.
• Don't ever switch off you car driving down hill (I always do that on my bike!). You power steering does not work and your braking is also not powered when the ignition is off.
  
• Maintain lane discipline whether or not others do. This is the only proven way to a safe drive on a highway.
  
• Sounding horn is no match for the quick high beam to ask for way on a highway. I usually want to do this inside city limits also but never usually works. But believe me, driving on a highway is usually more organized and except for a few rash drivers, most of the vehicles do follow rules.
• Have a perfect grip on the steering at all times. Make sure you bring back the steering wheel after a turn and not wait/rely on it to automatically come to position. This holds good especially when you are driving faster than 60 kmph.
  

Driving in the night

• Check my other post "Prepare your car for a long drive" (coming soon) for some startup tips you need to drive the night.
• Let there be a reason for driving in the night. This reasoning is personal but try and avoid travel in the night if you are not really confident.However there are some really good reasons for traveling in the night.
• Of most places i have been (generally south india), there are not many signboards to tell you about the deviations you might have to take. So plan your route in advance as you dont want to search for someone who can guide you in the night!
• National highways are better, but beware of district roads and bypass roads. These may not be secure and dont stop at anything that is suspicious.
  
• Make sure you know if a route is getting closed in the night. This is common and the timings/rules change frequently. Make sure you call the district admin or forest department for this information. You dont want to be stranded in the night in a forest and wait till it is 6.00 am.

Ok, now these were only those which i could recollect. I wll add new items as i get them. Meanwhile feel free to give you comments to this post.