Why do you need this book?

First of all, I want to congratulate you on taking this first step towards transforming into a significantly safe driver. I am confident that this book, with its effective and practical techniques, will help you, your friends and family to understand and handle the complexities and risks of Indian roads.

You will agree with the fact that today, Indian roads form an essential part of our lives. We use roads daily to commute from one place to another by walking, bicycling, riding or driving. But does anyone think beyond that? I mean, do we ever stop and think about being careful and about being safe on the roads. I want to draw everyone's attention to this particular aspect of the roads and therefore I have written this handbook to enable everyone to become a safe and efficient driver.

Indian roads form a vast and complex system stretching over thousands of kilometers and connecting millions of places. They are very dynamic in nature as new constructions, demolitions and modifications keep changing th ir face. But thankfully, one does not need to understand this complex road system in order to use it safely. All that we need to do is know the road we are on and the situation we are in. This book will enable you to identify the situation you are in and suggest an appropriate action. Therefore, it targets at invoking a strong sense of situational awareness when you are on the road.

As a common practice, a new learner goes to a driving school or seeks the assistance of a person who knows driving, to learn and acquire driving proficiency. This driving training usually comprises of three parts i.e. learning about the vehicle, learning how to operate the vehicle and learning the traffic rules and regulations. Unfortunately, the training does not comprise of learning situational awareness or learning safe driving techniques. And this is where the problem lies.

Driving is not a one man activity. Rather, it's a team work where all those on the road are involved and each one's driving style makes a difference. Therefore, it becomes imperative to recognize the various driving patterns and to take appropriate action in case of emergency.

Just learning to operate a vehicle is not enough. This book will complete your driving training by adding the element of situational awareness to your driving and will help you become an "Active Driver" from a "Passive Road User".

The other important point about road usage is that everyone needs to follow certain rules and needs to act wisely in order to make this team work a success. If a single person disobeys or acts foolishly, the whole scene turns into chaos if not a nightmare. That's why it is mandatory for all the road users who are like team members, to observe traffic rules and regulations. These team members might not know each other personally but still they communicate through various signals.fxz

Developed nations all over the world, have vehicles that are much more powerful than ours and vehicles that are driven at a much more faster pace than ours. People there are confident in using those vehicles and also confident in maintaining those speeds. People there reach home safely and in time. Why in India then millions of people reach their destinations late or reach their destinations with broken bones or never reach their destinations? The major difference lies in the road users' behavior. The quality of roads does not make a difference as a good road is more unsafe than a bad road, according to a recent research. This book aims at reducing this difference by helping you to
change your attitude and act like a team member rather than a racer.

Thanking You,
A.S. Kaushik