Windshield Experts, the pioneer in car windshields, have prepared a useful mnemonic for car preparation with WET FOG. This reminds car owners that another good way to reduce risk is to allow extra time for your journey.

As nights have gone long and days shorter, driving time these days for office goers is generally during the time when it is low visibility. This period is traditionally a peak time for car accidents. Thus the mnemonic, which will remind drivers to carry on necessary checks for their vehicles before they hit the road in this wet and foggy weather.

W is for Water: Check if windshield wash bottle is full and check antifreeze level of the radiator.
E is for Electrics: Check if all your lights work, and that any battery problems are sorted out. Carry spare bulbs.
T is for tyres: When it’s raining heavily, tyres have to displace 11 litres of water per second each! That needs tread. So change tyres at 3 mm if you can.
F is for fuel: Don’t run out! Fill –up when half empty so you’ll have enough to keep warm if stranded.
O is for oil: Don’t be dipstick! Check it regularly.
G is for glass: Keep all the car glasses clean, especially your car’s front windshield. Clean the inside of the windshield also too.

Carrying forward with my previous column on care that pedestrians should take during fog, today I am going to talk about care that motorists should take during fog.

Have you ever considered just how visible your car is to other road users? Being conspicuous to others depends on many factors such as the colour of your car as well as the prevailing weather conditions and how light it is. If you aren't easily visible to others it creates all sorts of safety problems, which can put your life and others at risk. For instance, vehicles are more likely to pull out in front of you or turn right across your path at intersections.

Presently the fog situation in Delhi is not that bad. But in the times to come it will be worse which will only increase the number of accidents on the road. H.P.S. Virk, DCP (Traffic/Northern Range) says, “Due to fog and cold, the tendency of traffic movement is changing now. Here’s a heavy traffic flow during daytime instead of night. At night the number of pedestrians, two wheelers and cyclists is less. So this year, even though there was fog, the number of accidents hasn’t increased.”

Similar is the case with New Delhi range. DCP (Traffic/New Delhi Range) A.S. Cheema says, “accidents haven’t happened due to fog in Delhi right now.” But as it’s snowing heavily in the hills of North India, that’s why there’s cloud in Delhi sky. Once snowfall stops and sky is clean in North India, the cloud cover in Delhi will remove and thus fog will be dense.
So stay safe, and above all be careful, courteous, and considerate when using the roads. Follow the rules given below in order to avoid accidents.

> BE SEEN - use your dipped headlights to make your car more visible to others (even in daylight they improve your safety).
> Keep your lights and indicators clean and in good working condition at all times.
> Make sure that your windscreen and windows are clean and clear, and that your washer systems have water in them.
> Reduce speed in bad weather or when visibility is poor.
>Watch out for pedestrians who may not have seen you.
> It is an offence to drive if your tail lamps are not working. So make sure your taillights are in working condition. During foggy days you should drive with both of your parking blinkers on. It is a great help for drivers who drive during foggy weather when the visibility reduces to five to 10 metres.

Foggy days are here once again and pedestrians on the road are the most vulnerable lot. According to advisory given in the Delhi Traffic Police website, pedestrians should take care of certain things in order to avoid accidents.
Pedestrians should: -
· Walk on pavements, not on the road.
· Walk facing the oncoming traffic when there are no pavements, so that you can see what is coming towards you.
· Ensure your visibility to vehicle drivers, especially at night. Wear light coloured clothes such as yellow and white, which are easier to see at night or pin reflectors to your clothes.
· Think ahead and plan the safest route to school, market, and your friend's homes.
· If you can walk but cannot run, make sure you carry a bright coloured walking stick when you cross the road so that drivers are careful and slow down.
· Follow the six-step crossing code whenever you have to cross the road:
1. THINK
What is a safe place to cross? Where can I see all the traffic properly? Make sure you are not hidden behind a parked car.
2. STOP
At the edge of the road where you have decided to cross.
3. LOOK & LISTEN
Look both ways, to see if there is any traffic coming.
4. WAIT
For all the traffic to pass, and for road to be clear.
5. CROSS
Walk straight across the road.
6. KEEP LOOKING & LISTENING
Keep looking in all directions as you cross the road until you get to the other side.

Motorists too should have a considerate and caring attitude towards pedestrians. Hence, as a vehicle driver one should always obey traffic rules, drive in a prescribed speed limit, and should avoid driving while you are drunk or under medication. Also be alert regarding pedestrians while taking turns, especially right turns at red lights.

I received a mail from Professor Surinder Nath from the Department of Anthropology, Delhi University. He writes, “You must have read about the 2% and 4%road tax proposed by the Government on new four wheelers purchased with effect from January 2005.

“How justified this tax is in the wake of such bad roads. It was despite the assurance given by the CM that the roads are in good condition all over Delhi. But if you move out on Delhi roads you will find it for yourself that if not more, at least 45-50% Delhi roads are in real bad shape and have deep ditches or they are so uneven that no one gets a smooth ride for more than 100 metres in one go.

“The patch work which has been done on these roads does not even wipe off the tears of the road users and most of the accidents are caused due to poor condition of the roads. Looking at such a state of affair is it justified to levy the new Road Tax to the car buyers? If that were so then the next would be a tax on breathing the polluted air. And paying the 4-5 times enhanced price of using water, which is again full of dirt and highly impure and contaminated for oral consumption.

“Next in the line would be a super tax on walking on the road or using the pavements (if al all they are there- as most of them have been merged in the roads or occupied by encroachers or pavement dwellers) I hope you consider this issue important and try to generate public opinion through your column.”

I feel the tax is justified in the sense that a normal person travelling in buses pays four times the road tax than a car owner pays in his life span. But yes, I think MCD should now start planning about building high quality roads in Delhi. And this should not be the case for only big roads of the city. All small colony roads should also be properly maintained. And first and foremost they should remove all the encroachments as well as unnecessary speed breakers from the roads.

Recently I saw a US-based insurance website www.insure.com. There was a very good article worth sharing with readers here in Delhi who think that they are perfect Delhi drivers.

Compare yourself with these accident magnets from Boston. These 30 drivers from Boston who have collectively been involved in 84 accidents over the past three years and received 49 speeding tickets, 39 moving violations and 92 parking tickets. Take a look at these questions to find out if you fit the profile.

When you reach a stop sign and no one is coming from another direction, do you roll through instead of stopping? An overwhelming majority (87%) of the bad drivers say they should be able to speed, go through stop signs, and break other driving rules and regulations as long as no one gets hurt.

Do you talk on the cell phone while driving instead of pulling off and stopping to talk? A total of 77% of bad drivers say they do this either frequently or occasionally. Only 13% say they never talk on a cell phone while driving.

Do you drive with one hand while using the other to eat? Some 60% of those in the study say they either frequently or occasionally eat while they're driving.

If you're out shopping in a crowded area and are looking for a parking space, do you become so focused on your search that you lose sight of the cars and pedestrians around you? More than half of the participants say that when they're trying to find a parking space in a crowded area, they can become so focused that they become oblivious to other drivers and pedestrians and often get into accidents, whether on the street or in a parking lot.

Do you hate driving behind SUVs or other large vehicles that obstruct your view? More than 60% of bad drivers say they are frustrated driving behind SUVs because they are wide and tall and block their vision.

Does your driving change when you go into areas with higher police presence? Nearly all of the participants strongly agree with the statement that they drive more carefully when they know police are in the area.

Does listening to music while you drive sometimes leave you oblivious to all but the music? Most say listening to the radio has often caused them to become distracted and in some cases they say listening to loud music has caused them to be more aggressive on the highway.

Do you find yourself in confrontations on the road, either through verbal arguments or hand gestures, because of either your own driving habits or the habits of others? While 87% of the bad drivers consider themselves at least somewhat courteous drivers if not very courteous, at least half also admit making obscene or rude gestures or comments to other drivers, particularly those who cut in front of them on the highway.

Does your "work hard, play hard" lifestyle leave you sleepy behind the wheel at times? About 50% of those in the study say they have almost fallen asleep while driving and an additional 10% say they have wanted to shut their eyes while driving and almost did.

When you're driving with passengers, do you turn around to talk, taking your eyes and mind off the road? Nearly all group members acknowledged that they are distracted when they have passengers in their vehicles, and most say during conversations they'll turn their heads and stop paying attention to the road.

If your answers agree with the answers from the focus group, it's likely you tend to be a more aggressive driver than average. These bad drivers have other characteristics that you may recognize in your own life. Most say they lead very stressful lives without enough time to accomplish all their activities in a day. They all consider themselves either somewhat or very outgoing, and all have a fair to great amount of confidence in the way they behave. And 90% say they've told a "little white lie" to protect someone's feelings.

On Monday evening I went to the Indira Gandhi International Airport to receive a friend of mine (Anmol) coming from Singapore. Since some of his friends who were in Delhi for the first time and had to take a connecting flight on their way back to Kathmandu, they were a confused lot. But the courteous staff of CISF personnel posted and even Delhi Traffic Police guided them towards visitors lounge and also showed us the way towards the pre-paid taxi booth of the Delhi Traffic Police.Everything in the airport was going on smoothly until I took the receipt (No. 0281881) for Old Rajinder Nagar from the pre-paid taxi counter. The clerk sitting there asked for Rs 120. I paid the money, and I got into the taxi towards my destination. However, when I checked the slip (Slip No. 118263), the taxi charges printed on the slip was just Rs 215. Which means the clerk had kept Rs 5 in his pocket. It’s ok when sometimes these guys don’t have a change. But this was a clear case of this person (Moti Lal Meena, according to his name stamped on the slip), charging extra money from me. There must be hundreds of people using the pre-paid taxi booths to hire a cab at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. And even if they charge Rs five from each guy, they are minting money like hell.I enquired from the taxi driver and he kept mum but just nodded that it happens. Then I went to the taxi stand near my house and checked with few of the drivers, they told me that it happens rampantly at the airport. Since I am a Delhiite so they only charged five bucks extra, but from foreigners sometimes they charge even Rs 50 extra. Often it’s said that first impression is the last one. You can very well imagine what impression does it leave on foreigners visiting Delhi for the first time!

I received a call from S.M. Hussain who is a resident of Surajkund. He says, “The Container Corporation of India is heart of Tughlaqabad. As a result hundreds of containers and trolleys are stationed all along the road of Tughlaqabad. These trolleys and containers are a big nuisance as they hamper smooth traffic flow on the Mehrauli - Badarpur Road. During peak hours, the traffic movement almost comes to a standstill because of these containers. “Often these trailers turn turtle on the road either killing pedestrians as well as blocking traffic. Many accidents have also taken place because of the wrongly parked trailers on the roadside.“People these days are avoiding Badarpur border because of the traffic jams there. People coming from Badarpur are nowadays taking a detour from either Suraj Apartments side or from the road, which goes through the shooting range.Thus Mehrauli - Badarpur Road has become a major link between Delhi and Faridabad, as it is the only alternative to Badarpur border. The traffic flow has thus increased on this road also and there is a huge flow of traffic day and night. But there is no cop to regulate traffic at Tughlaqabad. “Moreover, adjacent to Tughlaqabad, there is a township called Eros Garden with over 2000 families and Suraj Apartments. The residents of these apartments find it difficult to drive and are always at risk. My ultimate request is to shift the Container Corporation of India from Tughlaqabad and save the residents. The authorities concerned should look into the matter.”Shifting of the Container Corporation of India is a contentious issue but traffic police should definitely out its act together and start prosecuting the parked trailers as well as trucks on the roadside.

One more caller called after reading about Badarpur border’s problem published in my column yesterday. Advocate Chaman Prakash called me to say that police is to be blamed for all that mess happening at Badarpur Border. He says, “Behind Shahi Masjid, there’s a bus stop and the traffic police should regulate them. These buses keep on standing there for a long time blocking the traffic on the road and also increasing congestion. Same position is there on Jaitpur Mode too. RTVs keep on standing there waiting for passengers leading to congestion. The traffic cops say nothing to them. If these two things are checked, it will ease traffic flow.”According to Delhi Traffic Police’s website, there is restriction on movement of heavy vehicles from 7.30 am to 11 am and 5 pm to 9.30 pm on Mathura Road from Central Road Research Institute to Badarpur border. But Chaman claims, “Cops allow these trucks to move even during the restriction time. This rule should be applied in stricter manner. Another point is that cops are present only during jams otherwise they are not present. Their presence only can check the building up of the jam there.” I think that restriction time in the evening should increase till 11 pm on all borders. Another call that I got was from Noida. Anubhav says, “I live in VSNL apartments in Sector 62, Noida. The vehicles move very fast in front of our colony. Yesterday (Monday), also there was an accident involving a pedestrian and a vehicle. The person just escaped with injuries. Like this there are frequent accidents on this road. Something should be done to check the speed of the vehicles.”I think that Noida traffic police should propose to construct a speed breaker there. This will check the speeding vehicles there. Another problem that is gripping Noida is the call centre Qualises and Sumos. Call centres are bustling in Noida and so are the numbers of their service vehicles. In fact Ronit called me from Noida to say that due to these fast moving vehicles, accidents have increased. Noida traffic police should check them as it is done in Delhi.

Recently I got a book titled “Safe Driving – The driving manual and rules of the road” published by Hubert Ebner which is an Indo-Austrian joint venture established to develop the infrastructure of driver training systems in India. Their academy is at Chirag Enclave, where they impart training to driving instructors and post license drivers. It is one of the best driving manuals, which I recommend any driver should go through before hitting the roads. This book has been especially written with reference to Indian context where the modes of transport vary from a bullock cart and tractors to vrooming sports cars. This manual as Hubert Ebner claims is perhaps the first major initiative to bring forth a comprehensive teaching - learning guide coupled with an interactive Learning System for training schools. The manual which covers all the necessary aspects for safe driving aims at supporting driver training instructors, motor licensing officers, as well as the drivers.From Different types of road users and informing about the Rules of the Road, this manual also gives you an advisory regarding some important components about your vehicle (basically cars) and how to drive it comfortably (this one for beginners). Another important issue that they have explained is how to drive defensively on Indian roads. This is a very significant aspect of driving and few drivers in Delhi practice it. Another chapter is on vehicle care and basic maintenance, which I think should be read by owners of self-driven cars. I recommend this book to every road user especially Delhi drivers as they don’t know even the basic rules of the road. Priced at Rs 198/-, you can contact Hubert Ebner @ 26445697. (Address: C-18, Chirag Enclave, New Delhi – 110048 URL: http://www.he-india.com).

Anil Juneja, a resident of Badarpur, called me up to tell me about traffic snarls at Badarpur Border. Even I am aware of that and National Highways Authority of India is developing the Badarpur border on a priority basis so there is a smooth transition of traffic on that road. Anil says, “Everyday in the morning and evening you have to wait for 45minutes to one hour in traffic just to cross the border.” Well that is nothing new. Most of the commuters travelling from Faridabad to Delhi have complained me about it. However, he has a suggestion which if implemented can save commuters from routine jams at Mathura Road on Badarpur border. He says, “There are two canals coming from Mithapur and Palla flow behind Sarita Vihar next to the Indian Oil bottling plant. It is a stretch of hardly two-and-a-half kilometres. If some of the traffic is diverted from that road to Faridabad, then traffic congestion at Badarpur Border will ease. The only problem is the road is presently un-metalled. Once the authorities construct the road properly, it can be a nice alternative for traffic going to Faridabad and vice versa.” I think the authorities should take a look at this alternative and should repair the road. The Delhi Traffic Police should work out some traffic arrangement in which this road can be used to ease traffic on Mathura Road at Badarpur Border. It can be a stopgap arrangement for the time being only until the Badarpur border is completely developed by NHAI.

Avinash Rajput sent me a mail regarding rail overbridge between Britannia Chowk and Punjab Bagh Flyovers. He had mailed me during May last year citing a problem and traffic cops had assured him to rectify it. He wants the cops to either provide a speed breaker or remove the partition on the road from the rail overbridge. But he complains that nothing has been done so far. He writes, ”Since a long period has elapsed no action has been taken so far. During this month, I again found the said partition road badly damaged which shows that some fatal accidents might have taken place. If a survey is done, you will find a number of accidents have taken place on this particular site. I, therefore, once again request you to kindly inspect the site personally and take appropriate remedial action at your earliest to avoid any further mishap on this site.”Meanwhile, Sharad Kashyap from Yamuna Vihar has written to me regarding a problem. He says, “Madanpura-Tuglaqabad bridge is very dangerous. There are no bus lanes. Buses drive here at 60-70 kmph. Two to three accidents took place in the last three months. There are no police personnel to check the rash truck drivers. Please help me to get to the authorities.”Yesterday there was a BJP rally in the city. Whole of Delhi Traffic Police was concentrating on that rally. This gave an opportunity to our Delhi drivers to make a mockery of law. I was passing through a stretch of Kasturba Gandhi Marg between Leo Tolstoy intersection and Outer Circle of CP and all along the road cars were parked. Throughout the stretch they covered half the road space available to them. In fact, they were parked till the white line, which divides the carriageway. Since all traffic cops were busy in traffic arrangements due to BJP’s yatra, all of these drivers were giving law a ball. Why don’t these vehicle owners act responsibly? Another thing that I have observed is that most of these cars were chauffer driven. Most of the owners in Delhi think that a chauffer is to save you from parking fee. I think that this attitude should change and they should instruct their chauffer to park it in parking areas only and not on the roadside.