Knowledge base · Driving and vehicle care
हिन्दी में पढ़ेंNone of this is advanced. It is the ordinary discipline of a professional driver, written down — because most of what fails on the road was visible before the vehicle left.
Taught on: HMV & LMV Driver TrainingThe manual's pre-driving list is engine and brake oil level, coolant level, tyre condition, brakes, fuel level, lights, horn, wipers and wiper fluid. Add to it what a loaded vehicle needs: wheel nuts, mirrors, air pressure, the lashings, the papers and the extinguishers. Four minutes, before the engine starts.
A great deal. An underinflated tyre runs hot, and heat is what causes a burst at speed. Check it cold, before the run, not after.
Hold the wheel firmly and keep straight, ease off the accelerator, and do not brake hard. Let the vehicle slow itself and bring it off the road gradually.
In the gear you would need to climb it, letting the engine hold the vehicle back. Riding the brakes downhill heats them until they stop working — and they stop working all at once.
On a bend, on a crest, at a junction, on a bridge, where the line is solid, and any time you cannot see far enough to complete it and return. With a load, add distance to all of these.
At least four seconds in the dry and more in rain. A loaded heavy vehicle needs several times the stopping distance of a car at the same speed.
Slow down, low beam not high, hazard lights only when stationary, and open the gap to nine seconds or more — the manual's figure for fog and heavy rain, not the usual two. If visibility drops below a safe stopping distance, stop off the carriageway.
The light reflects off the droplets straight back at you and you see less, not more. Low beam throws the light down onto the road where it is useful.
Distributed evenly, low where possible, lashed so it cannot shift forward under braking, and checked again after the first few kilometres — that is when lashings settle and go slack.
Take a proper break every few hours and stop the moment concentration goes. Night driving demands shorter stretches, not longer ones.
The papers, the TREM card, a first aid kit, a torch, a reflective triangle and jacket, drinking water, and the emergency numbers written where a stranger could read them.
This page is written for guidance. Where money, a licence or somebody's safety turns on it, read the rule itself — every answer says which one. Disclaimer and sources.
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