Night DrivingMV Act 2019, Section 119 & State PWD ghat road advisory – mandatory horn use and left-keep rule
Ghat Road Discipline
Rule: Sound horn before every blind curve on ghat roads; keep left strictly; use hazard lights when stopped
1
Palakkad Ghat, Kerala, 11 PM
Vikram takes a sharp ghat curve wide, crossing the centre line — 'Truck wide hai, kya karoon.'
→ Oncoming tourist bus driver swerves left, rear wheel goes off the shoulder. Bus stops inches from the drop. Both drivers shaken. Six-hour traffic block.
✓ Lesson: Trucks must hug the left even when it is uncomfortable — the alternative is a drop of hundreds of metres.
2
Same ghat, Vikram's northbound return
He sounds horn 100m before every curve, flashes headlights once, keeps left tyre on the edge marking.
→ Every oncoming vehicle has time to correct position. Safe pass at each of 22 curves.
✓ Lesson: Horn + flash + left = the ghat safety code that every driver knows but few consistently practice.
3
Truck halt at foot of ghat
Vikram advises a new driver about ghat discipline before they head up.
→ New driver completes ghat with zero incidents, calls back on radio to thank him.
✓ Lesson: Institutional knowledge shared at halts saves the next driver's life.
Now that you know this rule — can you apply it?
Test yourself with scenario-based questions from real Indian roads.