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Must Know Signs and Symbols for Safe Car Driving in India

​When you’re behind the wheels, road signs are the primary communicators of what you can and can’t do. These signs help ensure order on the road and prevent accidents from taking place. 

If you ignore these signs, or don’t learn about them, you don’t just put yourself at risk but also others. If you want to buy car insurance, you don’t need to worry about the financial damages. But ignoring signs can still lead to fatal accidents that can cause loss of life or grave injuries, and no amount of insurance​ can make up for that.

In this article, we’ll give you a brief intro into the different types of signs and symbols, and then introduce you to some of the most important ones.

​Types of Road Signs and Symbols:

  • Mandatory Signs: Violating any of these signs is illegal. They ensure the movement of traffic and ensure road safety. These signs may include commands prohibiting the use of horns, stopping, giving way, speed limits, or restricting entry, amongst many others.
  • Cautionary Signs: These signs don’t command a legal action on the part of the driver. However, they warn drivers of certain road conditions up ahead so that they may take the necessary precautions to keep themselves and their passengers safe. These may include signs warning about pedestrian crossing, narrow bridges, slippery roads, landslide dangers, men at work, and many others.
  • Informatory Signs: These signs provide crucial information to drivers. You have to look out for these signs when you want to find out about the distance to a particular destination, a public telephone, a hospital, first aid post, gas station, etc.
Important Road Signs
The following are a few crucial and important road signs that you should be familiar with.

  • Speed Limit: If you see a number written in black and circled with red, that number indicates the speed limit. A lot of people say that the speed limit regulations in India are pretty strict. However, if you go through the statistics on road accidents, you’ll find that they’re absolutely necessary. Speed limits are designed keeping several factors in mind, such as the quality of the road, the number of traffic it experiences on an average, the capacity of the average vehicles, etc. As such, you should always adhere to speed limits regardless of how good a driver you are.
  • Give Way: An upside-down red hollow triangle is a warning for motorists that an important junction is coming up. It indicates that you may have to stop to allow the driver on the opposite end to get through.
  • Hospital: Identifying a hospital can be life-saving. The sign includes a bed with a red cross over it. Even if you don’t need to go to a hospital, if you’re simply passing by it, you should be mindful and not honk the car or cause any other disturba​​nce.

    • ​​While these are some of the most important road signs and symbols, you should familiarize yourself with all of them. And be sure that you always have your car insurance while driving because even if you follow the road signs, it doesn’t mean everyone else will as well. As such, accidents can still happen, regardless of how careful you are.

    ​Read More Here: Guide to Read Before a Long Distance Car Drive

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