One Lane on the Prithvi Highway: Obstruction, Overtaker and Hill Start
On the Prithvi Highway above Mugling you are climbing toward Kathmandu in a loaded Category B car with four passengers. At a curve, a monsoon repair has removed the uphill lane: a mud wall and a stack of stones sit on your side, and traffic must use the downhill lane to pass. A loaded tipper truck is coming down, already committed to the narrow gap, with a rock face on its left and a drop on its right. Your car is stopped 25 m before the gap on a steep grade. Behind you, a motorcyclist with a pillion rider pulls out to overtake and accelerates toward the blind curve ahead. The road is wet, the truck's brakes are hissing, and your passengers are telling you to push through first.
1. The landslide repair has taken away your lane, and the loaded truck is coming down. Who goes first, and where do you put the car?
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The obstruction is in your lane, so you give way. The truck is already committed in the gap, is heavy, and cannot easily stop or reverse on a wet downgrade; forcing it would put both vehicles near the drop.
Actions:
- Stop at a wide, visible point before the narrow section, keeping well left and leaving room for the truck's tail swing.
- Switch on dipped headlights so the truck driver can see you are waiting, and watch the driver's mirror or hand signal.
- Do not creep into the gap to "claim" it. A stationary car at the edge is predictable; a car nosing into a one-lane gap is not.
- Wait until the truck has fully cleared your lane and you can see the road beyond the curve is empty.
If the truck stops and flashes you through, move only after you can see for yourself that the downhill lane is clear.
2. The motorcyclist behind you pulls out to overtake on the blind curve. What do you do?
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Hold your position and do not accelerate. The rider is committed, and the greatest danger is an unseen vehicle coming the other way in the downhill lane.
Actions:
- Keep left, maintain or slightly reduce speed, and do not move right to block or "teach a lesson".
- Do not wave the rider on. You cannot see around the curve, and a wave would transfer responsibility to you.
- Be ready to stop if the rider is forced back toward your lane or if an oncoming vehicle appears.
- Leave a gap in front so the rider has somewhere to go if they abort the overtake.
Once the rider is clear, resume your wait for the truck. Note the registration if it is safe to do so, but do not chase or confront the rider.
3. After the truck passes, you must restart on the steep grade. Give the sequence and the mistakes to avoid.
Read the worked answer
Use the handbrake so the car cannot roll back while you find the clutch bite point.
Sequence for a manual car:
- Handbrake firmly on, gear in first, clutch fully down.
- Bring the clutch up to the bite point until you feel the car pull slightly against the handbrake.
- Add enough accelerator to hold the revs steadily.
- Release the handbrake smoothly while easing the clutch out and keeping the throttle on.
- Move away and only change up once you are safely past the narrow section.
Mistakes to avoid:
- Rolling back toward the vehicle behind you, especially on a wet surface.
- Holding the car on the clutch instead of the handbrake, which overheats and wears the clutch.
- Over-revving and spinning the wheels on wet tarmac.
- Changing gear in the gap instead of driving through it in first.
If you stall, keep calm, handbrake on, restart, and repeat the sequence.