Night Rain, Landslide Debris and a Taillight-Less Motorcycle
It is 21:30 in late July and you are driving from Kathmandu toward Pokhara with your family. After Malekhu the rain becomes heavy and fog patches form in the valley. You have been driving for four hours. At a right-hand curve you see mud, gravel and a thin stream of water washed across your lane, with small stones still trickling down the cut slope. An oncoming truck fitted with extra roof lamps approaches with high beam on. Between you and the truck, a motorcycle with no working taillight is moving slowly in your lane. Your wipers are on fast, the windscreen is misting, and the road edge beyond the gravel drops toward the river. The next town is 18 km away.
1. You see mud and gravel washed across your lane at the curve, and water running. How do you cross, and when do you not cross?
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Slow down while you are still on clean tarmac, because braking on mud or gravel is where control is lost. Select a low gear and cross at a steady speed, keeping light and constant pressure on the accelerator. Do not brake hard, change gear or turn sharply while the wheels are on the debris; keep the car straight and let it run through. Watch the cut slope for falling stones and leave room on the outside only if the edge is solid.
Do not cross if:
- Water is flowing fast or the depth is unknown. Even shallow moving water can float a car or cut away the road edge.
- Stones or mud are still coming down, which means the slide is active.
- The mud is deep or rutted enough to trap a wheel or hide a washed-out section.
At night, if you cannot judge the depth or the edge, stop well back with hazard lights on, warn oncoming traffic, and wait or turn around. The town being 18 km away is not a reason to gamble.
2. The oncoming truck's high beams and roof lamps wash out your view. What do you do?
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Do not stare at the lights. Look down and to the left, using the road edge or the lane line as your guide, and slow immediately because you are effectively blind for the few seconds the truck takes to pass.
Actions:
- Keep well left and hold a steady line. Do not swerve right, even if the glare makes the centre of the road hard to see.
- Give a brief flash of main beam to remind the driver to dip, then return to dipped beam. Do not retaliate with high beam; two blinded drivers is worse than one.
- If the glare is total, reduce speed to a crawl or stop on your own side until the truck has passed.
- Remember the motorcycle ahead is in your lane with no taillight, so your safe speed is set by the distance you can actually see, not by the speed limit.
After the truck passes, give your eyes a moment to recover before accelerating.
3. A motorcycle ahead has no taillight. How do you manage the following distance and the decision to overtake?
Read the worked answer
Drop back further than you would behind a car. Without a taillight the rider is hard to see and even harder to judge for speed and distance, especially in rain and spray. Aim for at least three to four seconds in these conditions, and more if the windscreen is misting.
Use dipped beam so you do not blind the rider through the mirrors. Watch for the rider's position changing over the wet patches and for wobbles that suggest poor grip.
Overtake only when:
- You are on a straight section with a clear view of oncoming traffic.
- There is enough space to pass without crowding the rider toward the edge or the gravel.
- The rider is holding a steady line and you can see the road beyond.
If any of these is missing, stay back. Following a slow, poorly lit motorcycle for 18 km is far safer than a blind overtake on a wet mountain road at night.