Tools
Driving in India
The rules of the road as our desk recorded them, native unit first.
Left
50 / 80 / 100 km/h · 31 / 50 / 62 mph
urban / rural / motorway
Required · Geneva 1949
India recognises the 1949 Geneva permit. Self-drive rental exists in the cities but is uncommon among visitors for good reason.
0.03% - and several states, including Gujarat and Bihar, prohibit alcohol entirely
Extensive tolls on national highways and expressways, collected by FASTag transponder - rentals include one.
Not required by day, though many drivers use them on highways.
No effective enforcement and minimal rental stock.
Hire a car with a driver. It costs €35–50 a day, is the local norm, and removes the single largest source of stress in Indian travel. Motorbike touring in Ladakh and Himachal is popular and genuinely dangerous - take the altitude and the road edges seriously.