Not, I think you’ll agree, the most reassuring sign you might encounter whilst driving…

Helpful advice is however at hand, as we found on road trips in India. There were reminders: ‘This is a highway, not a runway’, for example, so ‘Be gentle on my curves’. And to make sure you ‘Reach home in peace not in pieces’, make sure you ‘Peep peep don’t sleep’. (Because of course, ‘If you sleep, your family will weep’). Do drive carefully, as ‘Danger lurks where caution shirks’, and ‘Rash causes crash’. Obviously, don’t drink and drive: ‘After drinking whisky, driving is risky’. And please, please don’t drive too fast. ‘Time is money, but life is precious’, ‘Speed thrills but kills’ and, after all, ‘Better be Mr Late than Late Mr’.

I guess it can all be summed up in the reminder ‘Drive skilfully, live funfully’.

The wit and humour of these signs got their message across and entertained at the same time. On a trip to Darjeeling and Sikkim, our party voted for our favourite road sign. The women voted for ‘Hurry burry spoils the curry’. The men chose ‘Don’t gossip, let him drive’…

Photographs courtesy of Julian Sale