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Any accident is usually a series of unfortunate events.

We would not be discussing about the XUV - Truck incident mentioned in page before if the truck would not have ran out of fuel or if the XUV driver was no sleepy or if he was driving in day time. However the fact is all happened with disastrous consequences leaving car passengers dead and truck diver having to worry much more than an empty fuel tank.

Truck under-run bars should have been present, the truck atleast should have a warning light / reflector. Unfortunately enforcement of rules is an achilles heel in our country.

For us road users I guess, the take away from this accident is few very obvious. If you can't see the road slow down. If you feel sleepy, sleep.
It is not that difficult to catch few minutes sleep in major highways. On tolled highways you can park safely next to any toll booth and sleep for a while, else any fuel bunks can be a good option. If none of the above works just pull near any village and sleep.

I had to stop the vehicle once after an overnight drive just 20 KM's from my destination since I was getting sleepy. All that was required was a break of around 15 mins or so and I was feeling much more alert to take the remaining 20 KM's (20 mins).

From my experience I would like to add that 'falling asleep' during does not mean that you actually close your eyes and rest your head on steering. It is when you tend to loose concentration and your mind starts to wander off.

I have seen taxi drivers from Bangalore airport 'sleeping' with eyes wide open. After couple of hair raising experiences I nowadays keep an eye on their driving and ask them to stop the car for a while when sleeping.

I personally don't think there is any alternative to sleep, especially when doing long highway drives. Tea/ Coffee/ Energy drink / Chewing gums will keep your eyes open for a while. However sleep even for few mins is much better than any of those.

Does anyone have any info on a hit & run accident on the Mumbai Ahmedabad highway, two weeks back (Sunday 28th September) where a biker was fatally hit?

The incident occurred just 2 kms after Charoti Toll at 7:30 am.

source



cya
R

On 23rd Sep, in my home town Bulandshahar, a 5 kg cylinder exploded in a bus, killing 4 people on the spot and injuring about 100 others. Since then, there had been 2-3 casualties daily amongst the survivors and at the moment toll stands at 41.

UP government had done a brilliant job of covering up, and there is absolutely no news of this major tragedy in national media.

If this was just 2 kms after the toll , CCTV cameras at the booth should help narrow down the search

Soon after Charoti there is a left that leads to the Union Territory of DN and an easy escape route.
Considering the traffic density on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway and the fact that at 7:30AM it would be an equal mix of Private cars and Trucks (Has never mattered here if its a weekday or a weekend), It would be too difficult a task to zero in on the offending vehicle.

I searched for the same and found that it has been reported although there is no follow up. It has become an unfortunate trend now, a tragedy out of sheer carelessness and the government announcing ex-Gratia amount for the injured and dead from tax payers money because they themselves did not do their job properly. Apaling state of affairs.
http://indianexpress.com/article/ind...es-inside-bus/

Parag, does this booth have CCTV? Do you remember any chance? Also, does this book note full registration number on toll chits? If the cops want, they can obtain the list of vehicles that passed the booth in a time frame and try to narrow down.

I am sure they do. I recall. But then you also remember that these booths have extra lanes created on the extreme left. I somehow recall, Charoti had right most lanes for cars.

Need to check the toll receipts to find out if they note full number. I have seen cases where KA05 will be replaced with MH05 in many cases during my own drives only due to complacency of the booth attendants in taking time to read the numbers carefully.

Yes, it seems some coverage did happen on the first day but nothing after that. As of today the toll stands at 41. Victims are dying daily in Safdarjung/LNJP hospitals and yet no help from the state government.

The popular local conspiracy theory is that it was a terrorist attack, because apparently a 5 kg LPG cylinder can't do this much harm. No attempt has been made to investigate who brought that cylinder in the bus or what caused it to explode; and that is fueling these conspiracy theories.

100 people in a bus:Shockked:? That's scary. There is no chance for escape if something untoward happens. RIP to the departed souls. Hope and pray that the rest of the people may recover.

I do agree, but what if the truck broke down or its tire blew up?

Very weird situations, I have come across while riding driving -

# Two electricians were repairing (something...) on a pole & one pushed the other one & imagine what, one of them landed on me. Can any of us even imagine this? I had to spend 47 days in bed rest.

# I was driving and a bus was coming from the other side, an unsecured cycle from its roof top fell on the road. While I managed to swerve & brake, what if there was a vehicle behind me and or the bus was more close to me?

# On one of my rides, a truck's front tire blew up & it started to steer towards me, I had to go off-road (into the fields) to save myself. What if there was no run-off area or a truck parked? Maybe I would not have been here typing out this reply.

Point is, I wholeheartedly agree to what you say, had the driver's been pro-active about maintenance of their vehicles/luggage, these situations would not have happened. But sadly, I don't see this happening in our mother country for a long time to come.

As I said, out on the highway, count the number of trucks you see parked on the road, blocking half to one lane.

We just have to be careful & take all the onus upon our self, discounting how much taxes we pay, tolls etc etc

I would share a similar experience that happened with me long time back. While driving back my LML VEspa 150 early morning from Aligarh to Delhi, I was following a coal laden truck. The speed was around 45 kmph. A UP roadways bus overtook this truck and swerved left in front of it. Within no time, I could not see anything as it was all black smoke and cloud. The scooter could not be braked as I seemed to have lost traction. Around two minutes later, I see myself literally inside the back of that truck, scooter mounted on coal heap, while the truck had overturned. Luckily the driver and cleaner came out safely, cursing that bus. That was 1999. I believe we have such opportunities lurking around still in India.

Regards

Himanshu

I can only say - you have been very lucky so far. Be watchful and be safe.
All I wanted to say is that things happen, despite our best preparedness, but that should not be the reason to lower our guard. Each one of us should own this responsibility and this might result in a minute reduction in accidents. THIS is the right kind of forum to highlight this.

Saw this XUV in a bad state on my way to Goa on Oct 2nd on Ankola Ghat after Hubli. Seemed like the accident has happen a couple of minutes before i reached the spot. I slowed down and noticed that cops were already on the scene and didn't see any major injuries to the occupants so drove on. The right side was badly damaged with the right wheel almost off the assembly. Strangely though, didn't notice any other vehicle apart from a truck parked on the left but with no visible damage. Not sure what had hit the vehicle. I also noticed a lady holding her head and looked like she was feeling dizzy, and when i looked closely at the pics later i noticed the windscreen was shattered on the left side. Seems like she was not wearing her seat belt and might have banged into the windscreen upon impact.

Sorry for the poor quality of the pics.

So after two years of accident free ownership, fate finally caught up with me.
Nothing much serious, but a goat had to sacrifice its life.
I was doing Chennai-Thiruvalla on 2nd Oct. I had just crossed the final toll before Dindigul bypass right turn and was doing about 70-80 and was on the left lane.
A goat which was grazing on the grassy slope suddenly decides to run across the road giving me just enough time to make a quick right swerve.
But unfortunately it was not enough to avoid the hit. I didn't stop at the spot since I was travelling with wife and kid.
Just as I was approaching the Dindigul bypass an NHAI pickup stopped me and told me they has received a call regarding a hit and run. They were demanding Rs.6000/-. I showed them the dash-cam footage and managed to get some leverage. After some negotiations finally agreed on Rs.2500/- and left.
Find below the damages.


Chennai BHPians please advise where to get the repairing done. Should I get it done at Toyota ASC with insurance or at some FNG.

Friends, please be careful of animals loitering near the roads even if it is quite far. In my case it was not even on the shoulder of the road but on the grassy slopes.

Thanks in advance.