[avingodb]

Lack of seat belts in the buses may be one of the reasons for the high number of deaths in the Expressway accident. In one of my bus travels from Mandi to Delhi, I was in seat 1b and I was up the entire night as the driving was rash and there was no seat-belt so I was never comfortable and kept feeling that I would land next to the driver with the next bad turn and hump.

[deathwalkr]

@Avin: Why don't we have seat belts in buses at least in the luxury overnighters?

[Trust_In_Thrust]

Originally Posted by audioholic

....This is a misconception which would have saved your car from such damage. You dont use your handbrakes to steer the car out of way. There is the ABS for the same. By using handbrakes, you are totally screwing up the situation and rendering ABS confused and useless. ....

I agree with you for most part but that abs helps. It is helpful for people who can't modulate the brake pedal. And I have faced the situation where in my senses told to use what I ended up using. I agree car may have piled up sideways but as per my thinking I should have stopped before hitting the curb but there was loose sand on passenger side which I didn't take into thought as I didn't see that. Further thinking abs can help you escape better than handbrake is again wrong. Using handbrake brings about instant change in trajectory of car and same is the reason it is used for drifting or in rally.

While I am glad to be alive with minor damage to car I stick to max 80kmph now.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Trust_In_Thrust

I agree with you for most part but that abs helps. It is helpful for people who can't modulate the brake pedal.-----SNIP ----

ABS can pulse at about 10-15 times per second. One, spiderman may probably match that. Two, if you're talking about modulating in the sense of having the optimum amount of pressure holding the brakes at just before the point of lock, you'd still be hard pressed to be as near to lock as ABS would manage. Please don't encourage people to "modulate" their braking.

[Trust_In_Thrust]

Originally Posted by mayankk

ABS can pulse at about 10-15 times per second. One, spiderman may probably match that. Two, if you're talking about modulating in the sense of having the optimum amount of pressure holding the brakes at just before the point of lock, you'd still be hard pressed to be as near to lock as ABS would manage. Please don't encourage people to "modulate" their braking.

The beauty of disc brakes as I have experienced is i can maintain the brakes right to point before lock up. It is a point where you hear a very light screeching sound but tyres are still in rotation. And if you can do it again and again you can smoke the tyres pretty soon without any lock ups.

And I do not intend someone to follow what I do. It is just that I find it easier and much better than the abs stuff.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by Trust_In_Thrust

Further thinking abs can help you escape better than handbrake is again wrong. Using handbrake brings about instant change in trajectory of car and same is the reason it is used for drifting or in rally.

While I am glad to be alive with minor damage to car I stick to max 80kmph now.

Use of handbrake is NOT the right solution, as it takes lot of skill and experience to handle your car, once the tail steps out. Besides, you would have much less control over the car now, as steering inputs would not change the car's direction like it usually would. So ABS is the safest way to brake, for the average Indian driver.

Also, drifting is used in rally, not to reduce the speed - but rather, to change direction 'without losing much speed' so I really would not advice that to my fellow Indians!

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

@Avin: Why don't we have seat belts in buses at least in the luxury overnighters?

In fact, it would be great to have seat belts in all buses including school buses. At least people who value their life will have an option to wear seat belts.

Here is a video which shows how people are thrown around when a bus turned-over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss7kvwzKQQc

[jpcoolguy]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Not freak at all. A very ordinary sequence of events. If people will drive off flyovers and railway bridges, they are likely to be killed by whatever form of traffic is passing underneath.

Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558

Yeah totally, It has happened here in Mumbai too several times, With biker's hitting a car or the median and falling off the bridge and loosing their life, And most of them happened due to over speeding and not judging the curve of the bridge properly resulting in loss of control.

Yes, the accident is due to a normal sequence of events. What I meant freak is that the pillion rider fell exactly on the tracks and unfortunately a train was travelling in the track during that time i.e. 12-1 AM in the morning.

The guy who rode the bike, fell off the tracks, survived with injuries and is now out of danger - please refer below article.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...cle8679305.ece

Gautam, 18, the two-wheeler rider who was injured in an accident at Basin Bridge on Monday night, is reportedly in a stable condition now. His pillion rider was run over by a train in the same accident.

Gautam, 18, was rushed to Government Stanley Hospital, where a thigh fracture was diagnosed. Sources at the hospital said an external fixation was done for the fracture and his condition was stable.

The pillion rider would also have been alive if not for that unfortunate train timing and his fall exactly on the track.

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

In fact, it would be great to have seat belts in all buses including school buses. At least people who value their life will have an option to wear seat belts.

Here is a video which shows how people are thrown around when a bus turned-over.

Totally agreed, People can actually get severe injuries inside the bus itself, I had seen this video sometime back, Any sort of accident, Almost no one would be able to save themselves from banging around, But this can be totally saved if there are seat belts.

[petrol_power]

Originally Posted by LoneRidder

I have seen many a times, even to change the broken tyre, the stupid drives, with tie and coat would have parked the car on the road. Does it really damage the tyres by moving 10~20 meters out of the road and park at a safe distance.

I have done many tyre changes to my vehicle, and have always ensured I am safe from the traffic and also the traffic on the road is never hindered. The problem is at the licence issuing point. Until getting licence is taken as very easy, things would not change.

I have faced a situation in which I had to undertake a tyre changing procedure in an elevated expressway in Bangalore, which has no entry-exit for 10 kms. The worst part is that I tried to drive with totally flat tyre to reach till one end, but once the air was totally gone, the car will not move straight even if I try to steer my car. The car was more eager to do up/down and sideways movement even in 1st gear, 1- 2 kmph!!

Finally, I did the unthinkable, started changing my tyres and all cars were speeding at > 100 kmph in that 2 lane expressway. That day I was really scared, really really scared. I could see that many cars were noticing my car at the last moment and steering/braking sharp. Infact that was the first time I was doing a tyre change by myself, and I finished it within 5-10 minutes. I was using my full energy and just wanted to stick the tyres till I reach the end of elevated express way. And that day I understood, necessity is the mother of invention. I would have even changed my engine in those 10 minutes, if required!!

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by petrol_power

.... And that day I understood, necessity is the mother of invention. I would have even changed my engine in those 10 minutes, if required!!

Did you not place the warning triangles about a 100 mtrs up the road from your car?

[redcruiser]

In such situations you should put the safety triangle atleast 500 meters behind. I think this is why most manufacturers give a safety triangle with spare tyre.

[petrol_power]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Did you not place the warning triangles about a 100 mtrs up the road from your car?

Originally Posted by redcruiser

In such situations you should put the safety triangle atleast 500 meters behind. I think this is why most manufacturers give a safety triangle with spare tyre.

Ohh I placed it hardly 10 meters away from my car. Now I know that it should have been kept at-least 100 meters away. Thank you all.

The major issue is with the vehicles who tail-gate another vehicle trying to overtake it. Like, there is a slow moving vehicle, car X on the right side and car A will be overtaking it from left lane. At the same time car B will be just behind A overtaking X from left lane. Car A would have spotted me and will make necessary calculation and pass me clearly, but only after Car A moves to right lane, suddenly car B sees me on the way, and if he is too close, its dangerous.

But as said above, risk could have been easily avoided if I had kept it above 100 meters. The maximum what could have happened was car B hitting the safety triangle.

[LoneRidder]

Originally Posted by petrol_power

Finally, I did the unthinkable, started changing my tyres and all cars were speeding at > 100 kmph in that 2 lane expressway.

It is always advisable to place the warning triangles about a 100 to 200 mtrs up the road from your car to warn about the breakdown. More importantly it is wise to move out of the carriage way for safety of yourself and others. I understand your situation.

I am just reading the below article, I for once can't simple think how they can they say this ""The front tyre on the right side was punctured. So, we were forced to stop in the right lane. Had I taken the risk of crossing the four lanes to park in the left, many more vehicles would have hit us by then,"! when your vehicle has a puncture, try continuing in the same lane and move to the safer lane based on the traffic. Is this not possible. There has to be lot of discipline in licencing system.

http://http://www.ndtv.com/mumbai-news/first-person-account-of-accident-on-mumbai-pune-expressway-1415905?pfrom=home-lateststories

[Divya Sharan]

Originally Posted by redcruiser

In such situations you should put the safety triangle atleast 500 meters behind. I think this is why most manufacturers give a safety triangle with spare tyre.

Totally agree. But ensure that the safety triangle is visible at all times (to the owner).
We lost ours (WagonR) after a nail decided to smash a rear tire. It was early morning during winters. We moved to the shoulder of the road to replace the punctured tire. Meanwhile, few cars and bikes went past without harming us. The triangle must have been only 100 m away, but not visible to us due to slight fog prevailing at the time.
10 min later, when I go to fetch the triangle, it was gone! Someone nicked the damn thing itself.