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Shouldn't we ask the so called authorities, that what in the world a tanker at 5kmph doing on the *EXPRESSway* (I'm shouting as loud as possible).

this is not just this expressway, it's all over our great country thanks to the dumbest of brains in position of authority.

If you say the S-cross was over-speeding and let's say it's guilty of it then wouldn't you hold the tanker of under-speeding on the EXPRESSway.

for example, in the west when the max speed is 100, EACH day people drive at 110-120 (on higher side) and it's an acceptable range. Any lower than speed limit one gets honked at and gets a ticket too for risking others. Now, assuming the 50 year old driver in S-cross (with his wife & married daughter) was over speeding at say 110 (expway limit is 80), would it have mattered if they were at 90/100 when the darn iron mass is standing on the expressway like an unbreakable wall!! The guilty are those imbecile 'babus' who make such practice of watering the plants on expressway.

Similarly in the other case, unlike Vamsi & others who are pointing fingers at the biker, I think that the tractor -- on the wrong side of road without hazards, with PVC pipe on the road and at night (without "men at work" etc signs) is 99% to be blamed. In a lighter vein, one can say that the biker is to be blamed for not having a bike with traction control, extra grip tires & ABS. Not wearing helmet, riding gloves, boots, jacket, knee guards are immaterial here.

In both the cases if the tractors weren't there, the biker/driver would have continued their ride/drive but the retards in the govt. ensure there's some unwanted surprise for each of us somewhere out there, we are extremely unlucky to be at the wrong place.

The MPEW actually has some good lane discipline - heavy vehicles are more often than not in the left most two lanes irrespective of their speed (with the slower ones on the left most lane).

In this case, what probably happened, is the water tanker was watering the plants on the right lane (in the median), and as is often the case - there must've been no warning signs.

I've had a couple of close calls on the expressway thanks to this - towards the end of a gentle curve, just as the road straightens, on the right most lane, and all of a sudden people pop up - working to fix the guard rails and what not.

In other countries it is done in such a civilized manner with adequate warnings and lane closure markings for at least a Mile!

I am sure the 'so called expressway' has lane discipline. It is the drivers that do not. lol:

Try the road going up the ghats from Khopoli. In multiple uphill sections, you will find three tankers desperately trying to overtake each other, the fastest of which would be at 10kmph. There are some areas where 3 lanes suddenly merge into 1.5 lanes.

Workaround? Zigzagging and weaving in and out of lanes and moving to the road shoulder to the extreme left to overtake.:Frustrati

The ghats are an exception agree:

But on the straights where this accident took place lane discipline is fairly decent!

Minor accident near ISRO junction Doddanekundi on Outer Ring Road, Bengaluru. I guess, the Santro was attempting a U-Turn when the mini bus touched it.

Watering plants on the median divider is absolutely essential as it those very plants which block the incoming high beam headlights from the opposite lane. It also serves the beautification purpose as a side product. There can be discussions and suggestions on alternate means of watering plants without coming in the way of traffic flows. On a straight stretch of road if the speeding car is unable to see the tanker in front of it (at whatever speed it is moving), then I will not blame the babus for this. Also almost always I have seen road blocks being placed around the tanker to warn people. Apart from this there are also people trimming plants or making other repairs on the median, and essentially putting their lives at risk as someone could lose control and drive over them. The entire onus is on the driver as he is the one controlling his vehicle. He has to take into account whatever comes in the way, whether it is a tanker or a buffalo.

Absolutely correct. That is why sometimes I feel 80 kmph is right speed limit for our environment and road culture. If people follow speed limits then these accident will not occur. 80kmph speeds are manageable. But if you tend to drive 120 to 140 kmph then who is at fault?

But that this the thing - plants etc. in the medians exist in other countries too! How do they manage to do it in a safe manner?
What about adapting to sprinklers instead of using a water tanker?

There are ways around it - no one is complaining about what they're doing, rather how they're doing it.

It isn't that simple. If the road is curved, a stationary watering tanker can be very dangerous. Even on a straight stretch if someone is following another vehicle very closely, his/her vision is blocked by the vehicle ahead. And if that vehicle decides to dart out of the lane very late, you won't have enough time to brake. Imagine if the vehicle behind happens to honk or flash just a few secs before. The driver following will assume that the vehicle ahead is moving out of his lane to allow him to pass and he may step on the gas even. Add very high speeds to the mix and the situation becomes worse. Yes in an ideal world people shouldn't speed, they shouldn't follow another vehicle so closely that their view ahead is blocked etc... but it's not an ideal world out there, is it? A stationary water tanker on the rightmost lane is a very bad idea on a fast highway.

:OT I prefer a plain median with no plants or grass or bushes where drivers get a very clear view ahead and there are no surprises of any kind darting out from between the bushes. No vegetation will also mean no grazing animals. I don't mind putting up with glare from oncoming headlights for a clear view and freedom from nasty surprises.

I completely agree with this sentiment and whenever i drive in India, I am paranoid about some unexpected object coming out of the bushes. Just recently a cow grazing on the median jumped to the side I was driving and I had to quickly swerve to avoid the cow. if you drive on the Bangalore - Mysore highway these bushes are all overgrown and are a huge nuisance.

My sympathies are with the deceased auto driver.

I only hope auto drivers find less risky spots to park and rest.

Can we also agree that in many other countries system of issuing driver's license is much better than India?

What would have been the outcome had there been a vehicle standing at the same place due to some break down?

Drivers need to adjust speed based on their visibility. 100 km/h is 28 m/s. Assuming a reaction time of 3 seconds, one needs to have visibility and clearance of about 85 m ahead to drive at 100 km/h, otherwise it might be suicidal.

Thats the thing - vehicle would NOT have been standing on the fast lane. If the vehicle breaks down - it has to be moved to the shoulder. Plus you need to keep a warning triangle atleast 50m before the vehicle to warn the incoming traffic - with your hazard lights on.

Drove Bangalore - Bekal - Bangalore over the weekend, saw a few accidents.

1. Return journey, Bekal - Sulya section there was a trailer that probably misjudged a downhill turn and the tractor got dragged into the hillside. As such this was not a major accident but everyone passing by started stopping for a photograph on this narrow blind corner with the authorities trying to get them going. Realised that very few have the civic sense to actually stop on the side instead of the middle, for the photo.

2. Few Kilometres later there was a White Honda City perched on the left side rock and shrubs, opposite to the direction of its travel, at a slight bend on a long downhill stretch. Could be an overtaking manoeuvre gone bad in wrong gear. Car was folded in half but looked survivable if buckled up. Windscreen seemed intact.

3. Mysore Road, an Innova passes everyone by overtaking with high beams on, horns blaring, even finding a middle lane on that 2 lane road. Spotted the same car few kilometres later with a huge crowd gathered around it. Probably a fender bender. There were no visible damages that I could spot.

4. Speeding swift goes to overtake from the left on Madikeri - Mysore section and lands up colliding with one of those barricades put up to create a chicane. The car overtook us a few km before competing with another one, driven little over 80 kph.

No photos as such. Most sections were too narrow or crowded to actually stop and take pictures.

Here are a few observations

1. The Ghat section is limited to 65 kph and people trying to overtake often switch lanes and then floor their cars, if things don't move, then they change down. None of the vehicles that were there on that road were in proper gear for the gradient and often cross over to the other side to compensate.

2. Night time driving on Madikeri - Mysore section is a mess, there are cars doing any speed in the range of 30 kph to 140 kph with their brights on. Add to this biker groups in their bullets clad in dark leather with upgraded headlamps. They should really upgrade their tail lamps instead.

3. Driving parallel to other cars at the same speed, much lower than the prescribed limit. And this holds true for bikes as well. When you have the chance to overtake, just gear down and do so, but somehow people want to stick to their 5th gear and wait for the sun to rise up.

Outside Bangalore Club, a bike overtaking from the left brushes against a new Innova and peels the bumper off. I tried to assist in replacing the bumper back but all the mounting points snapped off. The bumper can be salvaged but the plastic mounting frame needs to be replaced. The grill snapped its mounting points. Biker was detained. Cop came to sort out.