Team-BHP - Accidents in India

Here in Hyderabad most of the zebra crossings are not covered by a proper signal. I dont know whether same goes here or not as it is not clear from the footage. But given that bus was normally moving, apparently the signal was either green for cars or there were no signal at all. If there was green signal then biker is at fault. If the signal was green then the pedestrian. But if there was no signal then the infrastructure is clearly at fault, who failed to understand a proper signal is necessary for somebody to cross the road.

More than anything else, I am shocked to see the headline of news channel. "Speeding Bike", "Priest".. They can surely make C grade masala movie. A leading media got to have certain sense of responsibilities. How long you want to make money out of everything??

Quote:

Originally Posted by for_cars1 (Post 4431926)

However in this case, the biker is clearly not in a position to see the person crossing the road due to the bus obstructing his view.

YOU SAID IT!!!!
The biker couldn't see.
Then, the biker need to slow down.
He would have been far wiser [and safer] if he did not try to overtake the bus and use the bus as his shield against any pedestrians crossing at the ZEBRA.
If he crossed the ZEBRA along with the bus, with the bus getting onto the strip first, the priest would have gone home long ago and we all would have saved many key strokes :Frustrati

Well, how can it be bikers fault?
When one is used to overtake from wrong side all the time, take non-existing gaps and cut other vehicles hundred times everyday, it is common sense to expect pedestrian to yield for you vehicles on zebra crossings!

If you talk to most riders they don't see anything wrong in cutting vehicles on roads or overtake around a turning vehicle. Once I was waiting at air pump behind another car and a biker. A second biker comes and joins the queue in front of me (not behind!). When I questioned him, his answer was it's common sense :deadhorse

On zebra crossing pedestrians have right of way, it is motorist/rider's responsibility to expect, observe, slow down & stop for people crossing. Period.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 4432584)

Never been there, but pretty much everywhere in Western Europe.

During my driving lessons once I missed the stop line. The instructor apologised to the pedestrian and for the rest of my course every single day I was lectured about how to approach pedestrian crossings.

Your location says 'Bangalore'. Do you drive in Bangalore? Why I ask is because I find it amusing that you find it fair to draw a comparison between Western Europe and India as far our roads are concerned. Even as I type, there is a thread right here on TBhp on the 'Rants on Bangalore's traffic situation' alone, running into 1059 pages and still counting. As far as the Indian roads, traffic and pedestrians are concerned, Western Europe is 'Utopia'. You have earned a driving license in the Utopia of the driving world where people actually respect traffic rules, adhere to speed limits, drive on the correct side of the road, obey traffic signals, follow lane discipline, do not honk unnecessarily, overtake from the correct side, stop at zebra crossings, generally ride/drive without being a nuisance to other road users, pedestrians do not jaywalk and use the foot paths and cross where they are supposed to, where vehicles are not overloaded, where people have patience, where people use their common sense - the list is endless, actually.

I assume you have an Indian driving license too? How was your experience compared to your experience in Germany?

So please, let's not compare Western Europe, Germany included, to Indian driving style. That would be futile in this accident that we were talking about. This was very much a typical Indian driving/riding/road crossing scenario. If it had happened, if at all, in Western Europe, the comments and posts here would have been entirely different.

Everyone on the roads just needs to slow down. It is not as if speeding up/ cutting across vehicles is going to save the average person from the clogged up traffic further ahead.
I have tried both ways and slowing down by a few kmph increased a few minutes of driving time but reduced my blood pressure by a lot. We are not in a race, no one is monitoring our riding/ driving as auditions for the next moto GP/ F1 race.
Take your time, take a few deep breaths. The extra few seconds here would have saved the priest an extended stay in the hospital and the biker multiple trips to the police stations. It could be much worse; just slow down everyone and enjoy your ride/ drive.
As of date, if someone wants to go faster, I just allow them to pass. Let us see how long that lasts for lol:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acharya (Post 4432640)

If you talk to most riders they don't see anything wrong in cutting vehicles on roads or overtake around a turning vehicle. Once I was waiting at air pump behind another car and a biker. A second biker comes and joins the queue in front of me (not behind!). When I questioned him, his answer was it's common sense :deadhorse

It may be common, but there is definitely no sense in such behaviour.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCORPION (Post 4432687)

Yes, I drive in Bangalore (and an occasional contributor to that thread you speak of). But I did not draw a comparison with Western Europe and India. What I said was that driving habits that include adequate respect for pedestrians is not a Utopian concept, but something that is being practised daily in Western Europe (and presumably elsewhere; I have seen it in Sri Lanka too) and hence it is not an unattainable target.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCORPION (Post 4432687)

I assume you have an Indian driving license too? How was your experience compared to your experience in Germany?

I haven't driven in Germany, not sure why you are bringing it up (maybe you are confusing me with someone else?). Mine's mostly in Spain and UK. The point is that even today I drive India the way I used to drive in Europe 10 years ago. It is not tough to practice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCORPION (Post 4432687)

So please, let's not compare Western Europe, Germany included, to Indian driving style. That would be futile in this accident that we were talking about. This was very much a typical Indian driving/riding/road crossing scenario.

Let me put it this way. If I were in that biker's position I wouldn't have ended up in that accident. And I truly believe it is something everyone can practice, irrespective of the road conditions in India.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 4433097)

What I said was that driving habits that include adequate respect for pedestrians is not a Utopian concept, but something that is being practised daily in Western Europe (and presumably elsewhere; I have seen it in Sri Lanka too) and hence it is not an unattainable target.

Absolutely agree. I am in no way advocating that pedestrians should not be respected. They should be and they have every right to use the road. In the Indian context, analysing this accident, if I were to apportion a percentage blame, the pedestrian is 50% to blame, the biker 20%, the authorities who made that thoughtless crossing there 20% and the bus 10%, for blocking the entire right lane.
Things are very different in India and achieving the standards of road usage and etiquettes in developed countries certainly looks like a distant dream. We are light-years away. It could easily take us another century to reach anywhere near those levels. I doubt the mindset of people on the road has changed much since the last 50 years. If at all, it is only becoming worse each day.

Consider the same scenario, like you said, in Western Europe. Let's see what would have been different in that CCTV footage:

1. The zebra crossing wouldn't have been in that location. Had it been there, seeing it is such a busy road, there would have been a pedestrian crossing light with a switch that can be activated by the pedestrian. Or a foot over bridge instead.
2. A warning sign to motorists that a zebra crossing is coming up ahead - may be it is there here too, not sure. But in all probability, no. I can see rumble strips just before the crossing though.
3. The bus would have been on the left lane.
4. The biker would have been within the speed limit.
5. Biker would have waited for the bus to move over, before overtaking.
6. Both of them would have slowed down after seeing the red light for the pedestrians to cross.
7. The pedestrian himself wouldn't have run across like his tail was on fire.
8. That scooter wouldn't have been parked where it is parked on the road near the zebra crossing. Would have been parked in a designated parking area.

These are a few things I can see which would have been different in a sane country, and the accident wouldn't have occurred in the first place.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 4433097)

I haven't driven in Germany, not sure why you are bringing it up (maybe you are confusing me with someone else?).

Sincere apologies. I mistook someone else's post as yours. I should have rechecked.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 4433097)

Let me put it this way. If I were in that biker's position I wouldn't have ended up in that accident.

Agreed. Even if 10% of the Indian populace thought like you and me and like several others here, our roads would be a much nicer place to be in.

Mumbai: 4 injured after Jaguar rams into 10 vehicles, locals thrash driver

Quote:

Four people, including children, were injured and ten cars were damaged after a speeding Jaguar rammed into them in Mumbai’s Versova on Monday evening. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital. The driver of the Jaguar was apparently under the influence of alcohol and was thrashed by onlookers before he was handed over to the police. The locals damaged the car as well.

The driver, identified as Hitesh Golacha (45) allegedly lost control of the speeding Jaguar before ramming into the vehicles on a narrow road at New Madha Complex at around 7 pm in Versova.

It was only after police reached the spot and took the situation under control that Golacha was rushed to a hospital as he sustained injuries after locals thrashed him. He has been booked with rash and negligent driving under the Indian Penal Code, the police said.

Source:IndianExpress

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zwDMd46XRQ