Team-BHP - Accidents in India

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Originally Posted by arunphilip (Post 4491733)

In principle, yes. In reality, hard to judge not knowing the circumstances.

Yes, indeed.

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We also have to realize that on these roads of ours, bad stuff happens. Any of us (myself included), might sit here pontificating about how the driver made a mistake, thinking we might not do likewise, and we'd just as likely blunder into some manner of accident the next day. Because we're human. We're not infallible. Because we've got fighting kids in the backseat. Because our front-seat passenger just spilt a bottle of water startling us. And that's just distractions in the car.
That's also the reason why safety standards mandate both ABS and airbags. One might keep us out of trouble, but the other helps us once we get into it.

And it is the reason why, more than any of those things, awareness and defensive driving are the most important.

(Aside. I passed my British driving test second time. After the formality was over, I mentioned to the examiner that he, unlike the first guy, had not made me feel nervous. He made a really great point: "If the driving test can make you that nervous, you are not ready to drive! What about screaming babies and relatives?)

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And that's why I'd agree with Arwin about underrun bars (and thereafter, seatbelts in the car, if they weren't worn) - this could very easily have been an accident that had people walking away with a written-off car, bruises, headaches and sore muscles, rather than an incident leading to funerals.

There are rules, and sensible safe design, and nothing should make them seem any less important. But still, actually missing stuff on the roads is the number-one way to stay alive.

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Originally Posted by dailydriver (Post 4491749)

A friend's father, a man with rich experience and a very practical head, once told me that we needn't be too much worried about what damage a Government (KSRTC) bus' front can cause to others; rather, one must watch and be wary of its backside. That's where the real sting lies!

Indeed. The rear wheels are far enough forward that the rear can still swing towards you even though almost all of the bus is past. Been stung!

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Originally Posted by for_cars1 (Post 4491853)

Private buses are are always driven very rashly ...

Sure. Again, it is part of what is wrong with our road-traffic scenario that those who drive public-service vehicles, from autos to buses, should be better and more more qualified than the rest of us. They are not.

... OK, that is actually a little unfair. I'd hate to drive a cab for a living. Even more so, I'd hate to drive a bus, especially in the city.

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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 4491681)

Yes, true. But it is even more depressing that people drive into the back of something the size of a bus.

Very true.

This is compounded by the fact that the buses seldomly have brake lights working and the following vehicle tailgates not following the golden 3-second rule.

Sometimes, I get scared of people following me in an 800 or an alto at pretty decent speeds very close to my car. I know I can stop my car, but even if I stop, I am pretty sure the car following me cannot stop in time. Sometimes, when we have to brake hard, we also have to let go of the brake to come to a halt closer to the object that we wanted to avoid, just because the car following me cannot stop in time and may rear end me.

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Originally Posted by dailydriver (Post 4491749)

we needn't be too much worried about what damage a Government (KSRTC) bus' front can cause to others; rather, one must watch and be wary of its backside

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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 4491869)

The rear wheels are far enough forward that the rear can still swing towards you even though almost all of the bus is past.

A family friend of ours lost their only daughter in an accident that happened at a traffic signal, over 15 years ago. She was riding pillion with her husband, on a bike - no helmets as the rule wasn't there in the first place. At the signal, they had stopped near the rear wheel of a lorry, which wanted to turn right. Lights turned green, the lorry made the turn, the rear left corner of its load body hit her behind the head, and she fell down on the road. Her husband, unaware that she had fallen, moved forward a few metres before realising it. The lorry driver was clueless, as expected. The doctors who conducted the postmortem opined that the impact was such that she might not even have realised what had happened and it was instant death. Both the families - the husband and his parents and the lady's parents, took a very long time for closure.

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Originally Posted by govigov (Post 4491872)

Sometimes, I get scared of people following me in an 800 or an alto at pretty decent speeds very close to my car. I know I can stop my car, but even if I stop, I am pretty sure the car following me cannot stop in time. Sometimes, when we have to brake hard, we also have to let go of the brake to come to a halt closer to the object that we wanted to avoid, just because the car following me cannot stop in time and may rear end me.

IMHO, when we notice another vehicle tailgating us, the safest way out is to slow down gradually to increase the gap in front of us and be on the look out for what happens ahead of the vehicle in front of us. This will give us precious time to brake and/or take evasive action without getting rear-ended.

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Originally Posted by govigov (Post 4491872)

even if I stop, I am pretty sure the car following me cannot stop in time.

because the car following me cannot stop in time and may rear end me.

Exactly the thing happened a few weeks back when I was on the service lane going from Hebbal towards Manyata. To account for the sharp break applied by the car in front, I had to do the same too. Behind me was a Duster who did the same successfully (and thankfully!). But the poor duster guy was not lucky himself - another car behind him rear-ended the Duster. I could see the Duster guy in my rear-view mirror stepping out and from what I could decipher, seething in anger! Being in hurry, as we usually are, I couldn't stop to help calm their nerves.

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Originally Posted by silversteed (Post 4491958)

the lorry made the turn, the rear left corner of its load body hit her behind the head, and she fell down on the road.

Very heart breaking. The description reminded me of quite a few episodes and one blatant one where drivers try to overtake at turnings and end up making life difficult for everyone. I am not suggesting the couple in your case was doing that, but the visualization in my mind just reminded me -

On the Bannerghatta road, I was making a U-turn near the Reliance Mart - Turned on my right indicator, lowered the windows to give the hand indicator too, things were going fine until I hear a two-wheeler (no helmets, of course) bang in towards the rear on the drivers side of the vehicle - The idiot was trying to make a right turn and thought he could maneuver a sharp overtake from the right while I was making the U-turn!

With a larger truck, if he were to pull the same stunt, the damages would be much more expensive (life and material).

I see such phenomena on a very regular basis.

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Originally Posted by Arwin07 (Post 4491606)

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...78306292226092

Story is in Tamil. But the picture is worth a thousand words.

(Pic courtesy: Sun news Tamil).

A Swift Dzire rear ended a state government bus in Chennai-Trichy highway. 3 men dead, 1 woman injured and a child walks away without injuries.

Read that bus driver attempted to took a right turn without any indication & all of sudden. Picture was after the collision happened & we don't know how it transpired. With bigger margin of speed difference, you're right there on tail before the bus driver could even imagine. Its very difficult to manoeuvre in such circumstances. In such scenario may be its not tailgating, may be object fixation or little room to negotiate or higher speeds.

Defensive driving is good to practice & will surely help, but such situation throw bigger challenge/damage than we expect. Bad time/position to be in for those unlucky souls. RIP

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Originally Posted by Surprise (Post 4492173)

Read that bus driver attempted to took a right turn without any indication & all of sudden.

Defensive driving is good to practice & will surely help, but such situation throw bigger challenge/damage than we expect. Bad time/position to be in for those unlucky souls. RIP

This nearly happened to me back in September. I was with family, on the Trichy-chennai highway and kept doing a sedate 80 Kmph on the way to Chennai from Kuttralam at around 11 PM when 1 state government operated bus suddenly stopped in the slow lane to pick up somebody. Another government operated bus behind it darted into the fast lane, where I was just behind it. What was I to do but to veer right on an impulse - where luckily there was a break in the median for crossing traffic. I somehow managed to go around the bus by using the 20 - 30 feet of the break in the median. If there'd been no break in the median, I'd have been one of those cars that fly into oncoming traffic :eek:

Very unpleasant thoughts, those are. I'm thankful for having done a relatively sedate speed.

Here in Hyderabad, the govt. run buses just own the whole road. Almost similar behavior of the govt. bus drivers in KA. In OD, the govt. buses are disciplined while the local private ones are a bit unruly. What I have observed is:

At any crossing or junction, these buses won't slow down even there's traffic in front of them. Rather they even speed up some times to scare people out of their way. If and when they have to stop, they will brake hard at the very last moment. I was witness to a BMTC Volvo rear ending a Figo in a similar situation.

They will take the right most lane in the road and drive close to the vehicle in front. Then they will move to the left lane at their will to pick or drop passengers. One has to look out for the bus stands to know when the bus will take a left. If no designated bus stand, the bus could take a left just anywhere.

If they can't move to the left, they will stop right in the middle of the road and people will start stepping out of the bus. One such day, my cousin was on his way riding to office and a bus stopped in the middle of the road. He swerved to the left to pass the bus and right then, a person stepped out of the bus onto his bike's fuel tank. Both of them fell but since my cousin was at crawling speed, there wasn't any injury.

Imagine going on the 4 lane highway and you approach a village/town. There's a break in the median ahead and you slow down. You see a bus coming on the opposite side of the road and the bus driver sees you. You continue going straight and suddenly the bus takes a 90-degree turn, through the break in the median and stops there to drop a few passengers, completely blocking the highway in the process. Then it proceeds into a narrow lane which happens to be a bus stand.

Govt. buses going at full steam in the wrong way on the Hyd <-> BLR highway has been a regular sight for me. That's to avoid a U-turn even though it was barely 1-2 kms away.

The drivers have great unity. They will stop all the other govt. buses and the respective drivers/conductors will come together to frighten anyone and everyone. This is irrespective of being at fault or innocent.

All in all, I understand these drivers burnt the driving rules book the day they joined their job. They fear no one and continue doing their job. It's safe to maintain as much distance as possible from these vehicles on any road.

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Originally Posted by Moto_Hill (Post 4490311)

Regarding the poor safety ratings Punto got. It feels so safe and solid and tight from inside and outside that the poor ratings personally never bothered me. All three of us coming out unscratched from an accident like this is the biggest safety assessment. It was one of the major positives when buying her and she didn't let me down when it mattered.

Agree on this for sure. Just sitting inside a well built car like the Punto, Linea, Rapid is enough assurance. Between which car are you planning next?

Man Clings to Car Roof for 6 km After Road Rage Takes Deadly Turn in Ghaziabad.

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Onlookers captured the incident on mobile phones wherein a Zen Estilo, driven by the accused, is seen carrying 35-year-old Rajesh Diwan on the roof of the car while he held on to the window frames.

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According to Diwan, the incident took place around 7pm on Thursday. A report in the Hindustan Times quoted him as saying: “I had come to Ghaziabad to meet a friend and was waiting at a traffic signal in Sahibabad. The accused arrived in his car and banged my Swift Dzire from the rear. The accused started to reverse and flee. When I came out of the car and tried to stop him, he abused me and fled. I then decided to give chase, and soon, near Raj Nagar Extension, I overtook his car.”

Diwan said the scuffle turned ugly when he stood in front of Sharma’s car and asked him to stop. He said Sharma accelerated and tried to mow him down. “I climbed to the bonnet of his car but he continued to drive. In order to save myself, I climbed on to the roof of his car. But he kept driving at a speed of 80kmph and above. "

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