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I think what he meant was that the word 'freak' needn't be used to describe an accident, since both of them represent 'an unusual or unexpected occurrence'. Another example of a superfluous adjective is the word 'free' when you say, "I got a free gift with my purchase."

I hope I'm right, Sensei Thad?

As for coconuts, from where I'm from, people consider a coconut falling on one's head as a sign of good luck! :uncontrol

I think "freak" requires something much more than unexpected!
The British Admiralty Manual of Seamanship specifically warns against the danger of taking shelter (in case of shipwreck) under coconut trees, as nut falling on nut can be lethal. If people haven't read the Admiralty manual, that's their fault. No freak accident :uncontrol.

Seriously, though, yes, on the rarest of occasions stuff falls out of the sky, or circumstances combine in really unforeseeable ways, and a freak accident can result. Which is not the same thing as the media spelling accident "freakaccident."

Actually, I'm glad to say that I don't see this particular piece of knee-jerk English as often as I used to.

^^ Ha ha, this actually happened a few years ago to one of our office cars, a Toyota Corolla! An executive had taken it to an auditor office at Mahalingapuram. He did not notice the coconut tree under which he had parked, and when he came back the roof was severely damaged, with the offending coconut lying nearby! I think it cost around 20k to fix it at that time!

Thanks to Bibin John for sending these pics in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing them with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!

How did the Dzire manage to get away with so few injuries?? :Shockked:
Maybe the older generation was better built?

Looks like a case of the Kwid ramming a truck and then being rammed from behind by a heavy vehicle at a good speed.

The driver would have survived but rear passengers - No.

I think it boils down to the design of these poles. They are currently designed to break especially during the above mentioned scenario. The rods inside these poles are having very less thickness so they break under pressure and some energy of the impact is absorbed.

These RCC poles are built only to take the load of the cable guide and the cables on top; plus they're built at a price with cuts:D

I've seen poles disintegrate in situ (the cement coming off, exposing corroded rods within) and then needing immediate replacement.

There may be two reason why the pole could not do the kind a of damage a tree trunk would.


1. A tree has solid roots to the ground, while the pole would not have such a solid base. It can be uprooted with far lesser force.


2. The pole has a tapering design and the width reduces as you move up the pole. So, it could not do much damage to the roof of the car after falling over it.

Trees not only have good roots, but they also have some elasticity, to help them survive wind. Bad things to hit as that also gives them some springiness: the tree hits back!

In this accident, I would be terrified to even move in case of electrocution :eek:

Spotted this recent accident on the Vandalur Kelambakkam road in Chennai this morning:








This is a poorly designed junction with poor visibility and high speeds usually involved. It was a VW Vento and a Bajaj Discover. There was no helmet to be found (which may or may not confirm our suspicion as to whether it was worn by the rider)

Shocking and sad at the same time! He was a highly respected person, a doctor, UPSC 2nd rank holder, a doctrate from Harward University, a good stint as the sub divisional magistrate, and was loved by all. He had a lot of enemies after his fight against the illegal land mafia and corruption.

But what he did is shocking! I just couldn't believe it. His father Dr.PR.Venkitaraman is a great motivation speaker.

Like they say, 'Faster you climb, Faster you fall'

The party where he got drunk may have been for a few hours, but its these hours that destroyed all his years of hard work took to achieve what he was till yesterday!

His illustrious career has come to an end.

agree: Accept your statement. But I used Freak because the person who caused it was the last one i expected to end up in this situation. A doctor, A UPSC second rank holder and a man who fought vehemently against the land mafia in munnar and devikulam. I personally loved him and his work. And he himself was present in lots of road safety campaigns. Never ever expected he would do something so stupid.


Exactly my thoughts. Had lots of respect for him. As you said, a few hours of celebration for his new post and a lifetime's hard work is gone. And not to forget, a valuable life of a young journalist, a father of 2 small children, also lost due to his stupidity.

I feel most of the media is very much biased and they wanted to hang him for this. In one of the article i have read, which is in Malayalam, its mentioned that he had in fact helped the victim to be taken to the hospital and asked the hospital to do the needful.

Quote from the Newspaper translated to English

"The accident occurred 50 m away from the museum police station. When the officials of the museum station heard the sound of the accident, they spotted the injured Basheer being carried by Sriram Venkitraman. Sriram asked the police to call the ambulance. According to eyewitnesses, Shriram Venkitraman had also called the hospital saying an accident case is coming to the hospital, without anyone accompanying, and requested them do the needful."

One point in that article that caught my attention is that, the car that got into that accident, which belonged to the lady, was booked 3 times for over speeding before also. Sriram denied he was behind the wheels. so if you connect the dots, there is something fishy.

Link to the article : https://www.asianetnews.com/kerala-n...araman-pvnf4r?

Had never heard of him before, and only learnt something about him from posts here. Horribly easily to destroy our lives in a short time. It is worth pondering for all of us.

Are the circumstances hearsay and media reporting at this time? Not that I have followed closely, but what about the actions of the two-wheeler?

Might not be relevant, but I remember, in my foolish youth, saying "I'll drive carefully so as to not get caught or have an accident." A wiser person reminded me that the accident might well be someone else's fault, but one would still get caught for driving under the influence.

I'm much older now. And teetotal.