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-   -   Accidents in India | Pics & Videos (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-safety/109249-accidents-india-pics-videos-2205.html)

I'm all for being cognizant of risks pertaining to one's car. Everyone needs to have the humility that comes with the knowledge that there are absolutely no guarantees in road safety - not NCAP, not if we drive a tough BoF car...nothing is absolute and results may vary in real world conditions. It's better to avoid or mitigate risks by staying sensible on the road :thumbs up

Sadly, such wisdom is lost upon the general public who think tall and wide means the ultimate. Very often, monikers like "king of the road", "tank on wheels", "fortress" etc. are used liberally in general discussions as well. This may also lead to a perception of
misplaced confidence.

An accident is -

(1) an "error" (human judgement/oversight OR mechanical/electronic/infrastructure by machines/structures)

coinciding with

(2) a "circumstance" (position of vehicle near a road/civil structure/tree , position of vehicle relative to other vehicles , rain or fog etc etc)

and resulting in a catastrophy.

That coincidence has a low probability. Most of the times, without the circumstance being present, the errors that occur, do not result in a tragic outcome, which leads people to falsely assume and believe that (1) is not happening with either me or my car. People misunderstand the lack of (2) to be lack of (1), and continue reinforcing bad driving habits and continue neglecting the timely maintenance of their vehicle. (1) is occurring with far far higher probability, just that it almost never meets the right kind of (2) to result in a catastrophic accident.

The best safety feature is the ability of a car to outmaneuver and avoid an accident (if it can be done so) - like a sudden lane change or a mousse maneuver etc. A regular monocoque hatchback/sedan will be more capable of executing such maneuvers , than a large BoF SUV or a pseudo-SUV with high ground clearance, which might overturn easily when encountering an eccentrically located stone or quick steering input.

One circumstance that I can think of, where the height of an SUV acts like an advantage is when running into the back/sides of trucks without rear/side underrun bars. A sedan/hatch with lower ground clearance, the A-pillar will directly take the force of impact, rather than the entire crash structure underneath the bonnet, whilst in an SUV with a high ground clearance and a "risen-up" bonnet and front structure, the crash structure will come into effect.

But in most other accidents - last minute correction can "catch the vehicle back" , and in those situations, a normal car stands a better chance of aiding this to happen, rather than a giant SUV. The "big and tall SUV like shape means safety" - is yet another falsely reinforced belief.

Saw this one during a road trip through NH66 towards Cochin. Half of the front portion of the Bolero pickup was somehow missing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU22zueH7Ls

Such a clean sharp cut in engine bay as if it hit a knife blade.

Was it a case where the outer shell sheared off, but main structure and powertrain wasn't impacted significantly ?

Good to see the LH headlamp working, it gives sufficient warning oncoming vehicles.

Proper rain occasionally and mostly drizzling conditions. No fog. Sodium street lights were present and working. Fair visibility. I was cruising at 70-80 kmph in the middle lane when a Innova on the right lane suddenly swerved onto my lane to avoid debris including bumper parts. Though it was a fresh accident with people waiting for the ambulance, none of the lights (including the hazard lights) of the Sonet were working.

We are seeing so many guesses for "speed of vehicle at the time of accident" in this thread. IMHO, there is a high chance that such guesses can be wildly off the mark.
Impact speed is the relative speed between the two colliding objects (it will be equal to the travelling speed of the vehicle only if the thing being collided against is a stationary object). Hence, a 100kph car can just bumper-kiss the rear of a 98kph car that's ahead; whilst two 30kph cars colling head on, can result in a serious accident.

- NCAP tests are done at the most @64-66kph against a stationary obstacle (the type and material strength of different objects in the real world, compared to the NCAP stationary obstacle, also plays a role, but that will complicate the discussion)

- If the collision speed increases to 90-93kph , the collision energy has doubled. Yes, a 41% increase in speed has resulted in 100% increase in energy that has to be dispensed by the crash structure (simple high school physics). Hence, two cars of similar weight, one travelling at 34 kph and the other travelling at 34kph ; if they collide headon - the impact energy is greater than what we see in the videos/pics of NCAP tests - the crash pics of these two vehicles may well end up looking very different.

- This is why NCAP rating is only a "guidance commentary" on the safety of a car , it's not an "assurance of safety". A lot of us misinterpret this.

Tata Nexon falls off bridge after accident. The owner of the Nexon says that he was travelling with his family including his mother, father and grandmother when the accident happened.

A bike rider was trying to overtake the car when another motorcycle rider from the opposite side came and hit the Nexon head-on. This caused the driver to lose control and the Nexon fell off a small bridge into the field sideways.

However, the owner has mentioned that everyone inside the vehicle was safe and escaped with only minor injuries, thanks Tata quality for saving lives.

To be honest, what saved him was pure luck on the way the car landed on it's side and not the roof, and the fact that the water level was below the window line!

While the safety of the vehicle is appreciated, what happened of the bike rider ? Seems like everyone forgot that character! There is no mention of what happened to the rider after that. The bike seems to have received a good amount of damage.

Accidents IN INDIA happen due to the following reasons.

1. Rash Driving
2. Not following the road rules
3. Lethargic and careless driving
4. Lack of accountability
5. Attitude that the rich/heavy vehicle owner can be safe even if there is an accident just with vehicle damage
6. Overconfidence of and overestimating the vehicles capabilities and limitations
7. Improper and inappropriate vehicle modifications

99% of drivers/riders are confused between fast driving and rash driving. Most of the road users actually do rash driving/riding.

How many of them follow the "Keep Left" rule especially on the highways. What's that attitude that makes the driver of the heavy vehicle (6 wheeler or more) drive on the rightmost lane always irrespective of the speed?

How many of them strictly follow the one-way rule?

And of course, it's very unfortunate and true that the law book is not the same for everyone. The penalties, fines, punishments are not the same as well as not severe.

The major responsibility and accountability should be from the public which is significantly missing let alone blaming the government.

This is because of 2-wheelers riding on the left side and heavy vehicles don't want to make sudden left movement when someone overtakes from the right or for any other reason.

There are many recent examples of people being idiots in US and UK. Being developed nation doesn't mean their people have become more responsible. Stupidity is everywhere. But in those countries rules and laws are enforced properly and even the stupid public has to follow them. If left unchecked there will not be much difference from here. By repeatedly following them daily they get used to it and adapt to it. Our govt. needs to be strict, fair and consistent with implementation of rules. If its done here then the public will follow them too. I am not absolving idiotic drivers in any way.

Two very freak accidents in and around Nagpur city respectively during the last two days. The first one reports (reported on 14.07.2021) the death of a pillion rider on a TVS Jupiter, that was being driven rashly. The rider was also injured while trying to overtake a water tanker when the two wheeler crashed into the heavy vehicle. The pillion rider was carrying a glass bottle of liquor in his pocket, which was shattered and the glass shards pierced into his abdomen killing him.



The second reported accident in today's paper (15.07.2021) is about a mentally-ill person who was pelting stones on oncoming vehicles on the N.H. 6. The incident occurred in the outskirts of Nagpur city. A truck heading towards Bhandara town ( about 60 kms east of Nagpur city) was hit by a stone and the driver suddenly applied brakes. A State Transport bus moving at a high speed was trailing this truck and its driver tried to apply brakes, but hit the truck from the rear. The right part of the bus was damaged and the bus went off the road. Seven persons in all, including the driver and the lady conductor and five passengers of the bus were injured. The mentally ill man fled the spot.



Both these accidents are among the rarest of rare ones, but just observe how much harmful these were. Both were cases of rash and negligent driving too !

We are talking ONLY about India here and not other countries - I am most concerned about my Country and my people first.
Yes, the government needs to do its job. Irresponsible drivers are everywhere in the world - that does not justify the reason for road accidents and mishaps where precious lives are lost.
Governments in India definitely MUST enforce the rules and execute the punishments - No second thought about it.

Saw this damaged Creta car yesterday on my way back from the town, appears to be the new model, which had taken a hit on right side. It had sustained damages, and looks like a collision with the parked truck, but that did not appear to have any damages, at least on appearance, and luckily no one has been injured. I suppose it could be a result of the extreme wet weather.

https://youtu.be/MtJo55jG3Q4