Team-BHP - Accidents in India

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Originally Posted by neeraj0272 (Post 5211312)

Real remedy is to control these very minor numbers of drivers who do rash driving rather than punishing the majority of car owners who may use Alto or Merc. Key is that there should be responsible driving. And very harsh penalties for rash driving plus there should be a regulation to keep in check acceleration as well as speed.

As a road user, that is something not in our control. We cannot hope for everyone to be responsible on the road. With the most stringent law and order, there will still be irresponsible or drunk drivers on the road. And we all know that law works differently for the rich and famous, like it or not.

However, there is one thing which is totally under our control - opt for safer cars, even if it is just for city drives. Driving a safer car does not imply that we are invincible; it just increases our probability of survival in case of a crash.

The most important thing, as you said, is 'responsible driving'.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neeraj0272 (Post 5211264)

These luxury cars cause a disproportionate number of accidents.

Got any numbers on this? Considering the sheer volume of middle class in our country and the cars we tend to buy, perhaps the statistics may not agree with your claim.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neeraj0272 (Post 5211264)

Maybe the govt should regulate the acceleration of vehicles also just like their is speed limit laws.

There's a new large road in Hyderabad with an unnecessarily low, and excessively enforced 30kph speed limit. When asked about it, police said that people can contest the fine if their speed was under 60kph and it will be waived. Upon further questioning, the guy who ordered 30kph signs to be put up exclaimed that if he put 60kph signs then people would go way too fast so that's why he went for 30kph so that way it will be more safe :Frustrati such arbitrary over-thinking is what came to mind when I read this.

Did you know that acceleration can also aid safety; reduced time spent in the outside lane or on the oncoming side when overtaking, can simply get you out of the way quicker if someone jumps a signal and is on their way to t-bone you, aids manipulation of weight shift and balance that can be required during emergency maneuvers.

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Originally Posted by mvadg (Post 5211327)

I am talking about the mental state of the driver. I think defending superbikes and oversized-engine cars in this context is the same as the gun lobby defending guns.

You mean to say the driver was in a murderous mental state? Careless, drunk, egotistical perhaps but you honestly believe he took his car out simply to fulfil some urge to kill? :Frustrati Come on. The more time we spend not being able to discern between crimes and understand the reasons or contributing factors behind each, the more such accidents will continue to occur.

I had an minor accident in a Tata Tigor taxi yesterday.
We were going at ~60 km/h on undivided highway near Surajgarha, Bihar when a biker decided to turn right without looking - he got perpendicular to our direction. Our driver applied brakes and car must have skidded 15-20 feet before hitting the biker. Impact happened at not less than 25 kmph - He was thrown off couple of feet and only then the skidding came to a halt. Thankfully we weren't hurt at all because all of us were belted up (me+wife+kid in back seat and driver). The guy was shaken initially but quickly got up and within 2 minutes, around 10 of his folks came and started threatening us. Shit was about to hit fan when fortunately for us, some sensible folks from surrounding villages appeared at the scene and hearing the story, deduced that biker was to be blamed for negligent crossing of the highway. They took some money from us and assured us that they will handle him - I got a feeling that they had some bone to grind with that guy :confused:.

Anyway neither airbags deployed nor ABS helped as the car skidded. I guess all 4 tires must have locked up at the same instant so the ECU might have seen all tire speeds as 0, which probably explains why ABS, airbags didn't work in this case. Plausible??
The car was barely 2 months old - It got a dislodged bumper which fouled with the tires when the car turned (bumper was severely torn too but the attached pic doesn't capture it properly) and its AC didn't work as the condenser got damaged - we later saw a warning light in MID but it wasn't CEL. But it hauled us further 150 kms to destination without incident.

Quote:

Originally Posted by electro-monk (Post 5211912)

I had an minor accident in a Tata Tigor taxi yesterday.
...
Our driver applied brakes and car must have skidded 15-20 feet before hitting the biker.
...
Anyway neither airbags deployed nor ABS helped as the car skidded. I guess all 4 tires must have locked up at the same instant so the ECU might have seen all tire speeds as 0, which probably explains why ABS, airbags didn't work in this case. Plausible??
...

Glad everyone is fine, but the whole purpose of ABS is to ensure the car does not skid. From the pictures, airbags were definitely not required but the wheels should not have locked and if they really did, this needs to be checked.

Do you think the driver felt the ABS pulsations and slightly released his leg from the brake and only braked fully after the impact ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by electro-monk (Post 5211912)

I had an minor accident in a Tata Tigor taxi yesterday.

Good to know that you guys are safe.

The vehicle got a white registration plate. It seems to be a private vehicle, not taxi. Although, I know in some parts of India private vehicles are used as taxi. I understand that there may be some implications (such as insurance) if a private vehicle is used as taxi to carry passengers and meet with an accident.

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Originally Posted by airbus (Post 5212057)

Although, I know in some parts private vehicles are used as taxi. I understand there may be some implications such as insurance if a private vehicle is used as taxi to carry passengers and meet with an accident.

They are used in a lot of rural and semi-urban areas across the length and breadth of the country and the vehicles range from an Eeco to an Innova Crysta as well.

The drivers train every occupant including kids during a hire service on how to respond to cops when they probe them to ascertain if the private car is being used as a taxi.

There are also many sectors where they are used a point to point service taxis ferrying passengers from location A to B with quite a few trips per day.

At some of the popular tourist destinations like Chamundi Hills in Mysore or Goa too, have seen cops flag down these suspicious looking vehicles where they are certain that the whiteboard is being misused as a taxis. Their prey are usually White board Force Trax, Eecos, Taveras, Sumos which is often seen loaded with max passengers and luggage and are an easy guess for the cops too.

Thanks for concern guys!

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Originally Posted by fiat_tarun (Post 5211987)

I didn't ask him if he felt pulsations, i just thought so as there were skid marks on road and I clearly heard the screeching sound. I felt the vehicle was almost sliding without much reduction in speed.

The angle of the picture doesn't make it apparent but the bumper was dangling and torn.

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Originally Posted by airbus (Post 5212057)

As paragsachania said, it is quite common everywhere. I can't count the number of times I have sat in white board Scorpios on state highways there - not much prevalent in bangalore though. I am actually quite sick of the nervous handling and floaty feeling in the back seat of Scorpio (the Tigor though has a superb ride and confident handling -credit where its due:thumbs up).
I also thought fastag is mandatory for every new car purchased now, but this particular one didn't have that as well. I had to cough up twice the toll amount everywhere.

This is a very tragic accident. Although there are rules for construction vehicles plying on public road, I doubt how much it is followed in reality. May the departed souls rest in peace.

Delhi: Couple killed as dumper crushes car, child saved.

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NEW DELHI: In a grim tragedy that again underlined how Delhi's roads become death-traps at night, a couple lost their lives when a dumper overturned and crushed their i20 car near Hyatt Regency Hotel on Ring Road around midnight Wednesday. Their six-year-old daughter had a miraculous escape and was rescued by cops and firemen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neeraj0272 (Post 5211298)

I don't have the data as to the total number of luxury cars vs total number of cars and that of total number of accidents caused by luxury vehicles vs total number of accidents caused by all the vehicles. But I don't think this generalisation is wrong.
These luxury cars due to their acceleration, their weight and general attitude of invincibility that comes to their drivers' mind coupled with the fact that money can win anything is what causes these disproportionate number of accidents.
I would blame turbo push also as there is a sudden acceleration when turbo starts up and in city traffic you have to be really mindful to keep this turbo push in check.

This isn't a BMW 530d. It's a E220d, probably one of the slowest cars you can purchase at that price point. With a timing of 0 to 100 of 9.24 seconds, it is not much faster than a Hyundai i10 Nios turbo petrol.

Quote:

Originally Posted by electro-monk (Post 5211912)

Shit was about to hit fan when fortunately for us, some sensible folks from surrounding villages appeared at the scene and hearing the story, deduced that biker was to be blamed for negligent crossing of the highway. They took some money from us and assured us that they will handle him - I got a feeling that they had some bone to grind with that guy :confused:.

Not likely looks like a scam with those folks in cahoots with the biker and sharing the moolah after you left the scene, reminds me of Vadivelu comedy in one of the tamil movies. Where they stage an accident and the group shares the spoils after a "successful" stage!