Team-BHP - Accidents in India

Quote:

Originally Posted by sridhu (Post 5261696)

So, I managed to extract footage from the dash cam

I do not really see how I could have avoided the cow, under normal driving assumptions.

There is no way you could have avoided the collision in given circumstance. Just thank the god that there was no speeding truck behind you.

In future, you can. Maintain a safe distance with vehicle in front of you.

Probably you live in a state where you don't find cattles on the road frequently or wrong side traffic.

I live in Madhya Pradesh, cattles are everywhere on the road, Poor people don't want to keep them once they are not productive and there is ban on slaughter, resulting these stray cattles to use the road as their primary home.

I am well prepared for these situations and I keep around 50 mtrs of distance.

The other issue is wrong side driving. In Mahrashtra, wrong side driving is done mostly on the extreme left of the road. In MP and UP, there is no rule, a car / cycle / motor bike can appraoch you from either of the lane in high beam and full speed.

During turns, I shift to the lane which has more visibility.

Don't blame your driving skills here or do not feel guilty. We learn from our experiences.

There will be some situations, where you will have no control. Like this.
https://www.facebook.com/10003033073...522/?fs=e&s=cl

Quote:

Originally Posted by krishnakumar (Post 5261830)

I'd say the reason you hit the cow is because the XUV500 just saved themselves and dodged the cow. They didn't think of the road as a shared space, but just their own. I believe the XUV had a clear view of the cow because it doesn't seemed to have jumped on the road suddenly, instead was just walking slowly into the road. The priority for the XUV was to overtake that Swift and you can see how they went to almost the shoulder while dodging the cow.

Exactly my conclusion upon seeing the video. It would have been great if the XUV would have just stopped.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sridhu (Post 5261696)

So, I managed to extract footage from the dash cam

This takes me back some 35 years back when we were driving from then Bombay to Bangalore. At Ranebennur in Karnataka, our Ambasador mark 3 I guess hit a cow probably even at lesser speeds. I clearly remember seeing the cow flying at low height and after a few feet got up and went its way. What began later was a nightmare and still haunts me.

The villagers gathered and started demanding money and all that jazz. My father being a short tempered man he was, coolly got out and asked them to call the cops. He being a government employee was clear how to handle things. Then luckily for us in the crowd was a lawyer who apparently turned out to to be a junior to my grandfather who was a criminal lawyer back in his days.

Inspite of all this we still had to shell out 1.5K which was a big amount then and then the car had lost its radiator. Got that repaired/replaced at a nearby garage. The whole episode wasted our good 7 to 8 hours.

Lesson learnt - after all these years there is no system for free flow of traffic especially at such places where you can run into an animal most of the times...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bsimhan (Post 5262884)

Exactly my conclusion upon seeing the video. It would have been great if the XUV would have just stopped.

Yes- and this situation plays out on our roads everyday. We Indians abhor braking for some reason-as if it is a reflection of our poor driving/navigation skill. So everyday we deal with errant drivers who keep trying to squeeze into spaces they no right to be in, just because they do not want to break their speed. Do you not see this behavior in most pedestrians as well? The first reaction of every pedestrian while trying to cross the road, is to first attempt to cross the road. They look and stop later, but everybody takes the first step purposefully. This behavior makes me doubt the theory of evolution- we are still monkeys really.

In this case as well, we see the Dzire driver being a lot more responsible. The car was braking the moment it realized what was about to happen next. On the other hand, XUV sped up (it actively sped up) because it saw the cow, did not want to break its stride. It did not care about the Dzire on the left (who it would have hit if Dzire hadn't braked) or the traffic behind (which he may not have anticipated to be fair).

In doing so, these drivers act as bullies on the road and this is what the XUV did to the Dzire. Your accident was collateral damage.

And this is why it irritates me to no end when members of this forum talk about buying SUV because of the road presence. That road presence factor is only to bully others/not be bullied yourself. Keep up the mentality, and keep replaying these scenarios.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sushil Pingua (Post 5261865)

The best way to avoid such situations is too keep a more than safe distance from the vehicle running ahead. In the video, with respect to the speed the vehicles were moving at, the distance maintained between your vehicle and vehicle in front was not sufficient to brake-hard and avoid hitting the cow or swerve like the XUV to avoid the cow.

While driving with a German colleague once, he was talking about this rule which is applicable in Germany.
i.e. "German traffic authorities recommend one-half the speedometer reading in meters as a safe distance for following vehicles (for example, at 60 km/h, the recommended distance between vehicles is 30 meters). Greater distances should be used according to actual road conditions."
This gives enough time to stop or slow down in an event like this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sridhu (Post 5261696)

On review, I do not really see how I could have avoided the cow, under normal driving assumptions. (I did have about 2.5 seconds gap with the XUV.)

Sir, You just cannot . It is evident the XUV was blocking your path .

I am glad you walked out and away ,literally ! :)

But this is a classic nightmare of all the highway drives- Animals veering off on to the highways!

Quote:

Originally Posted by shifu (Post 5261851)

I beg to differ. I think the cow suddenly came on the road from the median. You can see the road ahead before the XUV came onto the right lane. There is no cow there.

I think we all can agree as a thumb rule that- when we see a cow/dog/buffalo roaming on the median and we are approaching it, especially when we are on the left-most lane, we slow down.

The XUV did the exact opposite and sped off avoiding the cow without giving a warning to the rear vehicles who had no clue about the obstacle.

This is a good lesson for many of us who are conditioned to dodge the obstacle rather than braking and thus warning the others.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sridhu (Post 5261696)

On review, I do not really see how I could have avoided the cow, under normal driving assumptions. (I did have about 2.5 seconds gap with the XUV.)

While planning for a road trip to Rajasthan, I was warned about stray cows coming in front from the middle divider in MP. Advise was to try and stick to the left lane to avoid this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sridhu (Post 5233490)

Like everyone else, I never wanted to be a part of this thread personally!

But, as fate would have it, I have an entry.

The car, afterwards
Attachment 2257812

Sorry to hear about this unfortunate incident but glad that you came out fine.
Last year once on a highway in Tamil Nadu, I hit a dog which suddenly jumped from the thick shrubs from the median, mostly try to cross as there were no vehicles in front of me. I was going at 80+ and there was hardly any time to react. I tried my best to slow down but a Royal Enfield was speeding on my left, so I didn't want to dodge the dog considering the bikers safety. Though I couldn't manage to come to a complete halt, speed would have come down to 10-20kmph still unfortunately hit the dog head on. I saw the dog getting up, standing and walking, so I was bit relieved but totally shaken for the rest of my journey. I was really fortunate the dog could get and walk and the car didn't suffer any damage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sridhu (Post 5261696)

On review, I do not really see how I could have avoided the cow, under normal driving assumptions. (I did have about 2.5 seconds gap with the XUV.)

The only clue is the Dezire in the left lane hitting the brakes.

You couldn't have avoided this. Most people couldn't have. From the dash cam footage, it's a clear case of blind spot for you however the XUV could have(not blaming them either as it's all instinct) slowed down as they had a view of the cows and the guy in the median barrier which should be considered as a red alert. However, in many cases, this would result in the car(XUV in this context) being rear ended especially if it's a heavy vehicle behind. Those vehicles won't come to a halt as opposed to light motor vehicles. So this can be considered as something beyond our control and I'm glad that there were no injuries/fatalities.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sridhu (Post 5261696)

On review, I do not really see how I could have avoided the cow, under normal driving assumptions. (I did have about 2.5 seconds gap with the XUV.)

I feel the XUV driver is the culprit here. The Swift driver clearly sensed danger and applied brakes, the XUV driver took the opportunity to overtake and dodged the cow at the last moment by changing the lane. Since he cut in front of you, I don't think you could have done anything to react. There was just no time. Anyone in your place could have hit the cow. The animal was lucky to have survived.

These photos are almost 8 years old and I don't think they have been shared before by some other source so sharing it here, photos are clicked by me and number plate is hidden for privacy reasons. This was a fatal accident so heartfelt condolences to those who were killed in the crash.

Chevrolet Cruze ripped into two pieces.

The accident happened in Gujarat , near Ahmedabad highway

Brings back to me memories of a drive at Goa where I saw a vehicle in front do the "dodge" in front and I thought "Really! What kind of a stunt is that moron trying to pull off on the highway with so many vehicles around". Just as the thought came to an end the answer was served right there- it was a 6 or 8 ft snake trying to cross the road and I was less than a second or maybe two from going over it. Shook me up for the remainder of the drive but exactly as a friend of a bhpian here said about the dodge being dangerous for everyone around then. Had a a cow episode too where the fender mirror on my V cross got a twist courtesy a cow at Vellore. Of course a part of the blame does go to my "German trained " brother who does not believe in honking and applies the road principle of Germany in a town at Vellore