[MyLife_MyCar]

Originally Posted by Amity

Horrible accident on Delhi Mumbai Expressway (DME) when a truck travelling in overtaking lane suddenly took a U Turn. Six people in car lost their lives for no fault of theirs.

That’s horrible!! I have driven a few times on DME and found it to be one of the better roads in India to drive on.
Adaptive cruise and lane keep assist make it so simple to traverse this road. Many a times just zooming past the trucks that occupy any and every lane available to them.

However, looking at such maniacal drivers, it suddenly gave me chills down my spine!

P.S. what was the other truck doing parked horizontally on the left? I first thought that’s the one who caused the accident!

[Makin Rulesz]

Originally Posted by sarathlal

yet another case of attentive driver (Bus driver) saving one life;

I completely disagree with this statement. If you look closely, it is the bus driver who instigated the crash at first place. He was overtaking at a curve, cutting across the lane, with total disregard for oncoming traffic. Due to this maneuver, the bike rider slowed down and was rear-ended by the car that failed to brake in time. Furthermore, I see the bus speeding away from the accident scene without even stopping.

[Bhokal]

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

I completely disagree with this statement. If you look closely, it is the bus driver who instigated the crash at first place. He was overtaking at a curve, cutting across the lane, with total disregard for oncoming traffic. Due to this maneuver, the bike rider slowed down and was rear-ended by the car that failed to brake in time. Furthermore, I see the bus speeding away from the accident scene without even stopping.

No, there was clear road in front of the bike but for unknown reason he abruptly came to a crawl. Maybe he wanted to take a right turn.

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by sarathlal

yet another case of attentive driver (Bus driver) saving one life;
https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=HtIaslUC8kk

Attentive yes but legal no. The bus was overtaking on a curve. We in kerala have completely given up on taking to task these bus drivers be it private or public. And what
was the car driver thinking. He too was in the process of overtaking another scooter, approaching a curve, in what appears to be a busy area. Should have gone much slower. I wont put too much blame on the biker in this case.

[jomyboy]

Originally Posted by electric_eel

I wont put too much blame on the biker in this case.

The biker can only thank his stars that it was just this car and not one of those KRTC buses. You are looking for trouble no matter where you are on earth if you are going to break without any indication on a clear road.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by sarathlal

yet another case of attentive driver (Bus driver) saving one life;

Tough question;
Although its culpable on part of the car driver since he hit from the back, is it really possible to avoid such 'day dreamer' vehicles (like that two wheeler lucky fellow) on the road.

At the least, hope they both learned an invaluable lesson that day

In my opinion - the bus driver was the root cause of this accident. The biker had to slow down because the bus actually approached at speed on a curve - almost completely on the wrong side of the divider lane markings. It was a terribly aligned turn by the bus and the biker slowed either for safety OR to wait for the bus to pass because he wanted to turn to the right into some lane etc.

Of the 3 - the bus, the Altroz and the bike - the biker for once was the least responsible for the accident. I hope he is alright and recovers fully from the physical injuries.

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by jomyboy

The biker can only thank his stars that it was just this car and not one of those KRTC buses. You are looking for trouble no matter where you are on earth if you are going to break without any indication on a clear road.

Completely agree with you if you think of it as a defensive driver (biker) you have to go beyond what is legally required of you particularly if you are a vulnerable road user. So he should not have been in the middle of the road, even if he had to take a right turn (find a more suitable point (not a curve) and take it at right angles not merge into).

Having said that I think the bus is the biggest culprit here. Followed by the car who had no business to hit the slowed down bike --- the biker did not brake hard and even if he did it is the fault of the car if he hits from behind because he was speeding at a curve in
a crowded locality most probably overtaking the scooter that is also seen in the video.

[GTX+]

Viewer Discretion Adviced

Disturbing footage captures the consequences of reckless driving in Mulavukad, Kochi.

A 21-year-old biker collides with a cyclist while crossing the road, then crashes into a lorry.

The biker is in critical condition.

https://twitter.com/Wh_So_Serious/st...0Gp2ozGRQ&s=19

[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by GTX+

A 21-year-old biker collides with a cyclist while crossing the road, then crashes into a lorry.

The biker is in critical condition.

Biker had it coming. Does it make me a moron if I say I have zero sympathies for him?

Pathetic road behaviour. I have said this before and will say it again. I will NEVER understand Indians’ aversion to stopping/slowing down at the sight of an obstacle instead of trying to avoid it by sneaking past.

I’m actually only concerned about the poor cyclist.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by GTX+

A 21-year-old biker collides with a cyclist while crossing the road, then crashes into a lorry.

The biker is in critical condition.

This is an indeed an avoidable mishap only if the motorcycle rider was a bit more educated in the art and science of motorcycle riding.

Target fixation is something I learnt from experienced motorcycle riders and some mentors and I have used this technique to my advantage in more than one instance.

Target fixation is an attentional phenomenon that can occur when a motorcyclist becomes so focused on a target or hazard that they unconsciously steer into it. This can lead to collisions or accidents, especially when the rider tries to avoid an obstacle at the last moment.

Target fixation is a panic reflex. When confronted with a dangerous situation or something unusual suddenly appearing in our field of vision, our natural instinct is to look directly at the object posing the threat and exclude everything else. Unable to look away and even consider an escape route, we tend to go where our eyes take us, often directly into the object. It could be a rider crashing in front of you, a patch of gravel on the road, or a car braking suddenly as you follow directly behind; you can guess how each scenario plays out when target fixation grabs hold.

Target fixation is more common in motorcyclists because a motorcycle's steering is more sensitive to the rider's movements. To avoid target fixation, riders should look where they want to go, as the motorcycle will follow

In the given instance, the motorcycle rider is fixated on the bicycle rider that he follows the bicycle trajectory and then collides with the stationary truck while he should be looking at the free space (behind the bicycle rider) and focus on the free space available to him to avoid the contact with the cycle and thereafter the truck.

I have consciously practiced this technique and now when I see an obstacle such as a cyclist or animal crossing the road I instantly change focus and look for the free avenue in the given circumstance and push the bike in that direction. I have escaped crashing more than once in similar situations.

Riding fast is easy. Knowing how to survive an unexpected obstacle on the road such as above takes knowledge, skill, experience, practice and time.

Practice these maneuvers again and again such that it becomes muscle memory and then the possibility of living another day increases manifold

[manjubp]

Originally Posted by GTX+

Viewer Discretion Adviced

Disturbing footage captures the consequences of reckless driving in Mulavukad, Kochi.

A 21-year-old biker collides with a cyclist while crossing the road, then crashes into a lorry.

The biker is in critical condition.

https://twitter.com/Wh_So_Serious/st...0Gp2ozGRQ&s=19

Yet another example of the 'me first' mindset common among Indian road users. Instead of crossing in front of the cyclist, the biker should have waited or target to pass beyond the cyclist. This simple action would have avoided any collision path, regardless of the speed of either party.

Basically avoid path of collision, incase of confusion at intersection, aim to pass beyond the crossing vehicle.

[GTX+]

To begin with, the biker was driving at an insane speed considering the road he was driving on. Secondly, instead of slowing down and as members have suggested, going round from behind the cyclist, he chose to speed up and beat the cyclist. Utter stupidity which has resulted in him being in critical condition.

I pray he survives and along with broken bones I hope his ego is also broken for good.

And what about the cyclists, he is equally at fault here. It is common sense that while crossing any road, one needs to be extremely careful and if there is any oncoming traffic, allow it to go first. It was extremely careless on his part as well.

This video reminds me of another such accident, again I think it was in Kerala, where a guy is seen talking over phone and without a care enters the main highway on his scooter, only to get hit by a speeding car. Miraculously he survived and stood up within few seconds of getting hit.

Till the time we have such ignorant fools, we will keep seeing such accidents which can be easily avoided by being aware, following rules and little patience.

[MyLife_MyCar]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

Target fixation is an attentional phenomenon that can occur when a motorcyclist becomes so focused on a target or hazard that they unconsciously steer into it. This can lead to collisions or accidents, especially when the rider tries to avoid an obstacle at the last moment.

Thank you for sharing this phenomenon. I have one question:
Does it apply to the bicycle rider also? Isn't he too fixated on the target (motorcycle) and driving towards motorcycle's path that he attempted to avoid the collision. Just tryin to understand this concept more.

I'm neither siding with the motorcycle rider nor with the bicycle rider. To me, both are at fault here.

The biker just started speeding up when he realized the bicycle trying to cross the road and hits the brake. However, doesn't slow down enough and ends up hitting the bicycle. If you look carefully, it seems that biker hits one more person (wearing a shirt of green or blue shade at 0:04) before colliding with the truck.

On the other hand, the bicycle should have been more careful in crossing intersections like this. Just because a car crossed the intersection ahead of him, he might have thought he could cross it too. He did not consider that his bicycle would need more time to cross the intersection (due to slow speed). He simply should have waited for a better opportunity to cross the road.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by GTX+

Viewer Discretion Adviced

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

Biker had it coming....
I’m actually only concerned about the poor cyclist.

Originally Posted by ashkamath

...Target fixation is day increases manifold

Good Point...

Originally Posted by manjubp

Yet another example of the 'me first' mindset

Originally Posted by GTX+

To begin with, the biker

Enough has been said about the biker.

A few observations, he was in helmet, which is a very very rare thing these days. Other than that he was a bit fast, but he braked as seen in the video, but he turned in the way the cycle was moving instead of the other way.

PS - Does anyone find fault in the cycle also tail gating a car or not? He too took a risk.

[GTX+]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

Other than that he was a bit fast, but he braked as seen in the video, but he turned in the way the cycle was moving instead of the other way.

PS - Does anyone find fault in the cycle also tail gating a car or not? He too took a risk.

If you had read my post in entirety, you would have noticed that I said the cyclist is to be equally blamed for this incident.

Also, the biker does not appear to be "bit" fast. Given the overall condition of the road, he was driving "very" fast (the bicycle actually broke into 2 parts) and to make the matters worse, it appears that he initially did not slow down and tried to cross ahead of the cyclist, but by the time realised he wont be able to, he started braking, but it was too late by then.

While approaching an intersection, one should always slow down, expecting the worst, but here he continued to ride at his speed and that was a major factor leading to this mess.