[skb1811]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

The brutal torque and power available even in the cheap EVs always scares me and then come the incidents like this.

Imagine what would be the situation with the upcoming EVs like BE6/9 etc in the hands of so many unfocused and rookie drivers growing rapidly who take driving as casually as video games!

Recipe for disaster TBH..
Almost 300HP, instant torque, drivers driving as if it's a racing game (with a keyboard no less, try simracing with a keyboard ), and also, EVs weigh a LOT compared to an average sedan or hatchback.. no level of ADAS can save us..

[Prado]

Car parked on the roadside with only kids inside, gets started by the kids, moves forward and hits a wall across the road. Looks like the handbrake was also engaged as the rear tyre seems to be not rotating at first. Could be an automatic, but can an automatic car move forward like this without accelerator input, that too with the handbrake engaged?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgK1uM3tN8E

https://www.manoramaonline.com/news/...ral-video.html

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by dust-n-bones

I can't understand why we find fault only with the drivers. Yes, they are not blameless, and yes, they and the passengers are the only ones who will suffer for the rest of their lives. But bad road design is the biggest factor leading to this accident, which isn't discussed at all.
…

Because the buck stops with the driver? You should always drive according to the conditions. A good driver should be able to accommodate mistakes of other drivers (or even authorities). Sadly, this is not really taught as part of driver training, so it takes life experience to learn this the long way.

While I agree the road layouts in our country need to be better, it does not necessarily absolve the driver of responsibility.

[dust-n-bones]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Because the buck stops with the driver? You should always drive according to the conditions. A good driver should be able to accommodate mistakes of other drivers (or even authorities).

There is no disagreement with this. My point is, there is plenty discussed on what the driver could/should have done, and very rightly so, but why is there no discussion about bad road design at all - a significant factor contributing to the accident?

As per the road ministry's stats, police reported 461,000 accidents in 2022. 20 people dying every hour that ticked in 2022 logged in police records. No data published since.

For a government department that directly or indirectly causes a pandemic level loss to the country annually, it adds a cursory note near the end of the report about accident mitigation. That incidentally also admits they will begin 'Road Safety Audits' for highways henceforth. Of course no mention of how do they score on measures implemented earlier.


This 'who gives a f' attitude to safety is encouraged by no public discussion on the topic, and no accountability of the bosses. This forum, and this thread specifically is populated by well informed and well meaning members, who I feel should faithfully document these entirely preventable tragedies.

To close, another one of those, 'it happens only in India gems' where the driver and over-speeding are at fault: https://www.instagram.com/ahmedabadm...l/DDhIyNKoZbd/

[MyLife_MyCar]

Originally Posted by dust-n-bones

there is plenty discussed on what the driver could/should have done, and very rightly so, but why is there no discussion about bad road design at all - a significant factor contributing to the accident?

https://www.instagram.com/ahmedabadm...l/DDhIyNKoZbd/

While we are on the topic:
Dehradun: Unmarked speed breaker results in 7 accidents in one night

And this is not for the first time. A few weeks ago, there were talks of a similar incident happening in Gurgaon:
unmarked-speed-breaker-causes-bmw-to-fly-in-gurgaon-driver-says-it-s-criminal

[Prado]

Originally Posted by Miel

I wonder what all scientific measures could’ve prevented this? Crash barriers protecting pedestrian walkways, maybe. Also, medians to separate traffic in both directions, and of course, proper camber of the road surfaces.

The state transport minister Mr. K. B. Ganesh Kumar drove his official car himself through the accident spot to directly assess the situation, along with other motor vehicle department officials.

https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kera...-dividers.html

His statement says that there are a few scientific issues including too smooth surface, banking, etc. and these could have contributed to the accident. He said that dividers would be constructed scientifically and a nearby auto rickshaw stand would be relocated to facilitate this.

Originally Posted by Miel

“Due to the flaws in the road construction, drivers would have the tendency to keep the centre of the road while driving through the steep narrow road. I think the truck carrying cement to Kozhikode collided with the truck from Palakkad due to this problem. Hence, we have decided to install dividers on this stretch of the road”

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by Prado

The state transport minister Mr. K. B. Ganesh Kumar drove his official car himself through the accident spot to directly assess the situation, along with other motor vehicle department officials.

https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kera...-dividers.html

His statement says that there are a few scientific issues including too smooth surface, banking, etc. and these could have contributed to the accident. He said that dividers would be constructed scientifically and a nearby auto rickshaw stand would be relocated to facilitate this.

While his pro-active approach is commendable, I hope he will go beyond driving his own car and deploy some road design experts to review, not just this spot but many such roads in Kerala. Of course there is always room for improvements but I feel this particular road is (relative to other Kerala roads) a well designed road with good markings and reasonable speed limits (60 kmph is what I remember). I have driven many times through this route to Kozhikode but there are limits to what one should do on a single carriageway winding road no matter how good it looks. I have seen cars and light pickups speeding like anything on these stretches and there is always some crashed vehicle on the side of a road.

[satya_ip]

While 80% or more accidents might be caused due to human (drivers) errors, but there are certain factors that need to be considered and govt authorities/contractors could be held responsible for them in my opinion.

1) Potholes appearing suddenly on the highways due to which drivers try avoid them and may cause accidents.
2) Highways not maintained, repaired properly. If a driver is driving at 80/100 kmh and comes across some unevenly repaired patch, he/she will try to avoid it and cause a situation which can result in accidents.
3) Lanes not marked properly, road edges not marked with high quality reflective paints ones they fade away or gone after few months. Road dividers not visible at high speeds during night driving as reflective paint gone away.
4) Heavy vehicles without tail lights, reflectors using middle or overtaking lane and vehicles (behind them) without enough headlamps throw hitting them from behind.
5) Shortages of manpower RTO, Traffic Police dept or negligence on these dept's side causing situations which can result in accidents.
6) Speedbrakers built not as per road construction guidelines, not marked with reflective paints and drivers caught off guard.
7) No solid/broken side walls in the ghat sections again govt authorities not doing their jobs properly.
8) No drink and drive should be implemented strictly.

All these above points need to be looked into by govt authorities and take proper action. This can reduce the possibilities of the accident causing situation if not avoid them totally.

But before putting the entire blame on govt, these situations can be reduced if not taken care off completely
1) If you really care for yourself or your family, drive carefully keeping all these things in mind.
2) Think that these things are and will be part of our highways always and plan your driving accordingly.
3) Never ever trust the roads, others on the roads and your car as well and drive accordingly. It does not mean that you drive too slowly or not drive at all, but be cautious appropriately and mind your driving business when driving.
4) Do not indulge into rash driving, driving too fast, drive as per the traffic, condition of roads, type of roads, the time when you drive. Do not get busy talking of phone, messaging, checking social network feeds.

In many cases, you yourself can help you to be safe always on our Indian highways.

[DasAutoFanatic]

Originally Posted by Prado

Looks like the handbrake was also engaged as the rear tyre seems to be not rotating at first. Could be an automatic, but can an automatic car move forward like this without accelerator input, that too with the handbrake engaged?

I Own a 2018 VW Vento AT DSG. i have encountered this a couple times especially in the early days of ownership. If I accidentally Put the car in D (Drive) with the handbrake engaged, and release the Brake pedal, The car will move forward while making a beeping sound inside the cabin. The car, however, does not move with handbrake engaged if it is N (Neutral) or P (Parking).

Has anyone else faced something similar? What about other brands?

[BoneCollector]

Crazy behaviour. Why people go to such places when they don't know how to drive on snow? Or atleast use snow chains?

Link

[sumathindra]

17-year-old boy rams speeding car into pedestrians In Delhi's Adarsh Nagar, 4 Injured - source Republic News...

https://x.com/republic/status/1868695541821091861

Again another underaged driving. When will our people learn !

[amritpal2489]

Originally Posted by sumathindra

17-year-old boy rams speeding car into pedestrians In Delhi's Adarsh Nagar, 4 Injured - source Republic News...

https://x.com/republic/status/1868695541821091861

Again another underaged driving. When will our people learn !

And everybody comes to reprimand the driver instead of taking care of the injured

[IamNikhil]

In an incident reported from Gujarat, an XUV 700 crashed into a roadside dhaba. Details of whether the driver was drunk or ostensibly lost control of the vehicle are yet to be ascertained. The cctv footage shows the havoc.

https://youtu.be/PvhXuM8aIDg

[Rasmo3689]

My partner's Vento 1.6MT hit a police barricade at about 35-40Kmph in Delhi when a policeman suddenly decided to stop the vehicle and pushed the barricade, being a new driver she could not brake on time. The policeman was later accepted by his senior being at fault and made a payment of 8k INR on spot.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Rasmo3689

The policeman was later accepted by his senior being at fault and made a payment of 8k INR on spot.

Is this for real? Cops paying money and owning their fault? Quite unheard of in these times.
Good to read this. Was the cop who pushed the barrier new to his job? Also the car owner if new to driving didn't paste the L sign anywhere on the windshield.