[Positron]

Originally Posted by Ragul

... but I keep forgetting to release the handbrake...

Sounds like you have been taught incorrectly, or have picked up some bad habits. From stationary, you are supposed to continue keeping the hand-break engaged, engage clutch, get the car on gear, and then slowly ease the clutch with or without engaging accelerator (depending on your car and what you want to do), and when the clutch bites - that is the car will start pushing forward or backward but you will feel the hand-break holding you back - and only then you should release the hand-break and move forward. That's what I was taught, and the other day I parked the car in a tight spot over uneven surface, and my brother got on the car and first thing he did was release the hand-break. No wonder the rear wheel rolled off a rock and he nearly scrapped the paint work against the wall.

[SirAlec]

any news of the Civic that fell off a Flyover in Delhi. Heard that the guy was underage.

[Roshan_v_k]

I saw this happened couple of day back in Hyderabad.

[aaren]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

any news of the Civic that fell off a Flyover in Delhi. Heard that the guy was underage.

Speeding car flies off flyover, teen killed

Speeding car flies off flyover, teen killed - The Times of India

NEW DELHI: A 19-year-old law student was killed in a horrific high-speed car crash on the Old Ashram bridge in the wee hours of Thursday. The boy died when his Honda Civic car flew off the road while he was driving to his Noida home after a night out at a south Delhi club.

The car hit the footpath, flew over the bridge railing and fell 30 feet down on a godown that bordered the rail tracks connecting Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station. The car's airbag failed to open up, but burst in the impact. Police rushed the boy, Mrinaldeep Singh, a resident of Sector 39, Noida, to AIIMS where he was declared brought dead.

Police and eyewitnesses said Singh drove into the flyover after he left Nehru Place with his friends. "He approached the flyover from the Sriniwaspuri side on Ring Road when the car hit the footpath and flew off the bridge. There was a loud thud when the car nosedived into the ground, just metres away from the railway tracks. Surprisingly, there was just a minor cave-in on the footpath and the flyover railings were intact,'' said an investigating officer.

The officer said the boy's friends who were on another car, just metres ahead, slammed on the brakes after hearing the thud. "The police were informed and his friends called an ambulance. Though, Singh was rushed to hospital, he succumbed to his injuries on the way,'' a police officer said.

The incident took place around 3:50 am. The PCR call was made by PWD guards present near the godown. Joint commissioner (Traffic) Satyendra Garg said the boy lost control as he was speeding his car. However, police refused to comment whether racing between the two cars or drunk driving triggered the accident. A case has been registered at the Lajpat Nagar police station.

The manner in which the accident took place prompted Delhi Traffic Police to recreate the incident. "The driving licence of the boy is yet to be recovered. This will ascertain the owner of the car. We are mulling whether the height of the railings can be raised and other safety measures incorporated on flyovers,'' said Garg.

Mrinaldeep Singh was a first-year law student at the OP Jindal University. His family had recently shifted from their Noida residence to Gurgaon. His younger brother is a student of Class 8 at a leading public school. Singh's father works as a senior manager at IGL. Police, however, claimed he is presently posted as the CEO of a private firm.

[manojmis]

Originally Posted by aaren

Speeding car flies off flyover, teen killed

The boy died when his Honda Civic car flew off the road while he was driving to his Noida home after a night out at a south Delhi club.

The car's airbag failed to open up, but burst in the impact.

This happened to a Honda? We are ultra relying on Honda's safety features, and now this

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by manojmis

This happened to a Honda? We are ultra relying on Honda's safety features, and now this

thats the work of a 10th fail copy editor.
"airbag failed to open up, but burst on impact".

Anyway, the guys sleeping in the godown said that they saw the airbags when they went to the car.
lot of good it would do in a 30 odd foot drop on the nose.

this reporter and his editor probably think the airbag is a balloon, and should remain up.

[DieselAddikt]

Originally Posted by manojmis

This happened to a Honda? We are ultra relying on Honda's safety features, and now this

Sirji,

A car meant 'safe' does not guarantee immortality. It is only as safe as it's driver. Especially when it flies off the road. Cars are meant to be 'driven'.

But a teen losing his life is a bad thing. He would have just started enjoying his life.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by manojmis

This happened to a Honda? We are ultra relying on Honda's safety features, and now this

Need to see the impact before commenting. Maybe there was no impact on bumpers and so the sensors were not activated.

[puchoo]

India Today has an infographich which shows how the entire accident unfolded at the link below - the care landed on its roof.

Google Images

Originally Posted by msdivy

Need to see the impact before commenting. Maybe there was no impact on bumpers and so the sensors were not activated.

[anilisanil]

Originally Posted by manojmis

This happened to a Honda? We are ultra relying on Honda's safety features, and now this

Well you are believing TOI's reporting?

How can airbags burst and more so when they did not deploy??

Airbags deflate after they are deployed, they are not balloons to get burst as reported.

And it is pretty convenient to bash a car manufacturer when the driver flew off some 30 feet!!!

[noopster]

Originally Posted by mayankk

thats the work of a 10th fail copy editor.
"airbag failed to open up, but burst on impact".

That was my first thought exactly. Our press/media are seriously irresponsible. There are a lot of people who will see that report and say, damn these Honda guys and their unsafe cars. It was probably the 30 foot drop that killed that poor guy.

3:50 in the morning, headed back from a South Delhi party...you can do the math. Feel bad for the family that has to pay for the youngster's mistakes.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by DieselAddikt

Sirji,

A car meant 'safe' does not guarantee immortality. It is only as safe as it's driver. Especially when it flies off the road. Cars are meant to be 'driven'.

But a teen losing his life is a bad thing. He would have just started enjoying his life.

You can't expect a set of airbags to save you, when you launch your car off a flyover and land it on the concrete floor, 30 ft below. People are so quick to blame the safety and integrity of the car. The car is as safe as the person who is driving it is. You can't be reckless and drive like a hooligan and expect to walk away from a 30 ft fall from a flyover.

The airbags would have inflated, but after the impact, the airbag automatically deflates. What the airbag does is cushion the blow for the occupants. How much of a blow can airbags cushion when the car achieves 5 second airtime and lands, rubber-up, on a hard concrete floor?

It is driver error. Period.

RIP Kuldeep. Sad to see a life lost in this fashion.

[DevilsCry]

I still don't understand the following things-
1. How exactly the car jumped off the flyover? Did it hit the footpath? I don't see much damage to front left tyre in the pic. Was the footpath a sloping one? This would explain pole vaulting.
2. Which part landed first? From pic, I can't see any part which shows landing damage.

And oh please! Reporters please don't be ridiculous by questioning Honda's safety design!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by manojmis

This happened to a Honda? We are ultra relying on Honda's safety features, and now this

You expect to survive a thirty-foot drop? Whether in or out of a vehicle, it is likely to be either fatal, or so badly injured that you might wish it had been.

If it is necessary to design cars to protect the most stupid and the most over-confident, under-trained youths that just might ever driver them, then they would probably become unaffordable.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by puchoo

India Today has an infographich which shows how the entire accident unfolded at the link below - the care landed on its roof. Google Images

The India Today infographic indicates the car landed on its roof. But in the picture posted by Devilscry, the roof doesnt seem to have relevant damage that would be expected of a 30+ feet fall onto concrete.

IMHO, no blame can be assigned to the car manufacturer here unless it is proved that any part (steering/ brakes) malfunctioned or did not function. The airbags have performed their expected function based on impact.