[richie4u]

A bus carrying 15 school students fell into the river at Calvim, Aldona, 15 km from Panaji. today afternoon, As per what I heard students were going back home after a half day of school as there were supposed to be Carnival celebrations to be happening today evening in Panjim. Out of 15 only 4 are rescued till now, Carnival celebrations have been cancelled in Goa due to this.


EDIT: Read the rest here:Bus accident

[suhaas307]

Saw this smashed Omni, being driven on Richmond Road, in that state!

Driver must have rear-ended a bus or something relatively tall.

[sidindica]

Today morning at around 5:30 am, while returning from Delhi cantt railway station towards my house, on NH 24, there was a head on collision (at least from the observation i seemed to be) between a swift "V" model (new one) and a fortuner. But how come a head on collision on one side of the road? Maybe the swift was coming from wrong side. No idea about casualties but the front ends of both vehicles seemed heavily damaged. The location is jus on the NH 24 opp mother dairy factory which heads towards akshardham in east delhi.

[akshay380]

Horrible school bus accident in Goa. Bus fell in river and 7 persons including some kids are dead.
School bus falls into river in Goa, seven killed - The Times of India
Calvim Tragedy, Aldona Goa -2012-Removing the body of small girl. - YouTube

[speedsatya]

Read about the Lambo crash in delhi and tried opening this link http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super-...hed-delhi.html

It says I dont have sufficient privileges to view this

[Klub Class]

Please excuse me for this post

Originally Posted by speedsatya

It says I dont have sufficient privileges to view this

The last I checked, the thread was created by moralfibre. But the news was already shared in Super-Cars & Exotic Imports Crashes in India. May be the moderators have deleted the thread or merged it with the other thread.

PS: I'm also getting the same warning message.

[S2!!!]

The Maruti Suzuki Ritz may not be the worst handling tall boy hatch but it definately is not the best one. No no wait, I like the Ritz's handling. It is decent and it has nothing to do with this incident that has changed my life and the way I look at things.

On the 6th day of November, 2011 I left for this place called Kolad, roughly 130kms from Mumbai via NH17, the Mumbai-Goa highway. I was not exceeding 80kmph, driving fuel efficiently, extremely safely (much more than my normal self), sticking to a single lane, giving indicators while changing lanes and all that a safe driver got to do. A sudden ghat section begins near Nagothane (approx 120kms from Mumbai) and obviously I am not nervous or have the slightest hint of what is coming up for me next.

The road goes downhill and my leg is off the accelerator pedal, car is in fifth gear and my leg is on the brake (not pressing it but on it) and coming soon is a right hand turn. Now I was barely at 60-65kmph and I mis-judged the turn. I thought it will be a 45 deg turn but was way too steeper than that. Reached near the corner...GOD!! Its too late. Pressed the brake slightly hard and steered a lil more than I should have. My car spun 180 deg. So now I am facing in the direction of Mumbai on the oncoming side of the road right (did I mention it was a two lane road without any divider), my car is yet going in reverse due to inertia (or whatever that force is), the left rear wheel hits a stone causing car to go air-borne and flip over, and fall off the road in a pit approx 3ft deep. Within seconds my entire world was upside down (literally!!!) Luckily enough my co-passenger and me both had worn our seat belts and got out from the door unscratched and no other vehicle/ or person was affected because of stupid me. Let the pictures give you an idea of the impact.

The after-math.

On further analysis I reckon that had I even slammed on to the brakes when the car spun I probably could have saved it from hitting that miscreant stone. But trust me when the car lost control I had no idea what was going on till I was upside down, held onto my seat due to the belt. Quickly removed the belt, checked my passenger who was safe and unhurt and I opened the door without much effort and crawled out. Passers-by stopped and offered a helping hand and even called out to the crane guys to lift out my car.

Life after tragedy was not very pleasant. The accident had almost killed my confidence and I kept cursing myself for endangering someone else's life but my friend was very supportive and kept telling me that it is ok and was pure bad luck on the day I drove the safest!!! Time and again the incident played in my head. Hell, even when I used to be in a friend's car I would see the incident flash in my mind and would be scared at the slightest turn at very ordinary speeds.

Now, after a good 3 months am back behind the wheel- safer and way more responsible. I don't care if people cut lines or if they're driving slowly for no reason. Nothing can make me lose my cool on the road (not that it made a diff earlier but yet). I just feel grown up now while sitting behind wheel. Guess its not a bad end after all.

The car was back to immaculate condition before Christmas after being in the Maruti Service Centre for almost two months. I just thought I'd share this incident that opened my eyes with all BHPians with a hope that no one else has to go through such a horrific incident to realize the value of yours and others' lives.

[C300]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Luckily enough my co-passenger and me both had worn our seat belts and got out from the door unscratched and no other vehicle/ or person was affected because of stupid me. Let the pictures give you an idea of the impact.

That was a bad accident S2. Thank god no was injured.
Ghat sections on our roads are usually tricky. Uneven banking and elevation make it worse.
Good to hear you are back driving your Ritz. Take care.

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Now, after a good 3 months am back behind the wheel- safer and way more responsible. I don't care if people cut lines or if they're driving slowly for no reason. Nothing can make me lose my cool on the road (not that it made a diff earlier but yet). I just feel grown up now while sitting behind wheel. Guess its not a bad end after all.

Sorry to read about this S2 and happy that both the occupants are in one piece. Once again goes to show why seat belts are a absolute must while driving.

Can i ask how much was the financial damage to bring the car back on the road from Maruti Service centre after 2 months?

[Klub Class]

It's nice to hear that you and your friend suffered no injuries.

Originally Posted by S2!!!

The road goes downhill and my leg is off the accelerator pedal, car is in fifth gear and my leg is on the brake (not pressing it but on it) and coming soon is a right hand turn. Now I was barely at 60-65kmph and I mis-judged the turn.

Mistake 1 : You're in too high a gear while driving downhill.

You should be in the lowest possible gear while driving downhill. Put in other words, uphill and downhill should be done in the same gear. In your case, at speeds ~60kmph you should have been in 3rd IMHO.

I thought it will be a 45 deg turn but was way too steeper than that. Reached near the corner...GOD!! Its too late. Pressed the brake slightly hard and steered a lil more than I should have.

Mistake 2 : On approaching the curve and realizing that you're way too fast, you braked hard

In this scenario braking hard will transfer the weight from back to front of the car, resulting in the loss of traction of rear wheels and an over-steer making you car spin, literally. Ideally, you should be accelerating so as to make the rear wheels not loose grip.

Just my two cents.

[ankan.m.blr]

Sorry to hear about your accident S2. Thank god, you and your friend were not hurt. I think that driving downhill in 5th is risky, specially for tall boy like Ritz. Anyway, its good that your ride is back and you are in the driver's seat again. The Ritz is a fantastic car with minor body roll, but if we take precaution for that, its a pleasure to drive it on any decent surface.

[ecenandu]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

I just thought I'd share this incident that opened my eyes with all BHPians with a hope that no one else has to go through such a horrific incident to realize the value of yours and others' lives.

I know what you have went through after the accident, I also had a similar experience.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ml#post2549644

The above experience made me a better driver. But the only problem now is that I have become very pessimist (only when driving ), always preparing for the defensive move I have to take, in case any thing goes wrong.

The problem is, we are not aware that we are doing the wrong unless there is someone to point out or something bad happens and then you realize you were wrong.

I was fortunate enough to have a person to point out what all bad driving habits I had. Driving along with him was like taking a driving test. After the drive, he will do a debriefing. Now I miss him badly. RIP uncle, you will never be forgotten.

I am sure most of us are not fully aware of the bad driving habits one have. If someone monitors our daily driving, the chances of us landing in 'How to spot bad drivers' thread will be quite high. I am not telling every one of us will end up in that thread.

The above point is just to reinforce my earlier claim that one may not be aware of their bad driving habits.

Originally Posted by Klub Class

Just my two cents.

Yes I totally agree with your analysis.

Knowing what to be done - easy. Doing it - not so easy.

Its like jumping in to a pool, after reading book on 'How to swim'.

Having said that, I wish car manufacturers to takes initiative like Ford has done with - 'Driving skills for Life' https://www.drivingskillsforlife.com/.

The following things should be covered in the "ideal" training (Wish list).

1. Emergency braking.
2. Emergency Lane change maneuver.
3. How to control over/under steer.
4. Parking

Fellow BHPians. you could add what you think to be covered in the training (if we had one).

[manim]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Now, after a good 3 months am back behind the wheel- safer and way more responsible. I don't care if people cut lines or if they're driving slowly for no reason. Nothing can make me lose my cool on the road (not that it made a diff earlier but yet). I just feel grown up now while sitting behind wheel. Guess its not a bad end after all.

Thanks for this advise, I too want to control my rage/urges when I drive and will learn from your experience.

[DevilsCry]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Now, after a good 3 months am back behind the wheel- safer and way more responsible.

Congratulations for not only escaping unhurt but also coming back to behind the wheel. I personally know many people who have had milder accident than yours, escaped unhurt and yet never went back behind the wheel.

Thanks for sharing details about your accident. It's a very useful lesson for us. Happy safe and confident driving

[Thad E Ginathom]

S2!!! ... this is not the thread to discuss your driving techniques: you didn't "loose control," but, due to not knowing how to use gears and brakes correctly, you never had proper control. The whole site is here to help make sure that this never happens to you again, although even with perfect technique, it is still possible to misjudge a corner.

Thanks for sharing details about your accident. It's a very useful lesson for us. Happy safe and confident driving

Absolutely. Glad you are safe. Glad the dents have been removed from your car. Wishing you all the best in removing the dents from your confidence.

Originally Posted by ecebandu

But the only problem now is that I have become very pessimist (only when driving ), always preparing for the defensive move I have to take, in case any thing goes wrong.

I really believe that this is the way to stay safe!