Team-BHP - Accidents in India

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Originally Posted by binand (Post 2714361)

I can translate from Malayalam. Here is the Deshabhimani link (which will expire soon):

Deshabhimani.com - ?????? ?????? ??????? ???????????&zwj; ??????????&zwj; ???????

5-Member Malayalee Family dies in Bangalore Road Accident

A 5-member Malayalee family has perished in a road accident at Hosur near Bangalore. They are: Umadevi (56), her daughter Divya (26), Uma's niece Aarti (26), husband Rajesh (30) and their daughter Aghna (1.5).

The car they were travelling collided with a tipper lorry on the Sulagiri bypass at 5:30 AM. The lorry was going to Krishnagiri.

The car was crushed beyond recognition. All five died on the spot. Locals and police transferred the dead bodies to Government Hospital, Sulagiri. Relatives have started for Sulagiri after learning of the accident.

Rajesh, reported in the news article is from the 2 year junior batch from my Engineering college. A lot of my juniors knew him, though I personally did not know him. Heartfelt condolences.

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Originally Posted by mayankk (Post 2715187)

i read steering wheels bend like that when an unrestrained torso slams into it, and the forces take the path of least resistance.
While looking that up, I came across this:

yowtch!

Thanks mayankk for sharing this. It indeed is a very graphic representation but sure would help educate folks to maintain decent speeds and make use of safety equipment available in the car.

Its good that it did not have a video representation. :eek:

Quote:

Originally Posted by mayankk (Post 2715187)

i read steering wheels bend like that when an unrestrained torso slams into it, and the forces take the path of least resistance.
While looking that up, I came across this:
RoadDriver - What happens in an accident if you hit a tree at 55 miles per hour without wearing a seat belt?

yowtch!

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Originally Posted by amitwlele (Post 2715373)

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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 2715382)

My thought was, "I wouldn't like to have been the force that bent that steering wheel."

if one has a vivid imagination, one will end up with a pretty ghastly image of that description on the link. sent a shiver up my spine :eek:

One student lost life yesterday when the Swift they were driving in on the NICE road banged the median after the driver lost control trying to avoid a truck which came into his lane. Here is the report.

MLA’s kin dies in car crash

Sushmita missed the ‘golden hour’

It may look like that the driver was inexperienced to drive at high speeds on highway. Also, i am not sure whether the occupants were wearing seat belts.

All of us have experienced these trucks coming onto our driving lane without any indicator. I for one have made it a habit to sound the horn and slow down a bit whenever i see the truck to my left.

What else can be done to avoid such occurance?

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Originally Posted by Fauji (Post 2716051)

Ideally, never try to overtake a bigger vehicle unless indicated clearly by the driver of that vehicle. I follow this rule regardless of whether it takes me more time to reach my destination.

It is heart breaking to know that treatment continues to be refused in hospitals in India to accident victims. They should have at least provided preliminary aid to the victim before asking to look for an ICU. Such people should be tried for murder.
Less said about infrastructure in ambulances the better. More should be done in reality. And some better trained professional people would be more useful in such situations. I dont know if the average ambulance driver knows any more than any other average driver.

RIP to the deceased, what a waste of a young life

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fauji (Post 2716051)

I for one have made it a habit to sound the horn and slow down a bit whenever i see the truck to my left.

What else can be done to avoid such occurance?

Well said Fauji. I also follow the same. Some occupants may not like it but in such cases only long honks can save us (has saved me twice).
Additionally, if driving at night, no matter how clear my path is but I will still flash my lights and press the horn too because always the truckers will assume its just another bus or a tempo approaching at a relatively slower pace (especially at really odd driving hours when private traffic is thin).
Honking gives them a earful and hints that there is something significantly faster which is approaching at a quicker pace and you better stick to the lane till it overtakes you.

Another thing to note/ keep in mind is that speeding is always relative to the speed of other vehicles on the road.

I could be doing 60 kmph on a road where everyone else is doing 70, but not speeding. But I could be speeding when I am doing 60 on a road where every other vehicle is doing 40. Now there could be a reason for everyone to go at that speed, but we need to keep in mind that we are only as safe on the road as the most dangerous vehicle/ animal/ blockade/ pothole/ etc.

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Originally Posted by paragsachania (Post 2716255)

Honking gives them a earful and hints that there is something significantly faster which is approaching at a quicker pace and you better stick to the lane till it overtakes you.

Perfect. This definitely works. Whenever i travel on NH 4 i just count how many times the trucks had tried to come in my lane and went back after hearing the horn. On an average it will be around 6-7 times everytime between Bangalore - Hubli!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by paragsachania (Post 2716255)

Well said Fauji. I also follow the same. Some occupants may not like it but in such cases only long honks can save us

I don't think any good driver, truck car or whatever, resents the "I'm here!" kind of honk. I know I don't.

The last truck cab I sat in was in UK, over forty years ago. The engine noise was such that nothing could be heard! I bet a few Indian trucks are like that now. Headlight flashing is good!

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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 2716452)

Honking comes to your aid not to push someone back into his lane (if he's already veered completely into yours) but to caution the driver (truck/car) that someone's approaching faster and please stay till it passes you.

I agree on the deafening cabin noise inside trucks that may completely fall on deaf ears of the driver but that is mostly the case with stock horns. When inside the city, I stick to my stock horn while I use twin horns whenever I am on the highway for exact reasons.

Also, during day time, I prefer honking than flashing my lights during the day since we have enough idiots on our roads who won't bother to look at their RVMs. On Bangalore-Mysore (so called highway), I have tried flashing lights beyond limits and finally settled for honking.

Ironically, while I have driven in Gujarat, typically on highways flash of lights still is the best signal to indicate your intent for overtaking. At least a majority of them do understand its meaning.

SUV kills toddler playing on road in Bangalore. One more incident where hospital refuses to admit the victim during the "golden hour".

SUV kills toddler playing on road in Bangalore - The Times of India

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Two-and-a-half year old Divya came under the wheels of a Tata Sumo in Lava-Kusha Layout, near Peenya, on Thursday night. Eyewitnesses said the toddler, who was playing on the road, was standing near the parked Sumo in front of her house. The Sumo driver did not notice the child and started the car, mowing her down.

Divya was a daughter of a couple working as a fabrication technicians. The SUV, owned and driven by Shivnanje Gowda, was parked in front of Divya's house on 3rd cross, 1st main in Lava-Kusha Nagar in Laggere. Gowda stays on the ground floor,while Divya's family lives on the second floor of the building. Even as Divya wandered in front of the vehicle, Gowda, who was talking to three of his friends,walked towards it and started the engine. He realized that Divya was in front of his vehicle only after he heard her cry out in pain. He reversed the car immediately.

Umapathy, a tile worker who witnessed the incident, said everyone, including the driver, were in shock for a while.

"Ours is not a main road and there is very little vehicle movement on the road. The accident was a complete shocker; we had seen both the driver and girl a few minutes earlier," he said. Divya's parents, along with Umapathy, rushed the girl to Lifeline Hospital in the same area. Shockingly, the hospital told Umapathy that as the child had complex injuries, she had to be taken to a specialized hospital.

"Hospitals must not refuse emergency cases. The golden hour is crucial, especially when it is such a small child,'' neighbours said. Umapathy then drove all the way to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Jayanagar, at the other end of the city. But it was too late: little Divya succumbed to her injuries and was declared "brought dead". The family on Friday morning took Divya's body to Kolar Gold Fields, their hometown, for burial. The driver of the Sumo was arrested and booked under section 304A of IPC for negligence. The vehicle was seized.