[bigben]

but it takes a bit of a moron to drive into a stationary object. A bit of a moron who drives so fast that thay can't stop within the distance they can see.

emergency after a long hectic day,i would not call every one a moron who crashes into a stationary vehicle;and with blind spots created due to lights of oncoming traffic it gets worse.

In this case the stationary truck had a flat tyre. But the issue over here is parking your truck on the road with no lights, and not leaving your hazard lights on to warn others.
And yes I have driven on these roads and the oncoming traffic lights do blind you and makes it difficult to ascertain if a vehicle is moving or stationary.

[racer_ash]

Originally Posted by IUNKWN

This is not the first of its kind involving a Volvo.

Cause isn’t known.

Then isn't it high time that an investigation is carried out to find out the exact cause of these scarily similar incidents. Once is chance, twice is coincidence and thrice is a pattern. And tnere seems to be a pattern emerging for all these incidents. Bus hitting something, catching fire on its own and going up in flames within minutes.

I still do not understand why our RTO babus are sleeping on these matters. How much fatter are they going to become without caring a dime about these incidents.

[Sarvodaya]

Here are the latest of the pictures. Tragedy indeed. May the Souls Rest in Peace




A Picture of the Bus in her Glory Days

[Thilak29]

The bus had just one door in the front. The police say say that a large glass window meant to serve as an emergency exit could not be broken because a hammer, meant to be placed near it, was missing.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

Then isn't it high time that an investigation is carried out to find out the exact cause of these scarily similar incidents. Once is chance, twice is coincidence and thrice is a pattern. And tnere seems to be a pattern emerging for all these incidents. Bus hitting something, catching fire on its own and going up in flames within minutes.

Speed is definitely the primary factor here. I don't think its legal anywhere in India to drive a bus at triple digit speeds. Anything else which is found in an investigation would be shot down since these buses were not supposed to be driven at such speeds in the first place.

The manufacturer cannot be accused of anything like a QC issue or design flaw unless it can be proved that it is a risk even at allowed speeds. Same thing applies to roads - it could be argued that the highways were never built for speeds in excess of 120 km/hr or whatever the road signs in that area indicate.

Considering the speed at which these buses are driven, which is much higher than what the manufacturer and the govt. recommends, it would come back to the drivers and the owners for not driving/instructing the drivers to drive as per the manufacturer recommendations if someone takes the legal route. Probably the law enforcement authorities could be questioned on the steps they take to ensure that these vehicles adhere to highway speed limits but that's the max we can expect. If the owners get into trouble, that should be worth it since in most cases, the drivers are encouraged by the owners to drive at these insane speeds. If a driver is not willing to do it, the owner would most likely find someone else who is willing to do it.

[rohanjf]

Add to that, materials used in the buses' interiors are highly flammable. All it takes is a bit of fire to start burning one seat.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by bigben

In this case the stationary truck had a flat tyre. But the issue over here is parking your truck on the road with no lights, and not leaving your hazard lights on to warn others.

Yes, that is wrong, very wrong. Quite possible, of course that the truck didn't have any hazard lights, or even any rear lights at all, which all just gets worse and worse and worse.

... the oncoming traffic lights do blind you and makes it difficult to ascertain if a vehicle is moving or stationary.

Yes, it is hard to judge relative speeds at night. But if we get it wrong, that is our fault. Even if the thing we hit had no right whatsoever to be there.

Remember that, even if a truck has a full set of working lights, there are also batteries that go flat.

[tharian]

The horrific Volvo crash shows us what happens when a high powered vehicle like a Volvo is driven by a driver who most probably started his career with Leylands and get to drive a Volvo just because he has experience, but without any training.


I stopped travelling by bus years ago and don't recommend anyone who I know to either. It is fun to watch from outside, these buses tearing the road, and some people even boast about their journey and how they reached before time without knowing anything.

The fuel tanks are made of plastic in a Volvo which will crack when hit and all the fuel will flow away. In this case, it seemed there was something else that made the fire engulf the whole bus.

When I visited the Volvo bus factory few years back is when KSRTC started ordering their buses to be built with an emergency exit door just in front of the rear axle on the right side. That still has not come in existence of private Volvo buses because it means less seats. The stickers on the emergency exit windows are pointless since many will not even notice it because of the sticker designs or some names stuck on the windows. Look at the picture above when the bus was new, you can hardly see the 'emergency exit' sticker.
Passengers in deep sleep and non-awareness made it worse.

There was a thread recently on what speeds a Volvo's can do and there were people who stated it can go to 160kmh. The bus may or can do that . But even on an expressway in our country, driving a good handling car at that speeds is suicide, then comes a bread box on wheels doing the same.

[Added_flavor]

The local channel reports that it was a Tyre burst. Apparently the Tyre burst and the driver stopped the vehicle to inspect it. At that point the diesel tank caught fire. This is how the driver, cleaner and a few front row passengers escaped.

As per one survivor, people were stuck thanks to push back seats and couldn't get out on time.

The pictures of the burning bus also don't show any sign of a head on collision. So I assume it was indeed a burst Tyre. How the diesel tank caught fire is mysterious though!

A freak incident. May these souls RIP.

[speedsatya]

The burnt bus is on the LHS of the road. It had to be on the RHS for it to have hit the divider. Maybe , it was cleared off the road.

If cops say the hammer was missing , I would say punish the bus operator also. This is a serious lapse in safety. Why can't the RTO make it compulsory for these buses to have safety hammers always inside them.

When most of these hammers get stolen , why can't Volvo ensure that these hammers are tied to the bus through metal chain? Does it need them to spend millions to come up with a solution to prevent these hammers being stolen !

BTW I saw a SLS Travels B7R with seat belts for all seats parked at Madiwala.

[blip]

Some loopholes seem in the volvo accident

1.All the bus staff escaped.

2.Does the fuel tank of a bus (diesel bus) explode suddenly just because you hit the divider ?

3.If the driver and cleaners escaped why didnt they try to open the doors and help the passengers ?

4.Volvos are known internationally for their safety, its hard to believe that this bus will just crack up like that even if not maintained properly .

Most likely this could be some other reason like an A/C short circuit or something else

[n_naik]

The photos of the bus (AP 02 TA 0963) which met with accident yesterday early morning. These photos were taken a few months back. Pic courtesy: Vj Kumar and other bus fans.

Who would have imagined that such a beautiful bus would burn completely like this one day. RIP the bus and RIP passengers.

[BulZire]

When most of these hammers get stolen , why can't Volvo ensure that these hammers are tied to the bus through metal chain? Does it need them to spend millions to come up with a solution to prevent these hammers being stolen !

Yesterday night I saw a report in a KA local channel about how safety measures are follwed in KSRTC, and what all safety measures the private operators miss.
The reporter boarded a KSRTC B9R and was explaining the measures one by one and when he came to the emergency exit point in one window and picked the hammer, there was a alarm triggered indicating that the hammer is picked. And he told that the alarm is a feature given by Volvo itslef to avoid the hammer getting stolen.

Really appreciate the emergency exit gate at the rear axle of the KSRTC buses. It is very easy to open also, just pull the latch and it opens. May be some private operators also would have a similar emergency exit, But I never saw one with it.

[IUNKWN]

More news and pics in today's TOI and DC.

The driver Feroz dozed off at the wheel and hit a divider.
Instead of releasing lock or helping people, he and his partner, the helper or conductor, jumped off and rushed to the police station to surrender. Heart rendering scenes at the site. A mother held her baby in lap and both were charred.


There is hardly any reaction from state politicians. AP and KA should declare state mourning, 2 mins silence in all public and private organisation but then, its "hota hai, chalta hai, duniya hai". Within 2 days, everyone will forget and its business as usual. Whether it’s an accident like this or the blasts or terror attacks. We Indians are proud of our resilience.

[Kimified]

It may be a coincidence that I am travelling in a exactly similar bus now. The Volvo multi axil B9R. Albeit that this is a sleeper.

This is operated by SRS Travels. I just happened to go check if there are any hammers around near the emergency exits. Sadly, can't find any :(

I have always believed that Airavat Volvo's operated by KSRTC are the most safest on the road. Disciplined and trained drivers and great service. Sadly, they don't have any Volvo sleeper services available.