[DRIVE_ADDICT]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Does anyone have "inside information" as to why truckers stuck to the right?

They don't need to steer and brake, for cyclists, bikers, random vehicles stopped in shoulders with tyres/body protruding out of shoulder lines, etc, etc. on the left lane.

[discoverwild]

Originally Posted by kimianks

I meant this in general..not in this particular incident. You have to be in control even if you are at 60 kmph.

On a separate note, its shocking to see the amount of drivers coming down the wrong way even at night...

I understand what you meant and your second line is exactly why it's stupid to speed at night.

A few years ago, I was driving from Chennai to Bangalore on the 4-lane highway towards Krishnagiri. The road went up a flyover and turned right as it came down. Another car (unknown driver) and I were driving in tandem maintaining the same pace (80-90 kmph). As we were heading down the curve, a tractor that had climbed the median to cross over had got stuck in the middle and the trailer was blocking the right lane completely. It was a stroke of luck that both of us missed ramming into it, as he too noticed my sudden maneuver and moved to the left lane immediately.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

I was shocked to see cars using shoulder lane to overtake slow moving vehicles on NE-1, at speeds well over 100 kmph.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

... I had saved this video from one of those drives in 2016. You can notice how casually if the shoulder lane used for overtaking by so many cars.

I don't think that such drivers see any difference between the broken-line lane markings, and the solid-line edge of the road marking. To them it is all road, and if they feel like it they will drive on it.

Thanks to all who replied to my question about truckers in the right-hand lane. All the replies made sense and perhaps I should have thought of them myself. I don't spend much time highway driving.

[supremeBaleno]

Three young lives lost. All because the duo on the bike in front didn't signal their intention to turn right, leading the biker behind to hit them.
Helmets, if worn could have avoided fatality, since no other vehicle was involved and all three seem to have died due to injuries from hitting the road.



Kerala has the highest rate of road accidents/fatalities in India, caused by a vicious combo of bad roads, crappy driving/licensing system (same all over India) & no awareness of traffic rules or any clue about defensive / predictive driving.

[saisree]

He has to be driving insanely to get his car toppled. Good that you informed the Police Station on the rash drive. May help the street vendors on the compensation.

I live in the nearby area and I can vouch for what you mentioned. This Agaram main road used to be silent and safe road. But after the widening happened, Poor road manners from the general public, Utter disregard to the signal near the BP petrol bunk and Bharat University has made this road dangerous to drive. Guess this road at least sees a couple of accidents in a week.

Originally Posted by locusjag

For those familiar with the Selaiyur area in Chennai, this is on the Agaram main road which is all set to be connected as a major part of the Highway to Trichy soon.

PS: This is not getting connected to the GST soon. Land encroachments has marred this project.

[haldar_siliguri]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

This has become a regular practice on NE1. I had saved this video from one of those drives in 2016. You can notice how casually if the shoulder lane used for overtaking by so many cars. At nights I have seen even buses using this lane to overtake!

Manoeuvres like these have been the bread and butter of 99% daily drivers for decades, on the Mumbai-Pune expressway's uphill ghat section.

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

This has become a regular practice on NE1. I had saved this video from one of those drives in 2016. You can notice how casually if the shoulder lane used for overtaking by so many cars. At nights I have seen even buses using this lane to overtake!

Honestly, I don't think a lot of people even know the difference between a dotted white and a solid white line. To them, it might well mean a design pattern

[pixantz]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Thanks to all who replied to my question about truckers in the right-hand lane. All the replies made sense and perhaps I should have thought of them myself. I don't spend much time highway driving.

If I may I would like to chip in with my views too as this is a very annoying yet interesting phenomenon, the right lane hogging by trucks. The reasons for it, though, would make you understand why they do it and you can't totally blame them.

Here's my take:

First of all, like someone else also said earlier in the replies, the truckers are mostly much better mannered drivers than us car drivers (they have to be as they've got a bigger load, vehicle, responsibility and judgment requirement) and stick to the left as they should wherever the situations permit. Which is a rare situation these days with ever increasing moron percentage on the road and traffic too. And this is not just a highway thing. Big vehicles behave similarly in chaotic cities too, like here in Mumbai. The reasons are the same.

One main reason I think they avoid the left is because it's filled with all the "smart" drivers doing what they do best like: simply hogging whilst day-dreaming (nobody knows what the terms "giving way" and "move-the-heck-out-of-the-way-if-you-don't-have-better-things-to-do" mean, it's about simple courtesy), erratically stopping just about anytime miles away from the curb meanwhile taking that ever important call from the PM, or saying hi to their pal or the pan wallah, thinking 50 times whether you should take that exit or not, buying fish or some other stuff from some vendor who has already occupied half of the left lane, the list could go on for eternity, basically all about doing their best to keep the left lane jammed because, hey, they've paid their road taxes and they're entitled and have every right to do so. So the other person behind who REALLY has to get some place important like work etc can be damned because he's not as entitled.

Now all the above reasons and more, are a real pain for the big vehicle drivers because every time they hit the brakes even for some seconds and shed some speed, it's a real chore downshifting and upshifting through many more gears (most large trucks or larger HCVs have about a dozen or more gears in total, chew on that) than the average small vehicles and what with the added tons of weight they're carrying with much more momentum to live with too while all that the car driver is concerned with is how to better enjoy that DSG experience . It's a situation no trucker would like to be in.

Hence the simple solution of sticking to the right and let those smallies have their fun on the left

The right is much less cluttered, most of the time.

Hope that sums up quite a bit of it. My two cents.

[hserus]

A truck full of liquor overturned today afternoon just past Hosur on the Bangalore highway.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by pixantz

If I may I would like to chip in with my views too as this is a very annoying yet interesting phenomenon, the right lane hogging by trucks. The reasons for it, though, would make you understand why they do it and you can't totally blame them.

Here's my take ... ... ...

All so true. Of course, many of those things are annoying to all other drivers too. I try to be patient with someone who is lost, but... Stopping in the middle of a junction to think about it? Bikers who chat together at a strolling pace?

As to getting in the way of truckers, I recall a quote from a UK trucker, many years ago: "It is more work for me to shift up through the gears than most car drivers do in a week."

No doubt, truck gearboxes, even in India, will have become lighter. But we do still have to appreciate their load,

[Mu009]

Originally Posted by hserus

A truck full of liquor overturned today afternoon just past Hosur on the Bangalore highway.

No wonder there's a cop around (probably more are) - can't imagine the way the locals will go for spoils if the scene were to be left unattended.

[foby.sebastian]

Received these pics on WhatsApp.

[Rahul Rao]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Does anyone have "inside information" as to why truckers stuck to the right?

There are two main reasons behind that.

1st During day they have to face two wheeler traffic, they also do not have a lane for themselves. Drive center lane, cars overtake from LH and cut across.

Some one honks or flashes, they do indicate to move to LH, but no one has patience to wait for them to find a clear stretch and move.
If they are in LH lane, and see a obstruction ahead, and they indicate they want to move to RH lane, no following car slows to allow this, even if one does, another overtakes it from LH and moves to RH for OT. Many other similar things.

Drive continuous in LH lane, and risk stone throwing from 2 wheeler riders and villagers.

2nd. Those who run 200 to 500 km routes, can have a assistant driver go for unloading or loading material from source factories during day time, then have after loading is done main driver can do the long distance run in the night.

I hire trucks for taking material to my work sites, the main driver usually parks truck at location where maximum time will be consumed for loading, (this is usually in Bhosari near Pune) and sleeps in the truck. 6 to 8 hrs later he wakes up, checks if loading is proper, and moves to second point, on Pune Bangalore bi-pass. There he gets balance items loaded. Rest of the items from other vendors are also brought here in smaller pickups etc.

After that the driver sees everything strapped down properly, and goes home, returns after 10.00 at night to start for his destination, which he reaches early morning.

The truck never crosses 60kph, yet manages about 350km in 8 Hrs, which takes me 5.5 to 6 Hrs at speeds close to 100.

Originally Posted by locusjag

The car didn't even slow down for a patch of broken road past us and kicked up dust. Barely a few metres later, it veered right onto the median for no reason on the clear 4 laned road and hit the median. It rolled over thrice.

Now that I think about it, you don't just roll a Swift easily. It took a lot of doing on the idiot's part.

Also, I must have been a few metres behind him when he lost control. Did the steering rod or something break to cause the car to steer right? He had ridden roughshod over the broken patch at what I think was 100 Kmph. It was an old, 1st Gen Swift. Who knows how vulnerable its mechanicals would have been to a breakage?

What you describe is exactly what I experienced when my car overturned after my Tie rod had snapped.

Rahul

[Sarvodaya]

In a gruesome accident, a woman was crushed while she was waiting for bus.



Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/67906316.cms

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by foby.sebastian

Received these pics on WhatsApp.

What exactly is going on here? The Swift jumped the canal and landed on the other side with just a broken suspension?