[amitayu]

Reasons for accidents in India:

a) some people simply do not know or bother to understand their cars. Just getting a hang of ABC pedals and the steering wheel does not make you a driver. You cannot and should not drive a SUV like a hatckback, dart into small spaces, squeeze your car between lanes. We are bullies behind wheels who are always looking to pick on the weaker one. Cars bully 2 wheelers, SUVs bully hatchbacks, buses and trucks bully all cars.

b) The process of getting a driving license is a joke. You can simply pay and buy one without any proper testing. We all know we could get a license even before we turned 18.

c) Traffic management is just absent in our country. Every traffic police has only 2 lookouts; fine and revenue generation and knee jerk steps to clear an immediate pile up. Everything else is "Ram Bharose".

[RM Motorsports]

According to me one major cause of accidents is bad or imperfect roads. My experience is based on Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Since the expressway opened in 2002, I have driven "N number of times" Mumbai - Pune - Mumbai.

The concrete on expressway is extremely abrasive. There is just too much friction between the road and tyres, resulting in too much heat being generated. This is main cause of tyre failures. The poor quality of Indian tyres adds to this.

When the expressway had just opened we had rented a Tata Sumo to Mahableshwer. While returning, the driver drove hard over a deep pothole somewhere around Pune which he didn't notice. The front left must have got bit misaligned. By the time we reached Mumbai, the tyre was so worn out, that the steel threads inside were visible. We were just driving at 50 - 60 kph. This shows how abrasive surface is.

Poor maintenance of cars is another cause of accidents. I don't know how far true it is, but if your car breaks down on public roads in Singapore, you are heavily fined : REASON - Not maintaining your car properly.

[KrisTvpm]

Have a close friend who gave a well-applause-deserving refurbishment/rebirth to his grandpa's Royal Enfield 1968 model which was rotting away in their family farm.

So one would think he's the informed kind and would not commit blunders while finishing such a project.

But to my horror he didn't install turn indicators, rearview mirrors on both sides - citing that deprives the bike of the original authentic look And he uses it as his daily drive too.

So what I've observed in a nutshell are two primary factors that contribute to the anarchy on our roads:

• Our system - just bribe the RTO/agent/middleman or use the influence "mera baap" has - license will come to my doorsteps instead of me proving I can indeed drive efficiently. Even otherwise the system is not foolproof enough to ensure a driver or vehicle is indeed "roadworthy"!

• Ourselves - lackadaisical / take it easy approach, after all it's just a minor thing like indicator/ORVM, who cares!

Would expect authorities to overhaul the RTO and entire transport management system as efficient as probably the middle-east or SG have it. Plus the people factor - (this is a challenge, how the less-informed/illiterate folks will catch up with the demands to ensure safety on roads?)

[raghu.bramha]

Ego.

I have a regular routine of shuttling between Bengaluru and Tumakuru, which is about 70kms stretch on Bengaluru-Pune highway. Almost all the time I see atleast one or two overly confident, boisterous and outright hooligan drivers who choose to take out their "issues" out on the road. Their signature style includes flashing/honking madly, tailgating very close to opposite vehicle, overtaking from left hard shoulder effectively going off-road, unnecessary lane changes etc.

I have a cousin who drives like this, we know him very well. He always is very competitive in whatever he does, which is a good thing. But when he drives, he suddenly starts to be aggressive just to show off. We keep telling him to be more sedate, but his point of view is something different, he thinks we are jealous of his driving. Sigh.

I have seen many vehicles whose drivers are going crazy on road while carrying families in the car. On his own he might not behave the same way, but when he is with family he tends to be more show offy.

When ego comes to play it's hard to convince them otherwise. You don't have to prove anyone how fast or how good you can drive. You help them reach safely 10 ot of 10 times is the biggest satisfaction you give them. No one is going to call you a boring driver, it's not what it is. Be the mature person, more importantly a responsible driver. Public roads are not race tracks. No one is even remotely impressed by how fast you drive, neither are they gonna give you a F1 seat. Calm the hell down.

[saikarthik]

Originally Posted by ButterRider 7

11.Driving long distances without proper rest, resulting in exhaustion & stress.

11. I understand the lack of rest part completely - Even when I did the Ladakh trip, I had to ride 16 hours due to some underestimation of traffic in Delhi.

Originally Posted by EightSix

Speaking of taxis, speed limiters in them are another small yet significant cause I would like to point out. An Uber driver had told us on the Mumbai-Pune expressway that since his car is speed locked to 80kmph, driving it becomes boring as it doesn't respond with acceleration and deceleration which is why some drivers even fall asleep!

Another point I'd like to make, instead of calling them accidents, how about we call them car crashes? They are not accidents since most of them are caused due to stupidity. I read an article in an automotive magazine a few years back that stressed this point. I can't find it but would love your views on this topic.

Yes brother, Constant speed makes it difficult and people tend to change lanes unwantedly just to perform some action and stay awake - example of truck drivers on long hauls.
There are rumble strips but they can only help a little.

For your second point, yes, some can be called crashes since its knowingly taking some stupid decision.
There is a campaign launched few months back #Doori hai Zaroori by Chairman of Road safety - might find it interesting and please check it out.

Originally Posted by S2K

A lot of them even have the audacity to flash the headlights asking for a pass. It feels as if flashing lights for pass is a rule to get into opposite lane and overtake a vehicle.

Good point. Apart from flashing, they actually keep the headlamps on default high beams causing vision bleach for oncoming vehicles.

Originally Posted by TrackDay

7. Taking eyes off the road to look at those giant hoardings, bill
boards.

As for trees falling on our rides while commuting, Trucks falling from flyovers, other vehicles running into us, that is beyond us. I do my part. Rest is fate.

That's the best anyone can do and is expected to do. about the bill boards and hoardings, There were frequently planted political party hoardings kept right in the entry of a turn used to cause a lot of accidents in my previous area.

Originally Posted by amitayu

Reasons for accidents in India:


b) The process of getting a driving license is a joke. You can simply pay and buy one without any proper testing. We all know we could get a license even before we turned 18.

First, even if its properly obtained. The RTO has to check the person's grasp on how to behave on road while driving than just checking if a person is able to operate a vehicle.

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

According to me one major cause of accidents is bad or imperfect roads. My experience is based on Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Since the expressway opened in 2002, I have driven "N number of times" Mumbai - Pune - Mumbai.

I was in MH for 2.5 years. It's the worst place that I have been to w.r.t road maintenance.

Check out the below link, Madras HC has ordered toll collector to reduce toll fee for bad roads - A very good slap in the face.

https://www.rushlane.com/nhai-toll-f...-12386344.html

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by amitayu

Reasons for accidents in India:

a) some people simply do not know or bother to understand their cars. Just getting a hang of ABC pedals and the steering wheel does not make you a driver. You cannot and should not drive a SUV like a hatckback, dart into small spaces, squeeze your car between lanes. We are bullies behind wheels who are always looking to pick on the weaker one. Cars bully 2 wheelers, SUVs bully hatchbacks, buses and trucks bully all cars.

.

Totally agree and I will expand this further-perhaps may be controversial. People are not to able to judge the power and dynamic capability of their vehicles.

A lot of first time buyers are driving cars with an average power of 80bhp+. That is a LOT of power to handle for a newbie driver especially in the Indian driving conditions. Lets not even get to crossovers, most of which weigh over a tonne and carry a lot of momentum. About motorbikes in the same vein, the lesser said the better. I can drive a Scooty110 one minute and then hop on to a Hayabusa. Some graded licensing must be done.

[cy_auto_enthu]

I feel the learned members of this group have given very valuable pointers from their rich experience.

I think the factors can be treated as controllable and uncontrollable.

There is a class of drivers who just want to abuse the system and not follow any rules and don't care about their own safety and naturally not about others. The system is supposed to make sure such people are not on roads but we all know how things are.

Other class of people who understand these challenges and want to be safe I feel if there is a silver bullet it is the right speed for the external conditions and reducing it further for rogue drivers, this is very simple and sounds like trivializing the debate but I have found it very hard to appreciate and implement myself


we should mentally have speed limiters for a certain set of conditions and that would defend us very well, may seem unnecessary sometimes but I think building discipline is important

[Turbolove]

Originally Posted by nagr22

If they had the foresight to 'warn' users about an accident prone zone, they should first redesign that zone and eliminate it! How many road users can read an English sign, how many will read it even if it is written in all Indian languages and how many will bother to follow it even if they understand it? Our roads must be made idiot proof!

There is a common saying, no matter to what extent you try and make something idiot proof, the universe will always come up with an even bigger idiot.

Certain aspects of roads might be fixed due to the geography of the land, in that case making it idiot proof is not possible. We need a better system to track and implement fines. Once somebody has to pay a huge amount as a fine, I doubt they will do it again.

[swarnava.ch]

I actually have a theory here about vehicular accidents that i want to share and check with you all. Accidents can happen due to only two reasons
1. 50% my fault (this will include anything that I might have done wrong)
2. 50% due to a fault of someone else (I will just categorise this as bad luck)

Now for the point 2 above honestly there is very little you can do. I dont believe its in our hands to control the second part however we definitely have a lot to minimize to zero the first 50% chances.

Now for the first part, we have to do the following:
1. Car Preparation - Take care of the car, pre-emptive checks, scheduled servicing, tyre pressure checks etc
2. Driver Preparation – take rest before trips, keep a calm cool head during driving, get enough rest before long drives, no drink and drive, be attentive and mindful of others on the roads, frequent breaks and keep drinking fluids (water, tea, coffee, juices etc) to keep body fresh and hydrated, better to drive defensively and mostly prefer soothing music in car.

[Sanjunair5]

Driving in most developed places is an activity for transportation that happens in a controlled and constrained environment, controlled and constrained by factors like Road rules like width/road signs/speed limits/construction materials, design of roads/intersections/traffic lights, road usage rules like when do you pull over/when to use hazard lights, written and unwritten mannerisms and so many other factors.

Additionally it is taught and drilled into everyone in most developed places that driving is a privilege and not an entitlement which is why you need a license to drive.

So, the key is to know that driving is a privilege and that it is a controlled/constrained activity for the greater good of all the co-users.

And in India? They are exactly the opposite!

[PioneerNB]

b) The process of getting a driving license is a joke. You can simply pay and buy one without any proper testing. We all know we could get a license even before we turned 18.

c) Traffic management is just absent in our country. Every traffic police has only 2 lookouts; fine and revenue generation and knee jerk steps to clear an immediate pile up. Everything else is "Ram Bharose"

I know, nowadays traffic cops are trained to check for masks and belt: they wont bother if I drive around with a bull behind my back

On a separate note, I think phones are major contributors to accidents: i see so many cabbies/ owners place smart phones in their odometer console and watch series/matches- and with the new Chinese ensemble of brobdingnagian screens we have people with half their neck strained into screens and half on road like an ostrich about to bury its neck

I do not even want to discuss people using phones in bikes/mopeds/cycles: it has become their fundamental right to use a phone in one hand and maneuver their vehicles on high beam in the worst possible manner.

[RoadAtlas]

Time.

I need to complete 600 kms before the evening hits. Once it is dark, it will be very difficult to drive in a single lane road. Instead of starting @5:00am, I start @9:00am. On a delay of 4 hours, it is always in the back of my mind, that I shall have to complete the trip by hook or by crook.

A person is late by 30 mins for leaving for office. Meeting starts on time, he has to cover at least 15 mins on daily commute, hence, have to drive faster.

A Taxi driver can do at least 1 extra trip per day if he drives reasonably fast.

Time is one of the biggest factor contributing to Accidents. On roads now-a-days, everyone is short of time, they do not use blinkers before turning, change lanes all of a sudden, deny right of way frantically, overtake in a very dangerous way.

A hurried driver is a risk to all others on the road. Unfortunately, most of the people on the road are extremely short on time.

[VijayAnand1]

I think most of the highway accidents can be avoided if we stick to "controllable" speeds that's one. And secondly, heavy haul vehicles having proper working trafficators and brake lights helps "tons". Loss of control happens when our reaction time is half the time of the actual event that happens in front, and proper traffication and brake lights helps us reduce that time even to milliseconds.

Mind you, there are lots of drivers who drive under the influence, who drive like there's no tomorrow or for that matter a respect for the fellow driver, which is an altogether different topic. Common sense, proper working trafficators and controllable speeds are following traffic rules even 50% will save a lot of lives.

Cheers!
VJ

[TheVegabond]

Here in Delhi-ncr, there are numerous u-turns which have been carved out from the right lane. Unless you are familiar with that particular stretch of the road, it will be too late to notice the u-turn. While reversing, there is a high chance somone might ram into you from behind.

In my early morning drives, I have seen trucks stuck on those u-turn dividers which the the poor driver failed to notice during the night drive.

[Neversaygbye]

Originally Posted by DhruvGupt@

Very detailed thread and lots of probable causes right there, one more that could be added is the padestrians jumping on the roads out of no where and causing fatals accidents.

This is a very important point. In Calcutta there have been umpteen occasions when pedestrians have simply raised a hand asking me to stop and crossed the road while the signal was green for me and I was at speed. It was their lucky day that I stopped or slowed down in time but typically they don't even look in the direction of the car once they have shown the hand signal and decided to cross (human equivalent of burying their head in the sand in the face of oncoming danger, I guess)

One other thing I find hugely irritating is two wheelers going in the middle and right lanes - they think that they have more power and acceleration than the cars behind them, which is not always true. I find two wheelers a huge menace in Bangalore, and they are becoming one now in Calcutta ever since public transport got impacted due to Covid (Cal has traditionally had less two-wheelers because of better last mile connectivity than other cities). Since I also own and ride a bike, I know that driving in the left lane is something that can be done quite easily.

Indians in general lack discipline and this trait manifests itself irrespective of whether they are the driver or the pedestrian.

All of these along with poor road design, road conditions, signage, poor driving, cattle, etc. result in accidents. And sometimes its just an act of God and pure bad luck.