Re: Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubanes Quote:
Originally Posted by ike I was cruising down NH16 in Odisha on my way to Puri when a group of buffaloes decided to come on to the road out of nowhere (see the dashcam video).
|
I saw the video and the crash was horrific and I am glad that you and your family were unhurt. It could have been much worse - considering there was an entire herd out there you could have hit more than one buffalo, to begin with.
However, I don't think there is much you could have done in this case, that you didn't do already. Driving at 90 on an NH during the day is well within the speed limit for NHs although it is 80 (and in some stretches 70 and even 50) in most of NH-16 in Orissa. Plus many NHs have bushes of the type that can be seen here - many such bushes are there by design to ensure that oncoming high beam headlights don't blind a driver at night. While you probably could have reduced speed after seeing the cows on the road, maybe the cruise control had induced a certain amount of dissociation and you were more focused on the upcoming overtake.
Just chalk it up to bad luck and move on. I have had my share of hits on the highway - a dog, a goat and a buffalo come readily to mind but in all three cases I was lucky and got away lightly (all except the dog were glancing blows and at a low speed). Driving on the left or right lane didn't matter - the dog ran in front from the left, and the buffalo crossed the road from the divider on the right (similar to your case). The goat literally jumped on my car from the left while I was passing it (it hit the left passenger door!)
So if it is destined to happen, it will. A lower speed helps but does not guarantee that nothing will happen. Don't let this incident put you off road trips - these incidents don't happen every day and there's a low likelihood of it happening again. Quote:
Originally Posted by nerd1200 .
In a particular incident, similar to OP's, cattle was pushed onto the road deliberately. Luckily I was able to almost avoid it in time, but my ORVM was smashed nevertheless. It seems this is almost a practice to extort money from unsuspecting foreigners. |
I had a similar experience on the Bankura-Purulia Highway in Bengal when a boy deliberately pushed a goat onto the path of my car. I was going at 70. The road was empty and I saw what he was trying to do and braked and swerved and avoided the goat. A few kms later saw another man waiting by the side of the road with another goat and right then knew that this was a racket. This time I slowed down well in advance and he understood I knew (our eyes met) and immediately lost interest in pushing the goat in front of my car. So there is a new thing to worry about now on our highways. Quote:
Originally Posted by silverado
Now the only thing which can possible save us from such incidents is to follow a fast moving truck closely. This way there is least possibility of animal straying in your path and truck drivers have much better visibility so they would be aware of cattle on such roads much before us. |
If you are yourself driving a truck, then this might work - and even then its not recommended because following closely means that you are not keeping safe distance. If you are not driving a truck, what you are doing is creating a huge blind zone for yourself. A truck can run over potholes, speedbreakers and other obstructions that can destroy the suspension of your car. Not to mention that it can swerve suddenly to avoid an obstruction (including another vehicle) in front leaving you exposed to bang into that very obstruction since the response time available to you will be very low if you are following the truck closely
The better practice is to drive at a safe speed and identify another car in front driving at a similar speed and follow it at a distance. If it is a local car, then nothing like it as they will even know where the potholes and speedbreakers and other obstructions are on the route. On my recent trip to Vizag there was a local Brezza going at 90-100 in the AP stretch and I followed it at a safe distance all the way to Vizag. He must have been really bugged, but thanks to him I could go at a higher speed, and got advance intimation of obstructions ahead (thanks to his brake lights). I ensured that I had sufficient stopping distance and also kept an eye on other traffic and the roadside while following him. I have seen people do that with my car as the lead car as well. But doing this with a truck in place of a car is not a great idea at all. |