Whoa! There's a lot of huffin'n'puffin out here, allow me to clarify a few things straight up.
1. Yes. I could have done the turn much slower. However, it was no 'bat out of hell' pace.
a. The road was really broad (end of Marina Beach, towards Parrys Corner, there's a huge roundabout - TBHPians in Chennai would endorse!)
b. It was late in the evening. The traffic was pretty sparse. It usually is low in this stretch of the road most of the time.
c. There were two cars doing the same turn at a similar (or faster) speed in front of me (OHC and an Accent if I remember right). Again, I'm not 'justifying' that they did the right or the wrong thing - it just wasn't a 'torrid - kill 'em all' pace.
2. Yessir.Thin tyres = Better Efficiency=otrocious cornering manners. I've learnt it the hard way. Just find it unfortunate that nothing remotely similar happened in any of the cars I've owned and driven earlier (Zen Vxi, Accent GLS, Ikon 1.6 Sxi) when I was younger and 'brasher'. I still say though, that the Swift VXi is undertyred. The squeals are noticeable and embarassing and are underqualified for the peppy engine-agile chassis combination of the Swift.
Is it entirely my fault? Yes. Is the manufacturer entirely not at fault? Don't think so. You don't give a 88 BHP engine and bad tyres - do so for the 50 BHP cars. And Zxi buyers are getting enough goodies for the price - not throwing in similar 185/70 tyres on the Vxi or LXi is a below-the-belt hit.
3. Lemme guess - 9 Indians out of 10 (and maybe 8 out of 10 Bhpians!) wouldn't know how to control a skid/making handbrake turns or heel-toe shifts (no theoritical google search gyan please - in practice, in an emergency) simply because weren't the cars or roads or schools or facilities for the same.
Now, a lot of inter-city roads have improved drastically, cars have become more powerful (and if global tendencies are any indication, this trend would continue), and, like it or not, most normal people would'nt obey the speed limit of 80kmph on an expressway. So people who get irritated about auto mags pontificating about vibrations at 110 kmph, please dont be too surprised. Just take a trip down any national highway/expressway.
I think though that there is an urgent need for emergency handling/driving improvement/defensive driving specialist driving schools.
Until then, yes, its certainly not advisable to push your car really hard - it'll be skirting dangerously on the edge. That's a lesson I have certainly learnt and imbibed. (Yes, there's a moron less on the streets!)
Hope this clarifies....to sum it up,
1. Yes, I've learnt to respect my car's limits. Its very easy to get carried away, and without proper true-to-life practical training, its not easy to handle emergencies.
2. Dont think I'm a monster-on-wheels adrenalin junkie. So, focusing totally on my 'manic' tendencies might shift attention away from an important point I want to make (read 3)
3. Sorry, the Swift VXi is undertyred for its engine-chassis combo. And I dont subscribe to the theory that only higher end versions should have safer tyres.
Comments/Suggestions welcome! |