How Safe Are Our Highways?

[ramkya1]

Hai friends,

I was on the Hubli Pune 4 track road, just crossed Umbreg and overtaking a lorry ..... must have been doing 100+on my fusion when I saw this bullock cart on the wrong side heading for me......... man than blew my top. I was lucky to have the time to overtake. My son had the camera fired and ready and shot this picture in time. The URL below will show the picture

http://img495.imageshack.us/my.php?i...on4lane4ty.jpg

Another picture of a KSRTC bus trying to overtake when there is absolutely no space...... amlosot rammed me

http://img495.imageshack.us/my.php?i...tcdemon1av.jpg

A herd of goats on the same highway near Pune, blocked traffic for 5-8 minutes.

http://img491.imageshack.us/my.php?i...on4trac4lm.jpg

so....... what say you ......... are our roads safe for 100+ KMPH?

-- Ramky.

[Shan2nu]

Well, if that is scary, try the B'lore Tumkur highway. You'l find trucks heading your way on the wrong side of the road.

Only 2 types of people are capable of this. Those who are ignorant and those who very well know the rules but try to save fuel/time and take the shortest way.

I remember on our way back from the team-bhp Mahableshwar trip, Rehaan overshot the left hand turn leading to the expressway. At first, we though we'd reverse the car and make it but, finally decided to go down the road, take a U turn and make it back.

We ended up getting a lot more than we bargained for. We traveled for kms without any breakup in the divider. I think we must have travelled atleast 10-15 kms before we caught up with the others (who were waiting at the mouth of the left turns we'd missed earlier).

The way these highways are designed is really pathetic.

Shan2nu

[tsk1979]

Whoa! those were scary pics.
Just a couple of days ago, a truck coming on the wrong way on Noida-G.Noida expressway rammed into a bike and crushed the rider. The truck sped away after that. Police have no clue about the truck and information was gathered from onlookers, unfortunately none of them could get the truck Reg no.

And I disagree with shan2nu on ignorance. Such cases of wrong side driving are by people who want to save time/fuel. About 6 months back two trucks colided head on on the Outer ring road in bangalore because one truck was coming on the wrong way. The worst thing is that these morons come on the wrong way in the fast lane. Even if they stick to the leftmost lane, many accidents can be avoided.
And heres another thing, if you ram somebody coming the wrong way, and that person is maimed/killed you have to pay compensation(50000 I think) and a FIR will be booked against you. This is true for red light jumpers too, if they get killed the person who was driving according to the rule book gets penalized.
I have narrowly escaped a tractor coming the wrong way on outer ring road, and that too without headlights! As for speed, I guess the only safe speed is 60kmph, anything faster than that you can get hit by unexpected.

[Rtech]

are our roads safe for 100+ KMPH?

In a single word - NO.

[kiku007]

Hi Ramky..Good that u missed the stupid cart on the wrong side.

Actually I was once scarred to death on NH5 when a cyclist came exactly the same way as the Bullock cart, in the wrong side,along the median,AT NIGHT,NO REFLECTORS at all.. I overtook a Truck from right and went some distance only to find this moron coming towards me.I almost killed that cyclist.how do these morons come like this? I think many morons are doing the same thing..they should be having some stupid reason for this.

Also one question? Aren't slow moving vehicles supposed to occupy the left most lane?(when there are no seperate speed specific lanes). But most of the slow moving ones are in right most lane. So we have to overtake them from left Which is correct?

[Insane Devil]

the worst roads we got in our country! and the worst drivers

All these problems because of the drives being UNEDUCATED! when a person is uneducated, he doesnt understand Rules, he doesnt understand the IMPORTANCE of following rules either! so this goes out to 98% of the Truck+Bus+Auto drivers of India! 2 % are educated coz Volvo ppl hire only Educated drivers (thats what i heard). so yea... thats the case!

Also, in a few countries i have seen, the freeways(super big highways) are all covered from sides so that no Pedestrians, Bicycles & animals if any can enter it . this should be applied in India too!

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Also one question? Aren't slow moving vehicles supposed to occupy the left most lane?(when there are no seperate speed specific lanes). But most of the slow moving ones are in right most lane. So we have to overtake them from left Which is correct?

if things be at the right places then no accidents will ever happen.
we have to take all teh necessary precautions ...
i have seen a zen with 5 people on board crash head-on into a qualis on the nh7 mumbai-ahmedabad rd...the zen was easily doing 100+ when it crashed into the qualis coming from the wrong side on a 4 lane highway ..


about the lane ....yeah ...the right most lane should always be left open..even if you are doing 200 kph...you have to overatke from teh RHS and then using your indicator drive ahead on teh middle lane ...


on a 6-lane highway with 3 lanes on each side,the leftmost lane is for slow moving or heavy vehicles ,the middle lane is to be used for cruising and teh rightmost only for overtaking

[brainscooper]

Originally Posted by ramkya1

Another picture of a KSRTC bus trying to overtake when there is absolutely no space...... amlosot rammed me

Hi Ramky,
Like I told you in the Fusion forum, you were lucky you werent rammed by the KSRTC bus. All state transport bus drivers are hooligans-they know they can literally get away with murder, unless you happen to be in Kerala and a mob gets hold of you. If you have an accident, you will also not get any reimbursement as these buses have no insurance (at least in Kerala) as the government cannot afford it!

[tsk1979]

Education? Whats education going to do here. I have seen people with Cars like accent, NHC etc., etc., driving on the wrong side to save on fuel. Its balatant disrespect for law and humal life which is the case. People who do this are more concerned with saving time and fuel and they dont really care about the consequences.
In a kerela KSRTC/Private bus, there is 50% chance that the driver can speak and understand english. But still they drive like maniacs.
In many colleges(including premier colleges like RECs) the winner of the student election is decided by who promises booze.

So its not a case of education, its a case of civic sense, and concern for value of life. People with MBA degrees drive rashly after booze and get themselves killed on roads(Remember the famous incident couple of years back in bangalore?).

so blaming everything on lack of education and population may be stylish, buts that not the case!

[muni]

So basically, we are at the mercy of Fate and Destiny when we are driving on the highways. Just ensure that you are not negligent and follow the rules. Sometimes we commit mistakes and get away with it and sometimes we pay for someone else's mistake.

As the law says " If things can go wrong, they will"

[dogdiga]

Scary Pictures... Adding to what Shan2nu said, Bangalore-Tumkur road is extermely dangerous to drive. I have driven mostly on my bike and ocassionally on four wheels

[ramkya1]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

about the lane ....yeah ...the right most lane should always be left open..even if you are doing 200 kph...you have to overatke from teh RHS and then using your indicator drive ahead on teh middle lane ...

on a 6-lane highway with 3 lanes on each side,the leftmost lane is for slow moving or heavy vehicles ,the middle lane is to be used for cruising and teh rightmost only for overtaking

Satya....... ever tried driving from Surat to Baroda ? It's a 4 track road most of the ways and you can rarely overtake from the RHS lane, which is the right thing to do. There is always some lumbering lorry happily crawling away. On my wayback thro Baroda I tried to do the right thing for 20 KMS and lost my cool ............ there was no way I was going to reach home in 5 hours from Baruch to A'bad, 200 KMs. I had to zip thro the left lanes ..... reached Baruich to Baroda 100 KMs in 90 mts and from there thro the Expressway in 1 hr. Even the so called educated drivers (hahahaha) like us have no choice at times..........

If we have a 6 lane highway...... we would need a bullock cart lane on the lane 3

Ramky.
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[speedsatya]

yeah ...u have to do the overtaking from teh LHS sometimes even on the mumbai-pune expressway ....
also i think keeping the parking lites on can help in making ourselves visible to others...i keep the parking and fog lites on full time except in the afternoons...

[sbasak]

Roads in Northern, Western & Southern India are still far better than those of in Eastern India. Potholes are measured in feets and not in inches!

Come to West Bengal and enjoy the ride here.

Not only in highways but even in Kolkata, overtaking from left is common practice. Taxis, buses and lorries never use indicator before turning. People are so unruly here that amateur drivers don't even dare to hold steering here. Driving here is tension at every moment.

[vivekiny2k]

a short story i wrote on my company BB. hope u guys like it. it adds to the highway nighmares.


The invisible man



Sujith was cruising along the ECR, one of the best cruisable roads in Chennai when he noticed something he cud not, or should not, or did not, or did he…….it was his worst nightmare come true, or was it his dream, just that he was on the receiving side. He encountered an invisible man.



Invisible man, he always wanted to be. To do all the things he could not do when visible. But this was different, this was an invisible man with no intentions, or was it? He had this unimaginable ability to go invisible and suddenly appear anywhere at his own will. And then, bang………...



He had these lethal vehicles (yes! lethal vehicles) which he had managed to be invisible as well, and with them he was even more deadly. He could strike any time, anywhere, and catch innocent people unaware of his existence and intentions.



Sujith was in a state of shock, not knowing what to do. Going to police was the last thing he wanted, since he knew nobody will trust or support him. He was still in deep thoughts when he saw (?) another one, and barely managed to get unhurt.



“These autos and fish carts, they are never going to improve, no indicators, no lights….god save this city” he muttered and kept going.





-Vivek