[wildsdi5530]

Have any of you seen someone hit by speeding vehicles when trying to clear a road of stones without safety signs atleast 200 mts away? I'm all for civic responsibility but not at the cost of one's life. I remember reading about a couple of people being run over while helping an accident involving a tractor, couple of years back.
And moving barricades, even fallen ones can land you in jail.
Giving way for pedestrians is fine as long as they stick to zebra crossings. But what about pilgrimages, do you drive behind the slowly walking barefooted people for 20 km and burn up enough fuel for 200km or do you honk??
A taxi driver once told me that he could drive without a brake, but never without a horn.

[jeevmenon]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

Have any of you seen someone hit by speeding vehicles when trying to clear a road of stones without safety signs atleast 200 mts away? I'm all for civic responsibility but not at the cost of one's life. I remember reading about a couple of people being run over while helping an accident involving a tractor, couple of years back.

That's absurd. Cannot imagine that happening. Is there a link somewhere?

And moving barricades, even fallen ones can land you in jail.

Again do you have a link or law which states the same or someone who has landed up in jail?

Giving way for pedestrians is fine as long as they stick to zebra crossings. But what about pilgrimages, do you drive behind the slowly walking barefooted people for 20 km and burn up enough fuel for 200km or do you honk??
A taxi driver once told me that he could drive without a brake, but never without a horn.

There is a way. Pull up your car on the curb-side and chill-out. Again, can you tell me a place where you have seen all the pilgrims covering the entire width of the road and walking and you following them for 20km and they not budging? Just try following them for 15 sec at a distance of 5-7 m and they would give way! Guaranteed. If you are talking of 20km long queue of pilgrims walking on NH/SH please post a picture. It would be some sight!

[supremeBaleno]

@jeevmenon, that was a nice thing to do.

Funny this thread came up because in Chennai it is very common to see stones on the road. Not the ones like jeevmenon posted, but concrete blocks laid serially to serve as medians/dividers. Every now and then, you would see one of these pushed aside so that some biker could do a U-turn where he wishes instead of where the cops wish him to.

As I drive past these, apart from thinking that I should stop and set the stone right (so that no biker crashes on it at night), I always am reminded of that old story we learnt in school. You know the one about "A big stone blocking people's way, but everyone just circumventing it, instead of doing anything about it. And finally how underneath the stone (for anyone who would push it aside) is a bag of gold coins". I seriously need to start moving those stones. Who knows, I might hit potluck one day.

[perseus]

Originally Posted by jeevmenon

That's absurd. Cannot imagine that happening. Is there a link somewhere?

Here you go:

Noida: 7 killed, 12 injured in experssway mishap - The Times of India

[mallumowgli]

I've removed stones from the middle of the roads while on a bike or while walking many times, but have removed obstacles while driving a car only once.

And that was a day I would remember forever - we were driving to Siruvani Dam and just before entering the Singappara reserve forest, the road is a narrow winding Ghat road. An elephant or a group of elephants had just walked through right across the ghat roads and had left broken tree branches on the way. I removed the branches and my dad kept watch for any elephant coming up. The dung of the elephants were also fresh and steam was coming out. It is a lonely road, and I remember we had to do this at around 6 or 7 different points. I was almost weak at the knees, both due to the the physical labor as well as fear!!

[wildsdi5530]

Been held up on my way from Tirunelveli to Coimbatore couple of times. Perhaps 300 or so people on their way to Palani.
Just try following them for 15 sec at a distance of 5-7 m and they would give way! Guaranteed. Consider that they are not walking in a queue but walking in groups of 2 to 10. And consider that 15 sec at 5-7 m is not the true picture but the emergency braking from 80-100 kph when you suddenly see a group on the road, slowing to let them find a smooth shoulder to get off the road, and accelerating just to encounter a similar scene 200 mts away.
Best way I've found is to tag behind a govt. bus. He just uses the horn instead of brakes and public know that being hit by a bus will not get you any compensation so they scurry away.

[jeevmenon]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

I've removed stones from the middle of the roads while on a bike or while walking many times, but have removed obstacles while driving a car only once.

And that was a day I would remember forever - we were driving to Siruvani Dam and just before entering the Singappara reserve forest, the road is a narrow winding Ghat road. An elephant or a group of elephants had just walked through right across the ghat roads and had left broken tree branches on the way. I removed the branches and my dad kept watch for any elephant coming up. The dung of the elephants were also fresh and steam was coming out. It is a lonely road, and I remember we had to do this at around 6 or 7 different points. I was almost weak at the knees, both due to the the physical labor as well as fear!!

Do they allow one to go to Siruvani dam? Once we were stopped at the point where there is the river flowing over the road just before the climb into the forest. No clue why? There is a road into Kerala from here.

Similarly going over the Mettur dam / KRS dam / Harangi dam - No clue why the close them, there are other beautiful dams which are open for the public. We should start a dam thread, maybe. There are disputes here? So what? How does it change things if I walk over it?

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by jeevmenon

Do they allow one to go to Siruvani dam? Once we were stopped at the point where there is the river flowing over the road just before the climb into the forest. No clue why? There is a road into Kerala from here.

Accessing Siruvani from Tamilnadu side is not possible. But you can reach the dam through the Kerala side. The diversion is off the Palakkad Mannarkad NH213, just 9 - 10 kms before Mannarkad and from there Siruvani Dam site or Singappara Reserve forest check post will be around 15kms

Similarly reaching Kovai Kutralam falls in TN through Siruvani dam in Kerala is also prohibited. Though there is a road connecting these two, only PWD officials and forest officials use it

[traveloholic]

I've never stopped to move the small stones, but have surely stopped over to remove a couple of nails, i've seen lying a few cm's before the speed breaker. It looked like someone deliberately put them there.

A few people started laughing at me, the moment I stopped the bike & got down to collecting them on the road. Those few moments, I could have shied off but never wanted to. A person standing with them understood my intention and came down to help me in removing the nails. This act of his mummed everyone around and an aged man walking on the road kind of praised me for doing such a thing. The feeling was elating.

How many times do we turn a blind eye towards these things, which we can do?

[jeevmenon]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Accessing Siruvani from Tamilnadu side is not possible. But you can reach the dam through the Kerala side. The diversion is off the Palakkad Mannarkad NH213, just 9 - 10 kms before Mannarkad and from there Siruvani Dam site or Singappara Reserve forest check post will be around 15kms

Similarly reaching Kovai Kutralam falls in TN through Siruvani dam in Kerala is also prohibited. Though there is a road connecting these two, only PWD officials and forest officials use it

Oh! Good. Then Siruvani dam is accessible. I should go there once. Is it walkable on top of the dam? Technically it lies within Kerala, but is it disputed? I heard CBE folks saying that the water in their homes is Siruvani water. So, TN gets the water but they dont allow people to cross the border to see where the water comes from and the mallus are not allowed to see the dam and see where the water flows out. Btw can one reach Kutralam falls from TN all through the year? Sorry OT.

@Traveloholic: Great job. Dont be shy of what people say/do. Just do it!

[airguitar]

I've done it once or twice while I walked but never when I was on my scooter or in my car. But one thing : I don't know who clears the fallen branches ( big ones mind you ) in the wee hours of the mornings, but whenever I'm on my trips and I pass through hilly/forest routes ( sometimes as early as 6.30 AM ) after overnight rain, I always see that some kind soul has moved the big branches to the side of the road! God bless them.

[StopUnderrides]

Originally Posted by lejhoom

On a stretch flanked on both sides by paddy fields I sweep down at about 140 km/h.

This explains everything. Why would you travel at 140kph in India- that too on an unbarricaded road?

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by StopUnderrides

This explains everything. Why would you travel at 140kph in India- that too on an unbarricaded road?

C'mon!!! Retrospective laws are a big boooo!!!! The post is 12+ years old.

It was an era where there was no national speed limit or even speed enforcement out of cities. Also mentioning of high speeds were not frowned upon in TeamBHP at that time. Not defending, but a straight road with paddyfields on both sides would throw less surprises at us than a typical single carriageway road.

[lejhoom]

Ah! It was a Daewoo Cielo. Maybe in the year 2000. Those days I used to make several trips between Bangalore and Hyderabad and the road seemed very familiar. During day, it practically wore a deserted look and in the night private buses ruled the roost.

[aspire]

Was travelling to Murudeshwar, I think 2015, on a curving slope was following a truck, suddenly noticed a big rock, as big as 2 cement bags right in front of me, somehow managed to serve and avoid, however a discovery behind me ran over it and most likely damaged its underside, I dint stop as that driver had stopped and would have removed the stone for sure, pretty bad if he didn't, came across the same discovery after another 30 minutes, seemed to be doing ok.