Wheels come off a City Bus

esteem_lover · 5th November 2007, 12:26

"Wheels on the bus go round & round, round & round, round & round
Wheels on the bus go round & round, round & round, round & round
All through the town."

That was the last song that the driver of the car behind this bus would have been playing on his stereo. BUt the strangest thing happened & the wheels of the bus did come round & round hurtling towards his car. What a feeling !
How did the wheels come off ?

Quote:

The driver slammed the brakes after a two-wheeler darted across, and this resulted in the propeller shaft hitting the ground repeatedly. The speed of the vehicle and the force at which the brakes were applied resulted in the wheels breaking loose from the bus.

is that even possible ?

read it here

moralfibre · 5th November 2007, 12:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

is that even possible ?

Yup this is possible and happens quite often with trucks on the e-way. Haven't seen anything like that on buses yet.

JayD · 5th November 2007, 12:57

Yes EL, its very much possible! The same happened with a KSRTC bus here some time back!

esteem_lover · 5th November 2007, 13:03

No, i meant is this a possible reason for the wheels to come off ??

Quote:

The driver slammed the brakes after a two-wheeler darted across, and this resulted in the propeller shaft hitting the ground repeatedly. The speed of the vehicle and the force at which the brakes were applied resulted in the wheels breaking loose from the bus.

Blue Thunder · 5th November 2007, 14:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

No, i meant is this a possible reason for the wheels to come off ??

I dont think that is possible....technically, what is mentioned in the newspaper is crap. The most probable reason was that the u-bolts which hold the leaf springs to the axle broke off (due to lousy maintenance) : this would have caused the rear axle to break off and exit from the rear, thus causing the propeller shaft to break.

I used to get a kick from driving my car very close behind the MTC buses in Chennai (they clear the way for you in heavy traffic

).....but after reading about this incident I dont think I will do it again.

Rahulkool · 5th November 2007, 14:19

saw this in newspaper and was surprised that they said it was fault of the driver lol ....

nitrous · 5th November 2007, 14:50

No, That is a load of bull!

esteem_lover · 5th November 2007, 15:10

Quote:

The driver slammed the brakes after a two-wheeler darted across

This particular statement above sounds so stupid & ignorant.

BaCkSeAtDrIVeR · 5th November 2007, 19:36

Hmm. Had a good look at the pic. Looks like an ashok leyland viking 210" WB.

The title IS misleading - I first thought wheels of one side came off (they do due to poor maintenance OR overload). "Axle came off" is a more accurate headline, IMHO.

Here is only way an entire axle can come off - there are 4 U/I bolts fixxing the axles to the spring on one side. All of them should come off, on BOTH sides. This cannot happen unless the vehicle is so poorly maintained. Plus, there are connections to the brake assembly and on some models shock absorbers.

The story about propeller shaft hitting the ground "repeatedly" is plain h0gw@sh. It can break off (due to bad maintenance ONLY); and once it breaks off, it loses connection with the rear axle / differential housing and will drag on the road - this may cause sparks and may result in fire. But certainly, not the rear axle breaking off. Of course, fi the broken part retains connection with the differential connection, then, the bus will be lifted off the ground, and the car driver would have seen the bus wobbling before the axle came off. Since that did not happen, only other option is the only reason I find is poor maintenance, leading to breakage of U/I bolts connecting the leaf assembly and the axle.

But then, a reasonably experienced driver ought to be able to recognise that his rear axle is wobbling. It certainly cannot - will not - come off due to sudden braking or without any kind of warning.

BaCkSeAtDrIVeR · 5th November 2007, 19:55

Ok. I just revisited the pic and a real big magnification does show that the leaf assembly of one side (probably left) side is intact on the axle. This ought to reinforce my theory - U/I bolts breaking on right (vehicle swings to the right because that side goes free), axle tearing off on the right side first (see the big damage to the body on rear right corner), pulling out the propller shaft, next pulling out the spring leaf assembly from left.

Strange that the driver did not realise that the axles are coming off.

I cannot figure out how the leaf assembly broke out. Note that on the right side of the tyre, the leaf is curved up; on the left side, it is curved down. Need a pic from a different angle to figure that out. No way an assembly of at least 10 nos of 3/4 inch thick steel one above other and held in place by at least two clamps breaking.

gr8guzzler · 5th November 2007, 20:24

This is really weird, luckily no one was injured.

I once saw the wheels come off a auto while in motion. In that case it was because he had not fasten the bolts well after a puncture.

Nitin · 5th November 2007, 20:41

Yikes!! Thats one scary incident. Glad that there were no injuries.

rr_zen · 5th November 2007, 21:01

It doesnt make sense to put the blame on the driver as this is clearly a maintenance issue. Any driver would apply brakes however fast he might be driving, to slow down or come to a stop and the vehicle is built to withstand the pressure. This is yet another example of how badly the buses are being maintained.

breezydrive · 5th November 2007, 21:39

Have seen this happening to trucks on the highways!

n_aditya · 6th November 2007, 19:00

Bus driver slammed the brakes and the wheels came off? what BS !!!

When did our age old buses have good brakes to begin with? Looks to me like its more of a breakdown maintanence that is carried out rather than regular preventive maintanence.

5th November 2007, 12:57	#3
JayD Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Cochin! At last Posts: 3,236 Thanked: 2,568 Times View My Garage	Yes EL, its very much possible! The same happened with a KSRTC bus here some time back!
	() Thanks

5th November 2007, 14:19	#6
Rahulkool Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,386 Thanked: 1,416 Times View My Garage	saw this in newspaper and was surprised that they said it was fault of the driver lol ....
	() Thanks

5th November 2007, 14:50	#7
nitrous Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: UAE/Lon/Madras Posts: 6,965 Thanked: 325 Times View My Garage	No, That is a load of bull!
	() Thanks

5th November 2007, 19:36	#9
BaCkSeAtDrIVeR BANNED Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Kochi Posts: 2,522 Thanked: 752 Times	Hmm. Had a good look at the pic. Looks like an ashok leyland viking 210" WB. The title IS misleading - I first thought wheels of one side came off (they do due to poor maintenance OR overload). "Axle came off" is a more accurate headline, IMHO. Here is only way an entire axle can come off - there are 4 U/I bolts fixxing the axles to the spring on one side. All of them should come off, on BOTH sides. This cannot happen unless the vehicle is so poorly maintained. Plus, there are connections to the brake assembly and on some models shock absorbers. The story about propeller shaft hitting the ground "repeatedly" is plain h0gw@sh. It can break off (due to bad maintenance ONLY); and once it breaks off, it loses connection with the rear axle / differential housing and will drag on the road - this may cause sparks and may result in fire. But certainly, not the rear axle breaking off. Of course, fi the broken part retains connection with the differential connection, then, the bus will be lifted off the ground, and the car driver would have seen the bus wobbling before the axle came off. Since that did not happen, only other option is the only reason I find is poor maintenance, leading to breakage of U/I bolts connecting the leaf assembly and the axle. But then, a reasonably experienced driver ought to be able to recognise that his rear axle is wobbling. It certainly cannot - will not - come off due to sudden braking or without any kind of warning.
	() Thanks

5th November 2007, 19:55	#10
BaCkSeAtDrIVeR BANNED Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Kochi Posts: 2,522 Thanked: 752 Times	Ok. I just revisited the pic and a real big magnification does show that the leaf assembly of one side (probably left) side is intact on the axle. This ought to reinforce my theory - U/I bolts breaking on right (vehicle swings to the right because that side goes free), axle tearing off on the right side first (see the big damage to the body on rear right corner), pulling out the propller shaft, next pulling out the spring leaf assembly from left. Strange that the driver did not realise that the axles are coming off. I cannot figure out how the leaf assembly broke out. Note that on the right side of the tyre, the leaf is curved up; on the left side, it is curved down. Need a pic from a different angle to figure that out. No way an assembly of at least 10 nos of 3/4 inch thick steel one above other and held in place by at least two clamps breaking.
	() Thanks

5th November 2007, 20:24	#11
gr8guzzler BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 653 Thanked: 87 Times View My Garage	This is really weird, luckily no one was injured. I once saw the wheels come off a auto while in motion. In that case it was because he had not fasten the bolts well after a puncture.
	() Thanks

5th November 2007, 20:41	#12
Nitin Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,294 Thanked: 20 Times View My Garage	Yikes!! Thats one scary incident. Glad that there were no injuries.
	() Thanks

5th November 2007, 21:01	#13
rr_zen Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 1,799 Thanked: 400 Times View My Garage	It doesnt make sense to put the blame on the driver as this is clearly a maintenance issue. Any driver would apply brakes however fast he might be driving, to slow down or come to a stop and the vehicle is built to withstand the pressure. This is yet another example of how badly the buses are being maintained.
	() Thanks

5th November 2007, 21:39	#14
breezydrive BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: NOIDA Posts: 750 Thanked: 125 Times View My Garage	Have seen this happening to trucks on the highways!
	() Thanks

6th November 2007, 19:00	#15
n_aditya Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Namma Bengaluru Posts: 5,348 Thanked: 3,684 Times View My Garage	Bus driver slammed the brakes and the wheels came off? what BS !!! When did our age old buses have good brakes to begin with? Looks to me like its more of a breakdown maintanence that is carried out rather than regular preventive maintanence.
	() Thanks