[Chevy_lover]

Team, I want to share an incident that happened on the Expressway.

I was returning from Srivardhan yesterday afternoon. I was driving on the Mumbai - Pune expressway and I had crossed the Khandala ghats. I was doing around 120 km per hour and I was in the fast lane. Two trucks were ahead of me in the middle lane. They were going at around 80 km/hr and I was approaching them quite fast. I also noticed that one Ford Ikon was driving along the left most lane (Why ???) parallel to the two trucks.

I honked twice and was about to overtake the trucks. My car was just 10 or 15 feet behind the second truck. There was also a sharp right turn ahead. All of a sudden, the second truck, an Eicher, cut into the right lane without any indicator or hand signal. I got the shock of my life and had just about 10 feet to brake! My speedo was touching 130!!!

I pumped my brake real hard and somehow managed to slow down. It was a miracle that I did not bang into that truck! Luckily I did not skid off the road! I blasted my horn at that idiot for a full minute!! Only then he noticed my car and moved back to the middle lane!!!

It was such a narrow escape for me. I pulled alongside him and my wife and I shouted at him. His face was totally without any expression!!!


Has anyone faced a similar situation?

[alpha1]

Haha!
Pretty much expected from these truckers. Sometimes its seems they feel they are driving a two wheeler.

BTW, the speed limits in the ghat section is 30-40 kmph.

[bblost]

You should ideally make eye contact in the rear view mirror before overtaking in the interest of your own safety.

[amit]

You should write about this to the Mumbai Commissioner of Police who very proudly keeps saying that the no-honking day has proved that people can drive without honking.

[Chevy_lover]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Haha!
Pretty much expected from these truckers. Sometimes its seems they feel they are driving a two wheeler.

BTW, the speed limits in the ghat section is 30-40 kmph.

@ alpha1, I wasn't driving on the ghats at that time. I had crossed the ghat and was on a straight road after the tunnel.

[finneyp]

Originally Posted by bblost

You should ideally make eye contact in the rear view mirror before overtaking in the interest of your own safety.

Didn't get you, can you elaborate?

ChevyLover, Surprising that the Truck guy didn't hear your honk...!

[himanshugoswami]

I am a bit surprised. usually I have seen that truckers are the most sensible drivers on the highway. given the fact that they spend most of their life on the road, they give the road respect.

of couse, when I say truckers, i DO NOT include morons who drive 407s- these are not real truckers. I am referring to the guys who drive the Tata 1210 and above (multi axles, tractor trailers, volvos etc.)

[Chevy_lover]

Originally Posted by amit

You should write about this to the Mumbai Commissioner of Police who very proudly keeps saying that the no-honking day has proved that people can drive without honking.

@ Amit, it is impossible to drive without honking. I have been cut off, even in the ghat section by volvos and trucks. They simply do not care to look in their side mirrors.

The only way to make these idiots aware of our presence is to honk, and sometimes keep on honking!!!

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by amit

Mumbai Commissioner of Police very proudly keeps saying that the no-honking day has proved that people can drive without honking.

Yeah right. If wishes were horses. The commissioner probably has never driven on his own and has been chauffeured aound in his govt. vehicle.

Chevy lover, do ensure that you honk hard enough before you overtake.... especially when driving at high speeds. Thats what I do. Better safe than sorry. Glad that you got away with just a scare.

[Chevy_lover]

Originally Posted by finneyp

Didn't get you, can you elaborate?

ChevyLover, Surprising that the Truck guy didn't hear your honk...!

@ finneyp, I too am surprised that he didn't hear my car's horn. My car horn is very very loud. I think the truck driver was an idiot! He must have thought that he could overtake the first truck before I could reach him.

[amit]

Originally Posted by Chevy_lover

@ Amit, it is impossible to drive without honking. I have been cut off, even in the ghat section by volvos and trucks. They simply do not care to look in their side mirrors.

The only way to make these idiots aware of our presence is to honk, and sometimes keep on honking!!!

I agree. Problem is the government and the authorities who do nothing for infrastructure and/or training and conviniantly put the blame on motorists for every accident.

God forbid, if you had crashed into him, the guy would have told you that its your fault because you didnt honk!

[Chevy_lover]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

I am a bit surprised. usually I have seen that truckers are the most sensible drivers on the highway. given the fact that they spend most of their life on the road, they give the road respect.

of couse, when I say truckers, i DO NOT include morons who drive 407s- these are not real truckers. I am referring to the guys who drive the Tata 1210 and above (multi axles, tractor trailers, volvos etc.)

@ Himanshu, well said. The real heavy duty truckers can be a real help to other road users. I must have overtaken atleast 200 of them on NH 17 yesterday. All of them were courteous. They even hand signalled me to stop and not to overtake, when it was not safe on the other side.

They are the ones who know what it takes to be a real driver!

I could see a lot of "Chotta" Tata trucks on the way. They are a real pain when it comes to overtaking. I had to follow a small truck for about 12 km yesterday, simply because he did not let me overtake!!!
He was driving in the middle of the road!!!

And when I finally managed to overtake, I almost ran him off the road!

[bblost]

How I overtake.

1. Get to the right of the vehicle with atleast 20 feet in between.
2. Honk (always a short beep)
3. Look at the road ahead and also into the rear view mirror of the truck.
4. Wait till the other driver looks at me.
5. Proceed with overtake.
6. A thank you wave of the hand or a salam when I am beside or in front of the vehicle.

If I am even a litle unsure, I abort the overtake.

[Chevy_lover]

Originally Posted by bblost

You should ideally make eye contact in the rear view mirror before overtaking in the interest of your own safety.

@ bblost, do you think these idiots look in the mirror? This incident would not have happened in the first place, if that guy had looked in the mirror!!!

Moreover, I honked atleast three times before I came close to him! If he didn't look in the mirror then also, when will eye contact happen???

[Chevy_lover]

Originally Posted by bblost

How I overtake.

1. Get to the right of the vehicle with atleast 20 feet in between.
2. Honk (always a short beep)
3. Look at the road ahead and also into the rear view mirror of the truck.
4. Wait till the other driver looks at me.
5. Proceed with overtake.
6. A thank you wave of the hand or a salam when I am beside or in front of the vehicle.

If I am even a litle unsure, I abort the overtake.

@ bblost, what if the driver doesn't look in the mirror? You are on the expressway. The right lane is fully clear. What will you do? How long will you wait?