[coriollis]

Guys! Could we focus on the travel reviews instead? We can discuss all these accident related issues in the threads opened for that purpose.
No offense meant guys!
Moderators, please excuse me if I have violated any rules. I do not wish the thread to be diluted, that's it.
Cheers.

[aroonanand]

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

While there is always a normal % of accidents for any category of buses. Even normal AL / TM buses have met with accidents earlier and still get involved in accidents. But the case in point for Volvo / Merc buses are this % seem to be on a higher side.

While we can always maintain that traffic indiscipline, untrained drivers, road conditions etc as reasons for the accidents, my feeling is the speed at which these buses are driven is far higher than what should be the optimum speed on Indian roads considering how much "Unknown / Random Factors" influence the safety of vehicles on roads.

This is one of the reason why I feel technologies like cruise control etc. should be banned on buses, if one remembers there were a spate of accidents a year or so back involving Volvos' and most of it were when buses running on cruise control met with vehicles which took a turn onto the highway without waiting or indicating in advance.

Whilst this is a thread for bus reviews, my 2 cents on the recent comments on the cause of accidents on Indian roads...

+1 to the above. These buses are designed with advanced features and powerful engines with an ability to be driven at high speeds, all of which are useful in a developed country with good infrastructure, disciplined driving and trained drivers.

In India, you have trucks crawling at 20kmph in the rightmost lane, most of them do not have tail lamps; when vehicles break down, they are abandoned in the middle of the road with a few leaves thrown on top to warn coming vehicles - surely this is not visible in the night. All the 3 wheelers and Tata Ace / Magic / its cousins which cannot cross 40 kmph when loaded think it is their right to use the fast lane on highways... How many vehicles use the indicator to change lanes, especially buses and other commercial vehicles? Hardly anyone. And then, you have craters in the middle of highways which will cause sudden lane changes... All of this is nothing but a foolproof recipe for disaster. Unless all of the above are addressed, you will have many more fatal accidents in India.... And yeah, the law enforcers are way too busy removing sun films and doing chamchagiri to politicians..

And finally, the less said about the technical abilities of the drivers the better... I remember reading a thread on Team BHP of a govt volvo on the Delhi Agra route where the driver did not know how to use the defogger properly resulting in the windscreen cracking whilst the bus was moving at high speeds !!! These maniacs behind the wheel think they are Lewis Hamiltons and Alonsos with the roads being F1 tracks... Unless they are properly trained to use the advanced features and fines slapped for improper driving, how will things change?

In Bangalore, the situation is comical... Traffic cops have been equipped with digital cameras to catch offenders.. And they put it to maximum use for taking snaps of cars / 2 wheelers parked in residential lanes which are supposed to be no parking zones.. And at major signals, where you have BMTC buses skipping signals at will, call centre cabs driving on the wrong side of the road, police / govt vehicles going on one way, BMTC volvos exceeding speed limits at will on ring roads and many other offences, they just turn a blind eye... God save the nation !!!

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

I also have a question whether these operators have insurance cover for the passengers in case of injuries/death resulting from accident???

Basic coverage includes the occupant and third party, to my knowledge. But what is the amount paid is not known.

[coolclouds]

May be off topic, but we usually see/read about:

ALs and Tata trying to beat Volvo timings..

Volvos and Mercs faster than high end cars

Cars trying to set new records..

Many well educated online forums members feel proud to be inside a bus which does 700 kms in 10 hrs and encourage the drivers to push it more

Cops pullover only overloaded lorries in highways for "Checking" and never bothered about speeding cars/buses


IMHO, 80-90km/hr should the maximum speed for a Tata/AL, 100-110 for Volvo/Merc in a four lane divided road.

(I was fined at 54km/hr for over speeding while searching for a tea shop just off NH7 at Hubli while so many cars were doing 120+speeds just 100 meters away without any checking)

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

IMHO, 80-90km/hr should the maximum speed for a Tata/AL, 100-110 for Volvo/Merc in a four lane divided road.

Volvo/Merc are already going at the said speeds only. Chances of going beyond 120 is rare and they dont do it all the way. The problem here is many passengers(if not all) are interested in speed and we are praising drivers for doing so. This makes them to push beyond their capabilities and ends up with problem.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

IMHO, 80-90km/hr should the maximum speed for a Tata/AL, 100-110 for Volvo/Merc in a four lane divided road.

Anything above 80 / 90 is risky on Indian roads whether it is 2 lane or 4 lane road.

Originally Posted by Ashley2

Volvo/Merc are already going at the said speeds only. Chances of going beyond 120 is rare and they dont do it all the way. The problem here is many passengers(if not all) are interested in speed and we are praising drivers for doing so. This makes them to push beyond their capabilities and ends up with problem.

What the drivers don't realize is half the time they break hard to get behind two slow moving vehicles running side by side. Some smart driving with the torque available on the Merc / Volvo buses could easily mean reaching the destination only about an hour later on an overnight journey with much lesser risk. Not to forget the savings they would generate on fuel expenses. If only the operators start realizing this these buses would become much safer to travel.

I have once traveled taking only five and a half hours with a 15 minute break in a TNSTC A/c bus that was incapable of exceeding 75 kmph (tracked on a GPS). I am sure the Volvos can comfortably do similar timings with a restricted top speed.

Sorry for going OT again but I believe this discussion is essential in understanding safety of various operators.

[autotranny]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

Volvo/Merc are already going at the said speeds only. Chances of going beyond 120 is rare and they dont do it all the way. The problem here is many passengers(if not all) are interested in speed and we are praising drivers for doing so. This makes them to push beyond their capabilities and ends up with problem.

Ashley2, have'nt you come across another forum where they discuss speeds. Their upper limits are as high as 152 kmph for Volvos.

[SujineRaj]

I have used KPN Travels extensively over the past 8Years over Bangalore- Nagercoil Route as well as Bangalore- Chennai route. Will list out the pros and cons as per my experiences about this operator.

PROS
1)Clean buses and sheets in Volvos and sleeper Buses.
2) Never experienced them driving rashly or taking risky maneuvre
3) Almost on time in reaching the destination.
4) The pickup services offered from various areas is really helpful.(Although it is once every 2 or 2.5 hrs, it makes sense to book a bus which reduces the waiting time- For me the pickup is 3kms away from my home in bangalore and the drop is again 3 Kms away from my home in Nagercoil)
5) They do drop you off any place enroute to their final destination of TVM


CONS
1) The internet booking charge of 7% over the fare is a bit on the expensive side.
2) There are no clean rest rooms in all boarding points.
3) More expensive than other operators running in the same routes.
4) Have to be very careful if you have booked a late night bus leaving from kalasipalya, as there is every chance the bus has already left from the end of the road whilst you are still waiting in front of their office.

[TKMCE]

Originally Posted by SujineRaj

.
4) Have to be very careful if you have booked a late night bus leaving from kalasipalya, as there is every chance the bus has already left from the end of the road whilst you are still waiting in front of their office.

Please clarify this. Doesn't the KPN office guys announce the departure of the bus??Earlier before they shifted most of the departures to Wilso Garden, I used the KPlym office regulary and they always announced the bus departure. They had an upstairs waiting area also. Has this changed???

[SujineRaj]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Please clarify this. Doesn't the KPN office guys announce the departure of the bus??Earlier before they shifted most of the departures to Wilso Garden, I used the KPlym office regulary and they always announced the bus departure. They had an upstairs waiting area also. Has this changed???

No it hasn't changed.They do announce the departure of the bus, but once i had booked a ticket to Chennai in the sleeper bus and there was not much of people traveling on that day.I had particularly asked the KPN staff about the departure and they said that the bus would come in front of the office and they would announce it.The announcement never came and when i went to enquire there were two other people who had to take the same bus and this person tells that the bus has already left from the street opposite to the office. later he did make arrangements for us to travel in the next Volvo.I have seen this scenario repeat atleast on two different occasions where passengers are arguing that they didn't know about the departure.
The main problem here is that there are multiple departures happening and they announce it once or twice but during that moment if the passenger is not around he will never know about it.The place is so congested with so many operators that it is impossible to stand in front of their office itself where the announcement is made.They don't even give the bus number which would help locate the bus even now whether it is in Wilson garden or kalasipalya.

[babu.sundaram]

Originally Posted by thewhiteknight

....
My sister recently traveled from B'lore to Pune and despite them leaving a good 2 hours late, it reached Pune and then Mumbai as scheduled.
...

Isn't this a thing that indicates speeding, if not rash (unless couple of breaks / stoppings skipped)?

[ramzsys]

Is there anything called airbus sickness? I ask this because, i always have an uncomfortable stomach during the travel in any air suspension bus, although it is perfectly normal in normal buses.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Is there anything called airbus sickness? I ask this because, i always have an uncomfortable stomach during the travel in any air suspension bus, although it is perfectly normal in normal buses.

So strange. What will actually happen? anything specific to seat location?

[ramzsys]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

So strange. What will actually happen? anything specific to seat location?

It is a sort of nauseating feel.

Seat location: at the last row most of the times. But that never happens in ordinary TN buses even at the last row.

I always prefer the last row.

[TKMCE]

Originally Posted by SujineRaj

They don't even give the bus number which would help locate the bus even now whether it is in Wilson garden or kalasipalya.

In Wilson Garden, while they dont give you the bus no individually, just outside the seating area, there is a A4 sheet stuck on the wall with a list of all departures for that day with the bus no written against each. I was there a few months ago.

They announce each bus and some one will come with you and point you to the right bus.