[BulZire]

Some channels were giving live updates on this accident and they have captured the live video of Bus in Fire, Very disturbing one.

A villager who is a onlooker was saying the whole Bus was on fire in less than a minute. so there is a very less chance for more survivals.

I read that senior officials from Volvo also were called to the spot for further investigation.

Lost Souls, RIP.

[speedsatya]

I read many of the posts here on this thread and am surprised to see people rate a few operators high because they are " ultra fast " , " reached before time " , " Was rash , but was driving in a controlled manner" , " superb overtaking move at 100 + speeds" ....

cant help but laugh at these comments


The first thing I would suggest as soon as you enter a bus is to note on where the emergency windows are ...so that you dont run around in case of any emergency

Originally Posted by Manzone799

But, i am pretty sure as a Volvo employee that i-shift doesn't mean its automatic! I couldn't click a photo as the bus just brisked past me in a flash. I will surely will try to get it tomorrow.

Just curious to know on why doesnt Volvo India provide seat belts for all passenger seats in its buses in india ? Is it because it isnt compulsory by the RTO?

Also , I am assuming the " emergency window " glass are different from the other windows ...can these be broken with anything else other than the hammer ? Almost all buses that I have travelled in never had hammers .

lastly , the hatch that we see on the roof ...what is the actual use of this ? Is this an escape hatch?

[Gannu_1]

Extremely tragic! I shudder to think of the plight of those souls getting trapped when the fire engulfed the bus and they couldn't escape. RIP.

May be a few emergency-exit hammers could be provided at the front and aft locations (or are they provided already?) and the passengers be informed of it before the bus departs just like the pre-flight safety demo by the cleaner. Something like this mallet from a BRTS bus in Singapore:



I had been to Lonavla a week back and went by an overnight Volvo bus (B9R from Neeta Volvo). We were seated on the second row behind the driver side and the speedo was readily visible. At times, it was doing some 130 kmph on the Mumbai-Pune expressway! Granted the roads were fantastic but the speed with which the bus was plying made me rush back to my seat and shut my eyes for good!

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

I read many of the posts here on this thread and am surprised to see people rate a few operators high because they are " ultra fast " , " reached before time " , " Was rash , but was driving in a controlled manner" , " superb overtaking move at 100 + speeds" ....

cant help but laugh at these comments

Perhaps you haven't seen some other forums dedicated to bus/travel reviews.

The first thing I would suggest as soon as you enter a bus is to note on where the emergency windows are ...so that you dont run around in case of any emergency

Good idea.

the hatch that we see on the roof ...what is the actual use of this ? Is this an escape hatch?

I've seen some buses fitted with an emergency hatch door which is properly marked, while most of the buses have a glass to seal that hatch.

[Trapezio]

Sad to hear the news. But I must say, majority of the inter city buses are absurdly unsafe. Volvos are almost randomly modified as the operators deem suitable making it speeding traps!

Although major share of the responsibility lies with the operators, Volvo has not been very forthcoming to discourage these modifications. The transport authorities themselves are not very proactive either.

I have consciously started shifting to trains from the past three or four years although I personally like buses.

Hope this incident becomes an eye-opener than another 'such things happen once in a while' incident.

Just to add, some operators claim that if a traditional layout is provided travellers avoid them in certain routes. This, if true, shows how ignorant travellers are of the safety implications.

[speedsatya]

KSRTC for that matter deserves a mention here . Their b7rs have full size safety exits on the RHS which can be opened manually . As it is in the centre ( Seat nos . 25 and 26 ) , there is enough scope to escape in case of a front end collision. Also I have seen hammers in even their old B7Rs!

Moreever , their drivers are rated on the basis of FE as well . Hence , most of these drivers stick to saner speeds .


Except Searbird ( both Volvos and non-volvos ) , most buses on the Bangalore-Mangalore route are very well driven.

[Sarvodaya]

I have posted few pictures of the bus in the Accident in India Thread. Some pictures of the dead bodies are tooooo gory cannot be posted here. I wonder how long this will go until the Government put some stringent Rules.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ml#post3280309

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by silversteed

Perhaps you haven't seen some other forums dedicated to bus/travel reviews.

I am also a regular on some of those forums and I can pity those idiots who keep writing about how a particular operator has fast drivers or how a driver started later than all others and how he overtook everyone else on the way or how this driver kept on driving at triple digit speeds ....

I even read about bigger idiots who mention about being regulars on select travel operators , jut because their drivers are " fast "

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Also , I am assuming the " emergency window " glass are different from the other windows ...can these be broken with anything else other than the hammer ? Almost all buses that I have travelled in never had hammers .

Yes. A hard suitcase, the fire extinguisher (one sits in the driver cabin and second below the middle seat in the last row) can break the glass. Heard from a friend that even a hard kick on the window can dislodge it - not sure, and its not "tested".

Originally Posted by speedsatya

KSRTC for that matter deserves a mention here . Their b7rs have full size safety exits on the RHS which can be opened manually . As it is in the centre ( Seat nos . 25 and 26 ) , there is enough scope to escape in case of a front end collision. Also I have seen hammers in even their old B7Rs!

Not anymore. None of the new Volvos purchased by KSRTC (since mid 2011) come with full-size emergency doors. They to have gone for adding those two additional seats.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

their drivers are rated on the basis of FE as well . Hence , most of these drivers stick to saner speeds

Its the same everywhere. Those drivers are preferred who can do the route distance in the least number of diesel fillings. Less diesel would mean, use of less tires (less acceleration/braking) and in general, less maintenance required overall. Points to a smooth driver.

I would agree on lack of amenities* & one would notice, that 50% of drivers/cleaners get a room to eat at the road-side eatery they stop at. Most of the times, it points to liquor consumption.

Because of this, despite the introduction of Volvo & multi-axle Mercedes in this part, the old transporters with saner drivers are preferred.

* back-up driver, cleaner, room to rest.

But then, it would come at the cost of $$$, hence they skimp, like they do for emergency exit doors in lieu of seats to make $$$

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Yes. A hard suitcase, the fire extinguisher (one sits in the driver cabin and second below the middle seat in the last row) can break the glass. Heard from a friend that even a hard kick on the window can dislodge it - not sure, and its not "tested".

Out of the seven windows on each side why can't they have a emergency window with the hammers in place to help in easy evacuation.

Will this have an issue on overall strength of the bus?

Anurag.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Out of the seven windows on each side why can't they have a emergency window with the hammers in place to help in easy evacuation.

Will this have an issue on overall strength of the bus?

Anurag.

There are two windows on either side of the bus - the second from the front and the back, and those windows are clearly marked as "Emergency Exit" as well. Hammers are provided when the bus rolls out of Volvo, but in a good number of cases, passengers take it home. The newer buses come with a sensor which starts making a noise when someone tries to flick it.

Those two window glasses are toughened ones, while the others are laminated. In addition to this, even the rear glass acts as an emergency exit, plus the two hatches on the top.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by binaiks

There are two windows on either side of the bus - the second from the front and the back, and those windows are clearly marked as "Emergency Exit" as well. Hammers are provided when the bus rolls out of Volvo, but in a good number of cases, passengers take it home. The newer buses come with a sensor which starts making a noise when someone tries to flick it.

The two windows are the present status but I am talking what if alternately one is provided?!

Hammer flicking? I have seen and heard about blankets but hammers also.. Give me a break! I mean what will one do with it?

There could be a way to get the sensor silent when the hammer is removed, I guess it would be a metal sensor so place a coin or such to keep that silent and Hammer in your bag!

Originally Posted by binaiks

Those two window glasses are toughened ones, while the others are laminated. In addition to this, even the rear glass acts as an emergency exit, plus the two hatches on the top.

So anyway it toughened so providing a few more windows won't be a problem I guess?! Cost if considered what is the difference?

Anurag.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by binaiks

There are two windows on either side of the bus - the second from the front and the back, and those windows are clearly marked as "Emergency Exit" as well. Hammers are provided when the bus rolls out of Volvo, but in a good number of cases, passengers take it home. The newer buses come with a sensor which starts making a noise when someone tries to flick it. Those two window glasses are toughened ones, while the others are laminated. In addition to this, even the rear glass acts as an emergency exit, plus the two hatches on the top.

The full size emergency door would mean a loss of just 2 seats. The bus operator can easily offset this by a marginal increase in fares.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

?! Hammer flicking? I have seen and heard about blankets but hammers also.. Give me a break! I mean what will one do with it? ? Anurag.

People even steal life jackets from aircrafts

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Hammer flicking? I have seen and heard about blankets but hammers also.. Give me a break! I mean what will one do with it?

They do what they do with stolen DC Lamps from trains, or magazines, tissue papers, etc from various places. People don't flick things looking at its utility - its more to do with their "habits".

Originally Posted by a4anurag

There could be a way to get the sensor silent when the hammer is removed, I guess it would be a metal sensor so place a coin or such to keep that silent and Hammer in your bag!

The hammer is mounted in a quite strange manner. Its quite easy to remove, but it isn't possible to make the alarm silent without putting something of the same shape back.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

So anyway it toughened so providing a few more windows won't be a problem I guess?! Cost if considered what is the difference?

Probably risk of the glass shattering even in the instance of a minor graze. The current ones are mainly Laminated ones, and hence even in case of a graze or a hit with a tree or its kind, the window would crack, but it wouldn't break or cause injuries inside - that wouldn't be the case if all or more number of windows had toughened glasses.

In the current accident, more than the lack of emergency exits, I think the fact that most people were asleep and the very low reaction time available caused most of the casualties. The windows break real quick if you hurtle something at it - people need to be made aware of the emergency routes - people tend to flock to the front door immediately instead of looking at the alternatives. A proper educational video before each trip would help solve this to an extent - but the problem is the "I know everything" attitude of many people, who would either not concentrate on the video, or worse force the operator not to play it (or play a movie instead).