[shankar.balan]

The Ritz and most other cars in their India avatar, do not have ESP. The exceptions to this fact are some of the higher end European cars, including VW, Skoda and all the bigger, more expensive Germans, Brits and Italians...
I understand that ESP has been made mandatory in Europe, Australia and the developed world since 2011.


[quote="isiv;3162964"
On a side note, if I'm right, ESP is the system helps in bringing the car back to the straight line when loss of control is detected. Apparently works by varying braking force across the wheels to regain control. I do not know whether the Ritz comes with ESP. If yes, I'm inclined to think it's not done the job.

Good luck and drive safe.[/QUOTE]

[BoneCollector]

I remember seeing your post that day but I had no clue about the area you were talking about. Its nice to see you all come out unscathed from such a tremendous crash. We own a Ritz Vxi and we seldom cross over into 3 digit territory, all we lose are a few minutes to reach our destination but better safe than sorry. It takes courage to accept one's fault. From the description of your accident, what I infer is that after going onto the right shoulder, you tried to get back to the road and lost control then. I've experienced that in doing so, at times, the tyres would slide instead of climbing which results in a tangential motion rather that a linear one, thus making the car go sideways, experts can throw more light on this phenomenon. I've even seen a bus toppling right infront of my eyes because the driver went over to the shoulder after overtaking me from left and while trying to get back to the road, its rear wheels just skidded, it went sideways and just toppled. Thankfully no one was grievously injured as it was near empty. I've seen bikers also falling that ways. Second thing I've noticed is that the shoulders in most locations of single/double lane highways are very deep and uneven. They can very easily damage the underside of car and throw you off balance.
Wishing you many more miles to munch with your Zulu.
Edit- I was just wondering when will our government wake up to accept safety features in vehicles, or for the matter anywhere. Seriousness has to be shown in actions, not on paper

[carzone]

I too was the one who had seen your post in the Accidents thread. Since then, I was wondering what actually had happened and wished all of you were safe.

This thread, read it a couple of days ago and back here to thank you for putting it up.
Stress and sleep is the biggest enemies of driving. For me, driving has to take place only when I am fresh and in the right mindframe, or else, public transport is the way.

It takes guts to admit to one's fault on a public forum like this and I am glad you did it!
Taking the state of Indian Highways, recommended speed would always be <100kmph, and on those un-divided roads(government call them highways) I prefer to stay in 60-70's for safety of myself as well as other road users.

Must mention, the car absorbed the hit very well, and seatbelts, one better have them strapped always! Nice to see your attachment with Zulu and getting it repaired. Hope you have many many more years with it.

On the shoulder part, it is possible that the edges of the shoulder might have been sharp causing cuts in the inner sidewall of the tyres causing in a burst. At that speeds, it might have been a hell lot of friction if it stones were brushing against the sidewalls. Just a point, could be wrong though!

All the best with Zulu for years to come!

[Top-Gear]

Thank you so much sharing with us Ankan! I must say, hats off to your courage for accepting your mistake. We shall learn from your experience. Now that you have accepted the mistake, it is time to move on. I am very happy indeed that your family and friends were safe.

Originally Posted by devansn

"Holding on to anger is like eating venom and expecting the other person to die" - Budha :-)

That is a great quote. I shall try and remember it 'cause I too am guilty of making the same mistake (holding on to anger, specially on the road). Thanks for the timely reminder!

Originally Posted by rajwheelz

1. Whenever I enter my car ( M800 then, Figo now, Mostly Xylo next ), I start the engine and when it's idling, I mentally repeat to myself 3 times. " I will not cheese off anyone and I will not get cheesed off by someone". Then I slot the 1st gear
2. If still someone manages to give me a frown, I just say to myself, "Will I see that person again anytime in my life? Let him go. Keep your cool".

That's a great way to keep your cool. Thanks for sharing. I too get pissed off by all kinds of jerks that roam the Indian roads. Wayward bikers and autorickshaw drivers take the cake. I shall try and practice your mantra

[hummer]

Thanks for sharing this experience Ankan. Good to know that none of you had major problems. Even though car toppled, it saved your life, thanks to god, seat belts and paddy fields.

I have driven many times in that stretch to Bandipur, Ooty, Wayanad etc. Right from Kengeri till Gundlupet, one can’t imagine peoples’ sudden movements and mindless people coming in all directions on such an express highway. Again however careful you are, if the other guy makes a blunder, it poses risks and challenges.

Hope you have come out this and leading normal “automotive life” now. Wishing all safe drive.

[gops2009]

Glad Ankan, that you got away with minor injuries and even better that you thought it appropriate to share your thoughts and experience with the Team BHP community. While accidents are always unintentional, they occur mostly when one is least expecting it. The cause could be emotions, lack of sleep, physical discomfort or preoccupation in other activities when driving. Even if you take care , the other road users may be driving with one or more of the above handicaps, so it always is safer to be defensive, it is irritating to begin with but once you build it into you, it is pretty natural.

While I believe I'm a safe driver, I have had my share of close shaves and moments of "Insanity", it happens in a flash and a lot of times you wish you had not succumbed to the reckless act in the first place. Incidents like this remind us of the responsibility one has and the focus and calmness one requires when driving, be it in the city or the highways, and Yes I shall not forget to take the pledge to Never loose my cool when driving and to drive defensively.
Thanks for sharing and wish you many many miles of pleasurable driving - Regards Gops

[turbo_delight]

Hi Ankan,

First, get out of that high stress job. Even if you get a lesser package, it's still alright, and the value of the time that you'll get for yourself and family, incomparable. At times, we do work from home also but never take the stress to your home. Start speaking up if things are not possible to be completed in the given time frame.

We are human beings and not some software or machines which can keep running and running and running... Take a break, take some days off, enjoy with your family, have a balanced life. You need not earn looots of money for having a good life, and don't forget we have so many years ahead of us.

And, as everybody knows, its very easy to be happy.

[VaahanYogi]

Good to see you active again on t-bhp. Though driving looks like a simple task, it is very sensitive - a minor lapse can lead to major mishap. I appreciate your boldness of admitting the facts and wish you come out of the impact completely. I understand how it feels after an accident.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by turbo_delight

. You need not earn looots of money for having a good life, and don't forget we have so many years ahead of us.

And, as everybody knows, its very easy to be happy.

Hello Turbo_delight.

I am glad that you have such views. I completely subscribe to them.
Just to cut short the story, I am actually practicing what you said in your post. Its not that tough to break-free as we perceive initially.

Sorry for .

Regards,
Saket

[salunkhe.vizz]

Driving a Ritz for 50k+ kms since the last 3 years on monthly long drives (at times 1000km at a time: Mum->Blore), I would like to give my 2 cents on the car behavior on narrow 'non-divider' national highways.

I have a VDi, which has an excellent (and at times surprising) turbo aided acceleration - helping to cross 160kmph with ease on the expressways and also easy to maintain 100kmps+ on narrow highways. But because of the height, there is a lot of body roll and hence it is quite difficult to control during emergency breaking (has happened to me ample times) compared to my old Swift or even the spark. The car is also not inspiring on corners.

Having said that, and driven on the stock Tornados with this problem for over 2 years, I researched team-bhp Ritz owners who have upgraded their tyres and also did some tyre quality checks online. Based on that I upgraded the shoes to 185/70/14 on the same rims, and man is the performance different or what.

Straight line grip is immaculate to say the last, Brakes that I earlier thought were shallow are now immediately effective even when on bumper to bumper high speeds (in fact it scares me to be back-ended often), narrow highway confidence on high speeds and even wet grip feel like something else all together (compared to the stock shoes).

I am assuming you have already changed your tyres post your accident, but suggest you do re-look at the quality/brand based on online research (offcourse alongwith a control on your emotions and logical speed behavior based on road type and location) - this should definitely keep the probability of being in an accident quite low.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by salunkhe.vizz

But because of the height, there is a lot of body roll and hence it is quite difficult to control during emergency breaking (has happened to me ample times) compared to my old Swift or even the spark. The car is also not inspiring on corners.

+1. Yes, the Ritz, just like Wagon-R & Estilo, is a typical tallboy design from Maruti. Hence, always go by the rule that tallboys are shy of corners unlike the low slung cars. The body roll is quite evident in this design which is neither comfortable for the occupants as well. Cornering at high speeds can be disastrous in such designs.

Use it to the strength, which lies in more space.

On another note, IMO, 160KMPH on ANY Indian highway is just riding on plain luck.

Regards,
Saket

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by salunkhe.vizz

I have a VDi, which has an excellent (and at times surprising) turbo aided acceleration - helping to cross 160kmph with ease on the expressways and also easy to maintain 100kmps+ on narrow highways.

Originally Posted by saket77

On another note, IMO, 160KMPH on ANY Indian highway is just riding on plain luck.

Completely agree to you Saket. My SX4 is capable of doing 160 but I have never touched that mark on my speedo. At times I tell everyone how I drove at 140. But that is only on a clean stretch without any one in sight and for not more than 30-60 seconds And I have done Bangalore-Goa, Bangalore-Kolhapur at least 20 times and always managed to reach in less than 9 hours door-to-door with 2-3 good breaks. The key is travel time of the day/night, planned route with known traffic conditions and never beyond 130-140kmph, mostly sticking to 100-120 zone. Did you mean the same? And really sorry for OT.

Of course here, I am assuming that you know it when you have touched 160 and you have also cared for your, fellow passengers and others safety who are driving on the same road at the same time, @salunkhe.vizz. You did it only when you sensed safety. Its my personal belief that even though you are the safest driver and knows your car well, you can't trust the oncoming vehicle and its driver! Again, I don't intend to blame you or anyone for higher seed, but intent is to advocate safer drive. And thats because we care for you

And by the way, in general these without divider highways offer good scenic drives. I would miss that if i am going beyond 100!

[salunkhe.vizz]

Originally Posted by abirnale

Of course here, I am assuming that you know it when you have touched 160 and you have also cared for your, fellow passengers and others safety who are driving on the same road at the same time, @salunkhe.vizz. You did it only when you sensed safety. Its my personal belief that even though you are the safest driver and knows your car well, you can't trust the oncoming vehicle and its driver! Again, I don't intend to blame you or anyone for higher seed,

Sorry to have not been very clear (which I thought I was). I said touching 160kmph easily on the "expressway". I have done Mumbai-Blore non-stop many times in all 3 cars and once on bike too, but never cross 100-120 zone on this broad highway.

When I say expressway, I mean a toll road that does not allow two wheelers/three wheelers/carts and when it is a long straight with no other vehicle in sight - albeit the Mumbai Pune expressway where I do 164kmph often (not throughout).

Also added in my last sentence "on using a pragmatic approach depending on type of road and location".

Still agree, it is no excuse to touch such speeds in India atleast, but I do only when I am confident and have a long vision (usual straights) on expressways.

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by salunkhe.vizz

It is no excuse to touch such speeds in India atleast, but I do only when I am confident and have a long vision (usual straights) on expressways.

Awesome, buddy And what you said about speeds, lessons learned from Ankan's story, we are thinking alike.

[Soumyajit9]

Hey Ankan - Good to see this thread and the fact that you guys came out unscathed. God Bless.

I agree that uncalled things running in the head can cause distraction, major distraction. I sometimes even switch off the music system and concentrate on the engine sound and the vehicles around me to regain my senses.

Last year, me and wife along with a friend couple had been to Wayanad in the friend's Punto Diesel (mine is a Petrol Beat). On the return trip, I was driving the 2nd half of the journey and was doing around 120. Thoughts of going to office the next day and what all tasks were left from the last week were haunting me. Being a Punto, I couldn't feel a thing of how fast the car was. I was overtaking a decently fast moving car (might be around 80s) and I could see an Indica approaching on the opposite lane. I thought that I could overtake, but the other car's speed was equally high and by the time I realised and came to senses that this wasn't going to happen, the approaching Indica was less than 100mts ahead of us. Everyone shouted out loud and I stood on the brakes. The car screeched. My friend caught hold of the steering and the handbrakes. I donno how but we managed to almost stop behind the car I was trying to overtake. The approaching Indica passed and I could see a hand outside the driver window making angry gestures.
More thankfully, there wasn't any vehicle behind us. I disengaged the hand brakes and moved the car to the road shoulder, washed my face and drank a bottle of water. My hands were shivering and heart was pounding. I handed over the car to my friend (owner) and let him drive us home safely.

So bottom line is, speed is dangerous. I learnt that anything close to 100 is dangerous, beyond that - can be fatal. The motion of the car is proportionate to the weight of the car. In a heavy car, even if one is doing 100, it would still seem like 80s or 90s.

I am very happy that you have realised your mistakes. Self Lesson Learned works, rather than some lectures.

Good bless again and wishing you many more miles crunching with Zulu !!!

PS: The name Zulu is so cute, who named it ?