Cattle - The real menace on Indian highways

[TMRT]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Let me ask a different question: Can the North American / EU experienced drivers share their perspectives about deer (which are MORE dangerous) / moose / elk? Cattle is more predictable and slower in comparison, IMO. That would be a useful consideration - just getting upset about it solves nothing. Let's generate / consolidate practical ideas!

Never hit one but deers are a great menace for freeway. Although there are signs that warn you of areas prone to animals crossing the street which are great deterrents. Another great deterrent and very effective one is the insurance company. I remember the policy would no pay you a dime if you accidentally hit an animal and damage your car. How's it like in India ? Would we get reimbursed for animals related accidents?

Remember the days in villages where villagers would stop motorists and bit them up for running over their chicken or goats.

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by teknophobia

The rule with animals on roads is simple, run them over. People are far more valuable than animals and the consequences of swerving can be far worse that and this will be corroborated by anyone with significant driving experience.

I will mention two incidents in respect of the above:

1) The driver of a fully loaded vehicle tried to do the humane thing and avoid a pig on a highway, crashed through the divider and hit a car driven by a fellow BHPians father. Two of the occupants of that car died there, the third is fighting for his life. The BHPian's father suffered a broken ankle. The two cars were totalled.

2) While driving on the highway at around 80 kmph, a driver encountered a dog who suddenly decided to jump on the highway less than 7 feet away and chase a passing cyclist. The driver, being a cold and uncaring person, braked but did not sttempt to save the dog by swerving. The dog was killed and the car lost a foglamp. The cyclist, the driver and his passenger were unharmed.

Which of the two scenarios is preferable for you?

Appreciate your views, thank you.

Agree that human lives are far more important than animals. My original point again - always make efforts to keep the overall damage minimum. If you have to kill an animal to save your own life or from serious injuries, of course, do it. But note that - making a rule for regardless of situation, running over animals is first option isn't really a good idea. There can be a better way like I mentioned about my own experience of bullock cart in post #39 on this thread.

Coming back to the scenarios you mentioned, this is how I would react -

1. Run over pig.
2. Kill the dog.

In case 1, I guess you are referring to this - . I won't believe a person doing 150 kph in accent to be humane enough to consider sparing pig and causing threat to other occupants. Unfortunately the decision to not run over a pig affected @rockporiom's dad.

I think, at such high speeds, you would most probably loose control even if you run over pig and could have damaged the car anyhow if not lives. The point is - keep it within limit. Anything that is not balanced has its effect on the outcome anyway.

To conclude my point, drive sensible. And if at all you have a situation with cattle, choose your options wisely considering human lives are far more important than anything else.

[virtualdanger]

Thanks for initiating this thread and the useful scenarios with pictorial representation 'Sunil8089'. Many of us travel on highways, and this information is indeed useful. Its always good to be well read and prepared.

I noticed some comments on other factors and people's recklessness being a concern. But that said, I think the focus is not whether cattle threats are the biggest concern or not. It is more to be as best prepared as possible to deal with/tackle a situation wherein cattle walk in the path way of the highway travelers. Again, thanks for your effort.

[Venkat_Figo]

A very useful thread, helped me in being cautious on a recent highway trip. Although I faced instances wherein large herds of cattle were moving freely on the highway. I have also encountered bullock carts coming in the opposite direction very freely.

These incidents were very scary & a couple of times I was surprised at the speed they were coming at.

Also a couple of days a friend of mine succumbed to his injuries sustained after hitting a buffalo on NH44. He was on a bike & I am unaware of the speed at which he was traveling. But the buffalo died on the spot, hence I presume he must be traveling in excess of 80kmph.

Though he should have been careful & should have been driving at a lesser speeds, cannot digest the fact that people can be so careless in leaving their cattle unattended on highways. The guy was just 28 yrs old.

I just wanted to share that everyone needs to be vigilant & alert near highway crossing & roads closer to villages.

[SJM1214]

I think this (attached news link) should be implemented PAN India. Stray cattle with dark complexions are always dangerous at night. Authority cant do anything for this stray cattle (especially cows). However, these kinds of initiatives are need of time.

Stray cattle in India get glow-in-the dark horns to prevent crashes with vehicles

Police in central India are sticking glow-in-the-dark strips on the horns of stray cattle to prevent motorists from crashing into the animals as they wander across roads at night, an officer said Tuesday.

Following a spate of road accidents, traffic police in one district of Madhya Pradesh state have stuck orange radium reflective bands on the horns of 300 cows and bulls to help drivers spot them.

Stray cattle are a major traffic menace in India, with hundreds roaming freely on roads across the country.

News Source : https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-08-...ashes-vehicles

[SJM1214]

In Siddharthnagar, police tie radium belts on stray cattle to reduce road accidents.

To alert night-time drivers, Siddharthnagar police have started to tie radium bands around the neck and horns of stray cattle.

Police said the move was in response to the increase in the number of road accidents involving stray cattle. Siddharthnagar Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr Dharam Veer Singh said they aim to tag every stray cattle in their jurisdiction.

News Source.

[BenjiRoss]

Had a near miss with a cow on a highway trip recently. This was the Bandipur-Mysore highway. I saw the cow (leg strapped to the neck?) moving and making a biker swerve. I slowed down, but not enough to stop and thankfully had enough space in the front to simply go on. Thankfully the animal did not bolt or run. I usually try to pass from behind cattle as they cannot move back in a hurry, but this time my reflexes were slow and I did not slow down enough! Also there was no-one tailgating me which was good!

https://youtu.be/5qU9OZdPzp0

While entering Mysore, played a little dodge game with cattle, but they were polite and I was polite too and none of us used our horns

https://youtu.be/wGE-MHURfqM