Team-BHP - Video: A mini-truck goes berserk & my evasive maneuver

Seeing the video again in the new thread...

On top of the close possibility of the head-on, you must also have noticed the guy standing on the right. That must have been terrifying too, in case you were not able to control the car.

Anyway, you could and did, and any number of other awful possibilities didn't happen. Again: well done!

I suppose the villain just drove off?

Great maneuver! It almost as if the he was on a mission to kill the motorcyclist on his right. Also helped that he did not maneuver into his lane again because you were in it.

I also underlines the importance of having a safe car in India. A couple of kmpl here and there is not worth the life risk.

You were driving very sedately, I feel your brain processed that as a right turn by Ace and so you moved to the other lane. Could have been very different results had speed of either of you was much higher.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRIV3R (Post 4355781)

The dashcam reads out the GPS speed, so the speedo speed is approx 10% more, IIRC I was cruising at 90ish kmph, and once I saw this guy swerving towards the bikers, I moved slightly across the median, only to be shocked to see him change direction towards me, head-on. I actually slowed down and moved to extreme right, as I had nowhere else to go.

Considering no one else has pointed this out, I guess this is within "acceptable" norms in today's world; but just putting it out. 80-90+ kmph speeds on such 2 lane roads is always risky and with a higher potential of accidents happening, especially considering the lack of divider and roadside junta sharing the road at all times, even if the road (as in your case) is empty most of the time. Unfortunately we all do it these days (including yours truly).

Good maneuvering in the end. Good work!

@DRIV3R how early in the morning was this?
I am guessing the guy behind the wheel was being trained by the actual driver. As soon as the trainee lost control it was the actual driver taking control to swerve away from you. While you were lucky and can credit it to your reflexes, even the guy on Dost needs to be commended for swerving away the second time since you did not have any space to swerve any further.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRIV3R (Post 4355781)

I actually slowed down and moved to extreme right, as I had nowhere else to go.

:Shockked:Man! your reflexes saved you combined with a bit of luck!
I am glad that you came out safely, luckily no other vehicles in the surrounding!

The other driver might be looking into his phone and lost track of the road!!:deadhorse

Amazing reflexes and maneuver DRIV3R. Thank God you came out unscathed from this :thumbs up
If I were in your position, I would have swerved to the extreme left/shoulder of the road (like others have mentioned before).

I replayed the video, this time I imagined myself to be the 2-wheeler driver (the one with pillion) just ahead of you - a shudder went through my spine:Shockked:
He somehow managed to swerve to the left at the last moment. What must have gone through his head in that fraction of a second? Cheated certain death by a whisker!
I think even he deserves to be lauded for this successful evasive maneuver.

Good reflex dude. Also, lucky the traffic was less and you got no one on the opposite lane.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRIV3R (Post 4355474)

This happened today morning on my way to Bangalore. Between Veppur and Chinnasalem.

This also goes on to show why its so IMPORTANT not to use mobiles while driving. It only took two seconds for the truck to come to your lane. While using mobiles, we all predict our lane and way to be clear for the next few seconds we look into the mobile and do the work. But one idiot like this, and your prediction goes meaningless.

You have to be paranoid to drive safe in India. When I was taught driving, I was told to expect all oncoming vehicles as drunkards and mad fellows.

Looks like a choreographed stunt. You were so cool and hats off to your reflexes. As others mentioned, either a hard slam on the break or moving to the left would have been my reflex to this situation.

You were so lucky,

1. Nil traffic behind the Ace
2. No morons overtaking you from right
3. Bikers ahead didn't panic brake
4. Gentleman to the right didn't panic and tried to dodge your car by moving to his right
5. Ace didn't hit any of the bikes

God bless!!

I'm so happy that you evaded a major mishap. I too believe in the general consensus that the mini-truck driver may have slept off for a moment, or was probably looking in to the mobile phone.

And thanks for posting the dash-cam video. Serves as a reminder that roads are really unsafe places and one has to be extra vigilant about himself and others on the road. Driver fatigue is a major contributor of accidents these days, and no matter what we say, us bhpians may also end up doing such stunts if we're on the wheels when we're tired. A spit second carelessness is enough to change our lives forever.

I just cannot stress the importance of getting a good sleep, having a cool mind and remembering the following threads before we hit the road :) - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/drive-safe/

Drive safe !

Your actions and your luck saved the day for you, but this is definitely not a correct this to do. Imagine, you swerve to the right(his lane), he rectifies his mistake (goes back to his lane), you both on collision course, and collide. This happens to us so many times even while walking too. Ideally you should have braked hard, stuck to your lane, went on to the shoulder and prayed that he too did the same. In airlines industry too, the pilots are trained to turn left (or right, don't remember) when they see 2 aircraft on collision course, to avert a collision.
In situations like these, you don't get time to think twice, so not blaming you, but your action was at fault.