[theMAG]

Originally Posted by suman

Oh? I stand corrected then - I thought it was one of Mahesh's usual gags

Oh - the pain of it all. And my head hurts too - I'm sitting on it.

[deepaktpatil]

Dadu,

Good to hear that nothing happened to you and your family. Vehicle has a bit of scratches but thats a small price you will pay and I think its ok.

There is one Fast Cars on Bannerghatta Road in one of the opposite lanes of IIM Bangalore, I have heard that they do a decent job. PM me if you need their contact numbers, I will walk across from office and get their numbers for you.

Regards,
Deepak

[kdeepakk]

Thank God, everything is safe in the end.

Before me buying the vehicle, i had checked the braking of the vehicle at high speeds, & i noticed the vehicle moving from one end to another, not stable. This is the one main reason why i opted for VX version, i needed ABS.

Just to check ABS in my vehicle, last time while driving, i applied sudden brake at a speed of 100, the vehicle stopped rock solid in a straight line, no sideways movement. ABS is really helpfull.

Anyways, you are safe with your family, thats great. Just for Curiosity How would the situation be, if the left side Alluminium Guards was not there?
Thank the Govt. also for the right thing(alluminium guards) at right place for you.

Take care & drive safe.

Regards
deepak

[kavu75]

That was very close.Good to know you and your family are safe.
Yeah, need to blow horn randomly until we cross him.

[finneyp]

Thank heavens you escaped safe & sound!

Overtaking from left on a Indian highway is a very risky proposition, but when our truckers are determined to snail through on the right lane, you don't have option but to overtake from left.

When I overtake from left, I make doubly sure that the truck will stayput on the right lane by having a glance if there is a vehicle or obstacle ahead of the truck which will make him to change lane, also I observe the movement of truck if it is maintaining a straight line or not, if all this is fine, I get into overtake mode.

[snaronikar]

Originally Posted by finneyp

When I overtake from left, I make doubly sure that the truck will stayput on the right lane by having a glance if there is a vehicle or obstacle ahead of the truck which will make him to change lane, also I observe the movement of truck if it is maintaining a straight line or not, if all this is fine, I get into overtake mode.

Don't forget to honk/use dippers my friend. If you do not do these, then they tend to come at you whatever direction you are overtaking.
This is my personal experience on NH4.

[finneyp]

If I am overtaking from left, I don't honk coz that would confuse him whether to move left or right!

But, if overtaking from right, I do honk/dip at night.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by finneyp

If I am overtaking from left, I don't honk coz that would confuse him whether to move left or right!

The point is not to confuse him, but to inform his senses of your presence.

[satish_appasani]

That was very very close. If it was a bus instead of a truck, i am sure he wouldn't have got back in to his lane causing more fatal damage.

[suncity]

Thank God, you and your family are quite safe...

When I read your post, it sent shivers...

Good luck with your mods.

[kpzen]

Aah.!! I'm glad that everythings fine. Cladding damage can be rectified.

Originally Posted by theMAG

PM v1p3r - who works there, for details.

From tires to body shop work? When?

[rks]

Originally Posted by dadu

I attempt to overtake them and start honking so make them aware I am coming but stop honking just a few meters before them as they both were constantly travelling in their lane.

As I approach them at a car's length to my horror the rear eicher truck suddenly attempts to overtake the bigger truck from the left and I could see his left nose starting to protuding out of the lane, no hand signal, no indicator.

I immediately brake hard and instinctively moved the steering slightly to the left to avoid a direct hit (my wifey told me speedo was at 120). Big screeching noise/ rubber burning and I guess that made the overtaking truck move back into his lane immediately.
[...]
All this happenned within a fraction of a second so I was a bit shaken at first but took control of the vehicle and we are back in line, speedo was still at 60-70 and the trucker was in his lane with no injury to anyone and seatbelts secure.

I come parallel to the trucker and now he is signalling me to go and he was driving alone so no helper to signal. The only good thing he did was to move back in his lane immediately otherwise this experience could have been fatal.

Had a very similar experience with M800 on the NH4 about 11 years ago. Braked for my life from 90 kmph as a huge, long 18 wheeler I was overtaking pulled violently to the right. Had I been at 100+ kmph, I would have been history, along wtih my parents.

Most of what needs to be said regarding the Safari incident has been said. I wish to add a couple of points.

The first important point can be seen from the passages I have quoted. The truckers were apparently doing ~70 kmph. Overtaking them at 120 kmph without adequate margins is not at all advisable. For that commits you very early to the overtake, and with no margins to swerve, one coud get into serious trouble. Ideally the overtake in this case should have been done at ~90 kmph and certainly not above 100 kmph. The speed difference should not be too small either, for that would unnecessarily stretch the time needed for the overtake. But on a 6-lane Expressway, one usually has enough margins for high-speed overtakes.

Secondly, as iraghava noted, the wheels/tyres make a lot of difference to the braking. The non-ABS version of Safari is known to have a tyre bursting issue as the wheels lock up at high speeds. The actor Zulfi Sayyed braked from 140 kmph on the Mumbai Pune Expressway to avoid a cow near Bhatan tunnel and his rear tyre burst, throwing him out of the Safari (which went off the road). Luckily he and his driver got away with minor injuries.

I can see a huge difference in my old Santro's braking and handling after switching to wider alloy wheels and quality tyres (Turanza ER-60). I can confidently assert that a couple of my brakings from 100+ kmph on the Expressway would have been very unpleasant with my previous set up of 4J steel rims and S322 tubeless tyres (which are good initially, but do not maintain grip as they wear out).

[HappyWheels]

driving in the NH where the road is well laid is a pain due to the certain truckers and bus drivers who feel that they are driving a Ferrari and stick on the fast track. And the speed at which they change track is enough to give the vehicle they drive itself a shock!!!

me driving my Alto in the highway is a challenge in itself because none of these heavy vehicles give a dam! they hardly notice it on their mirrors and even if they do, they feel they have more right of way, going at the whole of 50kmph, and jump in front of you, doing 100kmph! Lesser said the better!

As said before by others, the strategy that I take is honking, honking loud and clear from the moment I decide to overtake (& come within range of vehicle) and continue short burst of horn while passing the vehicle. Touch wood, have been safe so far.

[rks]

Originally Posted by dadu

I immediately brake hard and instinctively moved the steering slightly to the left to avoid a direct hit (my wifey told me speedo was at 120). Big screeching noise/ rubber burning and I guess that made the overtaking truck move back into his lane immediately.

I was concentrating on the braking, road and handling the safari and then I hear a "thud" on my left, realising that the rear gave way to the left upon hard braking and might have hit the roadside alloys guards, I let go of the brakes and immediately the rear falls back in line as if someone has lifted it put it back, I could feel it. The safari came back onto the lane and back in line.

Another interesting technical point; the Safari is presumably a rear wheel drive. It would be more prone to oversteer in this situation (braking hard from 120 kmph, swerving to the left and then attmpting to correct course). I don't think that ABS alone will be a solution to this problem of oversteer. Presumably your rear wheels locked up in this case and you would have had some steering control even without ABS.

A FWD vehicle would probably be easier to control in this situation as the rear might have stayed in lline.

I suggest that the tyres be carefully checked for any flat spots or other damage. Prevention is better than cure.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

@dadu, were the trucks long nosed ones? Or "cab forward" national permit (they are painted choclate and white) ones? The long nosed are generally "local" trucks, and will have very bad road sense. But the national permit ones usually have very good drivers and are courteous.

Originally Posted by jkdas

High speed mean 100plus or 120plus? Curious.

Hope you are not being sarcastic. On this particular stretch of road, 120 is "normal". Visibility is 2 to 3 KM minimum, good roads, no sharp turns, no steep inclines and 3 lanes for yourself.

I had travelled on this road just efore they started levying the tolls, and on that occassion, about 15 KM from Krishnagiri (Hotel TamilNadu towards Vellore) noticed a long skid marks. More than one km later, saw a cielo (yes, it was few years back) turtle.