[kadanaJ]

SantoshBhat was lucky he didn't hit her. Since he was going at 115 kmph, it would be technically considered over-speeding.

Even though the dashcam footage clearly shows the pedestrian at fault, I'm sure had anything happened, even with the dashcam footage, OP would have been blamed for going "too fast".

Excellent judgement and reflexes btw.

[dual disc 200]

The Cardinal rule being Pedestrian first, any amount of evidence against would stand void. Thank the stars that were on the sides of both of you. No one was hurt that way.

[Crazy_cars_guy]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

This happened yesterday on the Hubli Dharwad bypass when we were returning to Bangalore.

@Santoshbhat: Great reflexes.

Two important things I learnt:

1. When motoring on 2 lane highways, remember the ill effects of velocitization. Especially if you have just exited a four / six lane highway.
2. Get a dash cam. This will immensely help in retrospection.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

https://www.quora.com/Why-the-Hubli-...imum-of-4-lane

We may have to suffer that two lane for 6 more years.

Isn't this the Nandi road? Back then when it was launched it was fantastic, but now is just mediocre. With increasing traffic, particularly heavy trucks I found this stretch pretty frustrating.

[Maddy3008]

Originally Posted by Crazy_cars_guy

@Santoshbhat: Great reflexes.

+1

You managed the situation quite well. I was feeling numb after watching the video even when I knew that a lady was supposed to come on the road. I cannot imagine what would've happened if the guy waiting on the bike was in a car instead and standing with the right half of the car on the road at the exact opposite side of the road where the lady decided to dart.

I will say that maintaining a speed of about 100 kmph is a good-enough trade-off between fun and safety on any road in India (single lane, multi lane or even expressway). I do not have any calculations to support this particular number, neither have I driven any car beyond the 20 lac rupee mark which mask speed much more, but it has been calculated through my driving experience so far

Drive safe !

[Nalin1]

Here is my two cents!

Be the most pessimistic that you can be when driving on our roads. Expect everything/everyone around you to be your enemy looking to harm you or come in your way.

Believe me, it certainly helps the brain to react that nanosecond faster during potential disasters.

Just remember to come back to being positive and your normal self once you are off the driving seat .

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

35 secs : Me crusing happily at 115 kph

You are lucky.
I'd stick to 60-80 kmph on a 2 lane road and drop it to 30-50 kmph in zones where there is civilization.

Most people are brainless and don't realize that the driver of the approaching vehicle should be able to see them clearly before they cross the road.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by kadanaJ

SantoshBhat was lucky he didn't hit her. Since he was going at 115 kmph, it would be technically considered over-speeding.

There is no technicality here - @santoshbhat was overspeeding.

This being an open highway; the risks of people crossing on foot is always there. The individual crossing probably made a judgement based on general speeds (considering the number of slow-er trucks around) and nearly paid the price of an overspeeding vehicle hitting her.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

People are simply ignorant about the dangers of the road and more so how the margin for error is so thin on the highway. She probably is not used to seeing beyond 10 meters while crossing the road in her home street and she applied the same principle here.

On two lane stretches I always drive with my headlights on to make myself as visible as possible. DRLs alone are not enough. A lesson learnt that on two lane roads, oncoming vehicles create blind spots and speed can be your enemy.

Speed is always the no.1 reason. Let's not delve too much into other alternatives/reasons.

P.s. It's a case of pot calling the kettle black; most of the bhpians (including myself) here would be caught going over the speed limits in such scenarios. But let's all call a spade a spade.

[Enobarbus]

This happened in 2004. I just bought a new Hero Honda Ambition through CSD. A new dual tone color scheme was introduced just then. My budget was limited, so I paid for the variant without the front disc brakes. The dealer offered me one with the disc brakes if I accept a bike with the old color scheme, manufactured in the previous calendar year. The new color scheme with the vibrant graphics was looking snazzy, so I hesitated a bit but in the end chose the bike with the front disc brake.

Just a couple of months after that, I was returning from work along with a friend riding pillion. It was drizzling slightly and we were just approaching the newly opened Hafizpet flyover. It was dark and the street lights in that area were not operational yet. A lady in a black burkha was crossing the road with two kids in tow. I couldn't see her because there were no street lights and she was perfectly camouflaged in her burkha against the backdrop of the wet dark road. I couldn't see the kids either because they were on the other side of the lady. But she saw me approaching at about 50 to 55 KMPH, and she stopped on the road to let me pass. But the kids on the other side of the lady didn't stop and continued on to the road; by then I was dangerously close. Only when they were clear of the lady did I see them. I hit both the brakes with all the strength I could muster. The bike stopped with a loud screech, just inches clear of the kids. That was the closest shave I ever had.

On that day, I thanked my stars that I chose a bike with better brakes over a bike with snazzy graphics and color schemes.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

You are lucky.
I'd stick to 60-80 kmph on a 2 lane road and drop it to 30-50 kmph in zones where there is civilization.

Most people are brainless and don't realize that the driver of the approaching vehicle should be able to see them clearly before they cross the road.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

There is no technicality here - @santoshbhat was overspeeding.

This being an open highway; the risks of people crossing on foot is always there. The individual crossing probably made a judgement based on general speeds (considering the number of slow-er trucks around) and nearly paid the price of an overspeeding vehicle hitting her.


Speed is always the no.1 reason. Let's not delve too much into other alternatives/reasons.

P.s. It's a case of pot calling the kettle black; most of the bhpians (including myself) here would be caught going over the speed limits in such scenarios. But let's all call a spade a spade.

I don't think you guys are familiar with this road. This two lane is unlike other state two lane roads that pass through towns and villages. This bypass was built when the entire Pune Bangalore Road was still two lane and the road passed through the towns of Hubli and Dharwad. The purpose of building this tolled bypass road was to bypass these towns and the entire stretch is outside these cities. There is hardly any population on foot here.

Right now this stretch of 27 kms is part of the GQ and one side you have 400 kms of 4 lane upto Bangalore and on the other side about 500 kms of 4 lane upto Pune. Barring a couple of exits it is fast straight road.

I don't think it is realistically possible for good cars to maintain 60 to 80 kph here since most trucks easily exceed this speed. I don't think it is a good idea to drive so slow that trucks start overtaking you. I always slow down at the points where there are exits where you'll also find hawkers etc... Where this happened was a fast straight where you normally don't expect pedestrians or vehicles crossing. I have already mentioned in such situations speed can be your enemy. But to be honest any slower than this poses some other risks on this highway atleast. I frequent this highway a lot, and I am well aware of the dangers here.

[hondaford]

Thanks for sharing, santosh.

Quite curious to know what the risks would be in driving slowly.

I frequently drive on the Udupi Mangalore stretch and am usually at 80kmph which I believe is the highway speed limit. The intercity buses overtake me easily and are doing 100 kmph on average. I avoid them as much as I can by letting them overtake and then keep a safe distance away from them. This gives better line of sight and sufficient braking distance.

Are we saying by driving slower than the buses my risks are higher? I drive a small hatchback.

Thanks.

[jhaji]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I don't think it is realistically possible for good cars to maintain 60 to 80 kph here since most trucks easily exceed this speed.

Originally Posted by hondaford

I frequently drive on the Udupi Mangalore stretch and am usually at 80kmph which I believe is the highway speed limit. The intercity buses overtake me easily and are doing 100 kmph on average.

I certainly wouldn't try to keep ahead of the buses going at 100 kmph. One has to go way faster than them for that. Nor would I keep behind the trucks going at 80 kmph on the road SantoshBharat was driving.

It does seem to me though, by looking at the video a few times, that the speed he was on when he spotted the pedestrian crossing the road, braking and stopping in time was not an option. A little slower would have given him more options.

[condor]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I don't think it is realistically possible for good cars to maintain 60 to 80 kph here ...

And why would that be ? On that section, or otherwise, most trucks maintain a steady speed. And the speed that the trucks maintain is realistic for the load they are carrying, and the type of road they are on.

... since most trucks easily exceed this speed. I don't think it is a good idea to drive so slow that trucks start overtaking you.

You dont have to be that slow to be over-taken by them. And I dont understand what makes you think that the trucks go faster than 60-80 on that section.

You can maintain a safe speed, speed up when safe, and - slow down when required. 115 is Not the realistic speed on that section - especially in the southern part of that by-pass between Kalghatgi road exit and Hubli toll. The traffic, the local traffic and the road side-vendors in that area all contribute.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by hondaford

Thanks for sharing, santosh.

Quite curious to know what the risks would be in driving slowly.

I frequently drive on the Udupi Mangalore stretch and am usually at 80kmph which I believe is the highway speed limit. The intercity buses overtake me easily and are doing 100 kmph on average. I avoid them as much as I can by letting them overtake and then keep a safe distance away from them. This gives better line of sight and sufficient braking distance.

Are we saying by driving slower than the buses my risks are higher? I drive a small hatchback.

Thanks.

I am not advocating driving at a particular speed irrespective of the road conditions and specifics. The Udupi Mangalore road is quite a busy road with a high density of population and I know how those manic intercity buses drive. I would certainly let them overtake if I saw them in my rear view mirror!!

But on four lane stretches I would not feel safe at 80 odd Kph and see trucks close in on me and honk and try to overtake. I agree 80 kph is the speed limit on most highways but for me my life is dearer to me than the satisfaction of not breaking the "rules" or the "law". These trucks are laden with 10 to 60 Tons payload depending on the capacity, with questionable maintenance, driven by people without much formal training, without any restrictions on duty hrs / per day. Many of them are sleep deprived, some of them are distracted by their phones and by habit they are used to being overtaken by cars and buses. They don't come across too many cars going slower than them and they generally hate overtaking. An error in judgement by them could be potentially disastrous for the car. I'd rather overtake them and be as far away as possible from them as quickly as possible.

Originally Posted by jhaji

I certainly wouldn't try to keep ahead of the buses going at 100 kmph. One has to go way faster than them for that. Nor would I keep behind the trucks going at 80 kmph on the road SantoshBharat was driving.

It does seem to me though, by looking at the video a few times, that the speed he was on when he spotted the pedestrian crossing the road, braking and stopping in time was not an option. A little slower would have given him more options.

This particular road is a bypass and is quite wide and as I said it is part of GQ and all trucks plying between Pune and Bangalore have to go through this road. According to me about 80 to 100 is about par for this road (on the straight, smooth clear sections only). You can see from the screenshot, I was doing about 90 pkh when I spotted her. From the dash cam it looks as though I was going faster than that. I remember I released the brakes quickly as I had a wide area to maneuver and I realised I could get there before her. But I guess you are right, even if I had continued to brake, it does not look like I could have stopped in time. She just appeared out of nowhere, put her head down and went for it. Both of us are extremely luckly to come out of the incident unscathed. Such incidents are eye openers and will certainly have an impact on how I drive on the highway from now on!!

Originally Posted by condor

And why would that be ? On that section, or otherwise, most trucks maintain a steady speed. And the speed that the trucks maintain is realistic for the load they are carrying, and the type of road they are on.

You dont have to be that slow to be over-taken by them. And I dont understand what makes you think that the trucks go faster than 60-80 on that section.

You can maintain a safe speed, speed up when safe, and - slow down when required. 115 is Not the realistic speed on that section - especially in the southern part of that by-pass between Kalghatgi road exit and Hubli toll. The traffic, the local traffic and the road side-vendors in that area all contribute.

They should, but they don't, that's the problem. That bypass has many inclines and slopes. Trucks going up slow down to a crawl , but trucks coming down easily exceed 100 kph. I do this stretch twice a month. Believe me, you don't to be the one to test their brakes or their judgement for overtaking. And many modern trucks these days are capable of doing 100 kph on flats, even with full payload.

If you see the screenshots, I passed the Kalghatgi exit and overtook a truck. In the process the speed went up to 115 kph and then I immediately went off throttle to drop to 91 kph for no apparent reason, right? So you can give me some credit for realising that it was too fast for the conditions and coming down to what is ideal.

[hondaford]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Both of us are extremely luckly to come out of the incident unscathed. Such incidents are eye openers and will certainly have an impact on how I drive on the highway from now on.

What would you do differently?

I have started praying before I start my drive because you never know which idiot will decide to run across a highway that day

I remember another thread by Philip in Kerala where a boy ran across and was knocked down on the highway. He survived with a broken leg mainly because the car was at 60 kmph or so. The legal case is still on though it should entirely be the boy’s fault.

Lower collision speed increases the chances of the pedestrian’s survival. Though we now have modern cars in India capable of reaching autobahn speeds, I would never venture above 80kmph UNLESS the highway is inaccessible to man and animal with guard rails.