[hrag]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

A 2ton vehicle with 4 adults inside it, travelling at 100-110 kmph, power steering (which at those speeds is a bit vague), slippery conditions, improper illumination, bad road, bridge with no proper restraining wall, other drivers with no sense of safety and road manners(high beam), time of the day(at 2am: its understood 90% of the drivers will not be at the best of their abilities). What else?

Just the turn at moderate to high speeds - the Safari's weak spot on any surface.

Edit: spitfire, my post was an answer to the "what else?" part of your post.

[supercars]

The Lesson to be Learnt is Simple.

The Driver fortunately did not become what his name suggests.
Was it his belief to become a Holy Ghost ?

I really do not see the Turn as Very Sharp but then I do not own a SUV.
I take many turns fast.

The Safari is the Most Wild Vehicle that I drove some years back.
The back wants to step out even in if you downshifted.
It is a Great Vehicle for thrills too bad you could not control it.

btw on a side note, you could have atleast switched off the lights after you got out of the vehicle(once it was morning).

I also did not see you guys put up a Warning Sign on the Road.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by hrag

Just the turn at moderate to high speeds - the Safari's weak spot on any surface.

Ok, if say so. Safe driving.

[ramkya1]

Spitfir,

Glad to see you and friends got out unhurt. This could have been nasty. Good thing you managed to get into the bridge and not land in water, that wouldl have been a disaster, you somehow managed to avoid that.

SUV is a different animal, corners need to be done defensively and not aggressively.

Anyone who have driven the stretch from Ahmedabad to Udaipur, 4 track smooth roads, would vouch for this; a decent non-suv car would take 3 hours / sub 3 hours for the 250 kms, I've done that on my Fusion. With a SUV I'm scared to try this under 3 1/2 hours, some of the sudden turns here (though signages are great) are killers for any SUV, I have seen many Qualis taxis up on all fours when they opened up the section; now-a-days the taxi drivers are wary of this stretch and take it slow.

Doesn't matter a Scorp or a Safari would meet with the same fate when you try sharp antics; ABS and the gizmos cannot substitute for plain common sense.

Last word: IMO, seat-belts-on is an absolute must, fortunately you came out fine without it. We all know of stories where people are alive because they were clipped on.

Happy Driving,

--Ramky
======

[suman]

Originally Posted by ramkya1

Spitfir,
Glad to see you and friends got out unhurt.

Errr, mate, it wasn't Spitfire who was involved in this accident, it was Holyghost.

[esteem_lover]

That was a very close one Holyghost. Thanks to God, you are alive today & so are your friends.

Are you sure you were doing 100 on that road ? specially with traffic coming in the opposite direction & a hi beam as well ?

[amitoj]

HolyGhost! You went very close to having your nickname be your description!

I generally stay away from night driving, even if its a divided highway. There are too many variables on Indian roads and darkness just magnifies them ten times.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

no dude, seems you have been misjudging things here. first of all, the scorpio lovers in this forum (which you like to call as the scorpio fan club) are not that silly or illogical as you think.
this is not a vehicle fault but pure driver error and such thing can happen in any vehicle, not just an SUV for that matter.

the only good thing which happened that night was that all 4 escaped unhurt...

Agreed,i wouldn't dare negotiate a unknown curve in low visiblity with rain even in a sedan forget a SUV.

[jaysmokesleaves]

@ TSK & DADU>> nice videos... eyeopeners!!!
Thanks for posting.

[TrueDreamer]

Really liked the ESP test video.

@HolyGhost : Could you explain the ICICI part ? I have my insurance with them and my experience was rather pleasant last time. No fuss at all.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

@holyghost

Can you list the damages and what work the TASS will be doing with price breakdowns?

A piece of advice a TASS service engineer had once given me is that for all tall vehicles, never let the fuel drop below half the tank level. It will prevent a lot of topples.

[@ri]

Originally Posted by dadu

I agree, these are safety features that help "prevent" accidents, no guarantee's though.

Have a look at the differences when they are used. The ESP's cornering test is demonstrated driving at 110 Kmph on slippery frozen lake bed.

Guys check this out on the Bose Suspension system using linear electromagnetic motors and power amplifiers.

It is kinda pretty interesting the way it works and would certainly help in such situations not occurring in the first place

Bose Learning Center - Bose Suspension System

[headers]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

never let the fuel drop below half the tank level. It will prevent a lot of topples.

Sir, I cant follow you. Where is the logic in that?

[Holyghost]

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

I assume this bridge is between Krishnagiri & RS Mathur if so I know this bridge very well, a few years back when the stretch used to be a mix of two lane and single lane roads, the stretch just after the bridge used to be a single lane road.

"Just read your other reply saying you were about 100 kms short of Pondicherry, if so you should have been near Tiruvannamalai, am trying to recollect which bridge is a sharp turn where you could have met with this accident."

You are right. It was somewhere near Mathur. It was another 50-60KM from there to Thiruvannamalai. There 2 bridges, and this one was the second bridge while coming from Krishnagiri.

Originally Posted by Sowmya

But seeing the movement of the Truck you could have judge the turn. As the truck was coming from the opposite side you realize the move of the truck but not the exact path.

Anyway Drive safe !!!

You are right, we can judge from oncoming traffic. But in my case the scene was different. There were a convoy of trucks coming in my opposite direction, and one of them was trying to overtake. There is no way one can see what is happening beyond that.

And once the last one passed by (which happened to be on high beam), I see the curve as a surprise. I had my feet on the brakes already while entering the curve, but had to release once it started skidding.
And I'm sure ABS & EBD would have definitely helped as I could have braked hard with confidence before entering the curve.

[Holyghost]

[I agree completely to what Raj has said. This could have happened even if I'm driving a Scorpio or may be even a sedan. A surprise curve at that speed will definitely throw you out of control on most cars. (Definitely not the ones with ESP, Traction control and all those gimmicks)