[ravigupta000]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

I was supposed to meet-up with a friend in mid August, very close to the accident spot. It didn't happen since plans changed but I wouldn't want such a thing to happen to anyone I know. Can we as Team BHP help highlight this to Mr. Gadkari so that this particular spot becomes safer for all of us?

Not only this particular spot, but this highway is full of such spots. Almost all the river bridges on this stretch are designed like the accident spot. I also met with an accident, in January this year, just before Par river bridge near Valsad. Before the bridge, the 3 lanes get divided into 2 bridges of 2 lanes each and creates last minute confusion for many drivers, in such confusion only a truck had hit our car from the back and we landed in the ditch dividing the bridges. Police informed us that the place is an accident hotspot and they have continuously reminded IRB infrastructure about the bad design, but nothing happens.

[Anikesh11]

It's time we seriously think about speed limiters in cars, car manufacturers can easily do it but there needs to be push from government and buyers
There is no need for any car to go beyond even 110-120kmph considering our roads
Some of these German cars are designed to pick up speeds upto 150-160kmph with out even breaking a sweat
I think there are existing technology can even allow for dynamic speed limiters in car based on roads they ply on
Even in developed markets there is reluctance to debate on this topic
Also seat belt warning for rear passengers should also be mandatory

[AZT]

This was a scary wake up call for me. I’m usually the one driving but never insisted backseat folks to belt up. Things will change now especially when doing highway runs with the fam.

Condolences to the Mistry and Pandole families. I admired Cyrus and felt he was wrongly ousted. R.I.P.

[manishk123]

To imagine that the highest shareholder/owner of Jaguar Landrover lost his life in a tiny Mercedes GLC is just tragic.

Given his important position, he should never have travelled in a friend's car, being driven on an unsafe indian highway, that too by a driver with unknown skills. Its just not done.

May his soul rest in peace. Om Shanti.

[VikramCS]

Originally Posted by shramik

Gentlemen,

Some pointers....
Why should we be forced to overtake on the left of a divided road ??
Why should a vehicle come opposite you, when you are in your correct, left lane ???
Why should a slow moving, loaded truck attempt overtaking another equally slow moving truck on a 2 lane divided road, causing a que of faster vehicles behind ????
Why should any animal wander into the path of a speeding car ??
Why should there be a break, intended or man-made, on divided 4/6 lane roads ??
Why do German roads have the lowest per capita accident ratio despite many hundreds of kms of speed-limit free autobahns ???

These issues are fundamental to road safety !!!!
Some of the acts I have seen on our roads would be recognised as grave criminal offences in civilised countries, and yet, we all remain completely oblivious !!
Our Government has given us a massive bounty in the form of world class roads, they should begin to tighten down heavily on road discipline.

Completely agree with your line of questioning - i'm 100% confident that nobody would ever point fingers towards road design. But, as you rightly mentioned why are Car owners forced to suffer despite paying high taxes and tolls?
* How can the truck drivers be forced to occupy slow-lanes only without blocking overtaking lanes? What kind of rule enforcement can change this behavior?
* How can the License issuing system be made more effective to ensure skilled drivers occupy the road?
* How about introducing mandatory subjects like: Finance, Road-usage, Driving be introduced in college?

Improving highways is one part, but bringing down road fatalities is a real challenge now. It's very sad to see such brilliant, highly accomplished businessmen lose life at young age - a loss to nation.

[Boringrider]

Originally Posted by vharihar;5394532
1) Enforce that taxis keep seat belts enabled in ALL their seats (presently 90% of taxis including Ola/Uber/etc disable seatbelts in rear seats by pushing the receptacle under the seat, using seat covers, etc due to a [B

perceived[/b] inconvenience; this perception needs to change). Disabling seat belts in rear seats is an accident waiting to happen when taking a taxi on high speed corridors (eg. Bangalore airport trip, etc)

Absolutely agree. Nobody is looking at this. Few years back, I tried to be more responsible and decided that I'll wear seat belts here onwards in cabs and generally in any car as well. (We don't have a car at home.) But sadly, the seat belt is either simply non existent or covered or practically useless and just kept for show. I think they adjust the length of it and make it short so it can't be pulled fully and used. And I had no choice but to give up after this. But I'll remember these incidents more now.

[Rolling_Stock]

Tragic loss to the families and the industry.

Originally Posted by R2D2

I for one, do not begin driving till everyone is belted and strongly believe the driver of the car should take ownership and insist on all passengers using seat belts without which the driver should not begin the journey.

I second that.

I graduated from the days when I was fined for no wearing the seat belt, to becoming a Safety Officer (partly) in the organization.
Safety is just not limited to driving, but the mindset to apply right practices in all aspects of life. We tend to overlook multiple facets of safety (fire, electrical, confined spaces, working at heights, lifting weights, handling chemicals, driving, etc..) even though we deal with them on daily basis. We need to build a safety culture right from school curriculum.

Cheers !!

[GeeTee TSI]

Nowhere is the dangerous road condition being highlighted (people are happily lapping up the high speeds reported judging from the quantum of forwards) and this accident will begin and end with the speed of the car, unfortunately.

Had the speed been 80, a sudden appearance of a solid concrete structure on a disappearing lane along a curve might have still resulted in an accident. On what is already such a dangerous point, if trucks trundle along at 20 kmph on right lanes, aren't they not a cause for the accident as well?

In order to avoid the temptation to gun it along empty stretches, only to be slowed down significantly by lane hoggers, I have off late been setting the cruise control to below the speed limit and sticking to the middle lane, using the cruise control as a speed governor

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by Anikesh11

It's time we seriously think about speed limiters in cars, car manufacturers can easily do it but there needs to be push from government and buyers
There is no need for any car to go beyond even 110-120kmph considering our roads
Some of these German cars are designed to pick up speeds upto 150-160kmph with out even breaking a sweat
I think there are existing technology can even allow for dynamic speed limiters in car based on roads they ply on
Even in developed markets there is reluctance to debate on this topic
Also seat belt warning for rear passengers should also be mandatory

This is not the solution. If you crash at 80/90kmph as well the end result will be the same if the occupants are unbelted, especially in mass market cars which aren't built as well. Fixing illogical speed limits is just the easy thing to do.

I have seen India accident research (RASSI) from up close and even though we have a lot of data on why accidents occur, little is done to fix the issue. The input for the cause of road accidents is given by the local police station and in 9 out of 10 times whatever be the reason, they will say 'overspeeding' . What about the bad road design, what about the inadequate driver training, what about the vehicle which was badly maintained, the animal that jumped onto the road, etc. etc...

Other much bigger car markets have a much larger vehicle pool with way higher average speeds and much much lower accident rates.

We need to implement effective rules, enforce them, we as road users follow them and other agencies work towards scientific road development, eliminate blind spots, etc. and only that will make a change.

[Chetan_Rao]

Basic observation:

From the pictures, the rear windscreen appears virtually opaque with muddy spray, and uniformly so. Indicates non-use of the rear wash/wipe, rendering the IRVM practically useless. Combine that with reduced visibility in ORVMs in rains (which don't have any cleaning mechanism), and one can only imagine what sort of spatial visibility this car was being driven with.

Very unfortunate when occupants refuse to use even the most basic safety features.

[navin]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

As a regular user of this road, I posted about the awful condition of this 'Highway' in a separate thread on the forum.

Agreed. About 2 weeks ago, 2 tyres (left front and rear) got damaged on this section of road. My car has 235/45 R18s and no one knew how to fix them. Eventually, we got the car towed to Mumbai.

Can you link me to your post on the other thread? Thanks.

[PGA]

Any road accident is an unnecessary tragic occurence for those involved. We all on this forum are keen motorists and majority would have imbibed a lot of lessons through their driving experience or general awareness. There are certain cardinal realities of our roads, we need to take very serious cognizance of these, blaming any factor later is of no consequence, as only those involved in a mishap have to bear the full cost of tragedy. I believe

- Never ever ever take any of our roads for granted, no matter when how or where they are. If one is driving on any of the highways above 75 kph in a day time, its an activity which requires 100 % concentration of the driver. Reduce the benchmark speed by atleast 10kph if its night time. If one is in middle ages or beyond be very aware of your reflexes, one may find them very slow when the crunch time comes. So cutting out all that can be a distraction while driving is a necessity, which includes chatting with the dear ones in the passenger seats.

- Never ever ever take your vehicle for granted or fail safe, no matter what make or model it may be. It will fail when you need it the most, so be prepared or atleast be aware of how high speed braking is to be applied on the kind of surface you are driving, inspite of ABS and et al features. If you must drive above 100kph be very sure of the state of suspension, steering and tyres and tyre pressures of your drive. Also atleast mentally rehearse the kind of braking which needs to be applied in various situations and steering management to keep the vehicle in control.

- Lastly, sole responsibility of safe travel of the occupants and the vehicle and the other road users is that of the driver and make doubly sure he or she is capable of shouldering it that day.

Apologies if this sounds like an inappropriately timed sermon but I feel strongly about the road safety and intention is to make us think and act upon it.

[RijuC]

May the departed soul rest in peace.

Few questions in my mind:

1. Mr. Cyrus Mistry was not an ordinary businessman. Even the ABCD businessmen, real estate developers, brokers in our vicinity move along with armed security personnel and couple of guard vehicles.

- What prompted him to undertake this long road journey?
- Don't they have the security personnel/ personal bodyguards?
- A private jet or high end chopper are usual mode of transport preferred by the top businessmen. (I always see the Dy. CM in Chopper in our state).

Perhaps the gentlemen were very down to earth and preferred a private transportation instead of heavily guarded convoy for their purpose of journey (I read on media that they were returning from the temple after a memorial service?). I remember once I saw some videos of Mr. Mistry having food in a dhaba.

2. Why there was no professional driver for this lengthy road trip?

- The top level businessmen or the doctor may be driving enthusiasts. But along with their business and professional responsibilities, probably they were not very used to this kind of long road trips.

3. While approaching the curvature of road, any sane person on the steering would slow down a bit. The impact velocity may not be at 133 kmph. Also, usually we take a second of time for thought process for overtaking from wrong side. Nobody usually approach the overtaking at the same high speed unless clear view is available.

4. They were returning from a temple visit. It was not a joyful moment or return from picnic for them. Probably the Pandole family was mourning. Also, a senior Doctor must not be a very rash driver.

Earlier I was not aware of the importance of seat belts in rear passenger seats. The understanding developed after going through the road safety related threads in this forum. Now, I get belted up everytime I occupy the rear seats. And sometimes ask my colleagues to do so. Mostly ignore my request. Even my wife refuse to buckle up. Probably now she would understand the importance and follow the safety measures.

[androdev]

Would the ADAS or similar safety equipment sold currently in India help avoid such fatal accidents? I mean, do the cars sold in India have the ability to apply emergency brakes in a situation like this? Equally important, would the car brake itself when it should not (false positive trigger) at the risk of being rear-ended?

Low height obstacle collision like this IMO are worse than full-frontal collisions as energy absorption by the car will be poor. Photos in such cases look very deceptive giving the impression that the impact is minor. My parents as rear passengers met with a similar accident at a good speed on a highway when their car hit the median. Our Skoda Laura did not look mangled, etc after the accident but the damage was extensive. Thankfully everyone was wearing seat belts and they only suffered minor seat belt abrasion on the skin around the neck area. The car was a write off but everyone came out unhurt.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...-accident.html (Four-year dream run comes to an end - Laura L&K accident)

When I read the news that it was a Mercedes-Benz and two passengers died on the spot, it was obvious to me that seat belts were not worn. A couple of years ago, Hema Malini got badly hurt at the back of an S-Class because she was not wearing seat belts. I hope the awareness about seat belts increases and such tragedies can be avoided.

While straight sections of our highways are built well, there is heavy cost cutting and lack of safe design practices when it comes to lane merges, ramps, exits and other aspects. One can never take the roads for granted in our country no matter how world class they appear.

[Crank]

Originally Posted by R2D2

A sad incident that was entirely preventable had the driver not been driving at >130 kmph/80 mph and was at a more moderate speed.

I feel IMHO, this accident couldn't be prevented by speed alone. However lives could have been saved. But it's an highway and 80 kph is a reasonable speed. 130 kph is still contested as there were conflicting facts around this.

Originally Posted by R2D2

a) Driver error
b) 130 kmph on a highway
c) No seat belt!
d) Modern cars especially German lux marques attain silly speeds
e) Last but not the least, the poor road design.

It's very easy to blame the driver as number one reason unless and until we are a driver in that situation. No one wants to throw their life or their kith and kin just like that. There are bad and rogue drivers. I don't think the driver in this case can be squarely blamed as number one reason. I would rather have seat belts are the first reason, second as the pathetic road condition and have driver as the last. Why we don't fight against the killer roads and just keep asking the drivers to drive safe? We just accept mediocrity. That's an Indian way of life, unfortunately.

Originally Posted by shramik

Gentlemen,
... the first rule is to prevent accidents from happening.
Seat belts, air bags & what have you come into the picture after the mishap.

Some pointers....
Why should we be forced to overtake on the left of a divided road ??
Why should a vehicle come opposite you, when you are in your correct, left lane ???
Why should a slow moving, loaded truck attempt overtaking another equally slow moving truck on a 2 lane divided road, causing a que of faster vehicles behind ????
Why should any animal wander into the path of a speeding car ??
Why should there be a break, intended or man-made, on divided 4/6 lane roads ??
Why do German roads have the lowest per capita accident ratio despite many hundreds of kms of speed-limit free autobahns ???

Very valid points, except for one important one - road engineering. German Autobahn is made in such a way that there cannot be intrusions and minimize probability of accidents. Compare that to our highways!

Originally Posted by shramik

Our Government has given us a massive bounty in the form of world class roads, they should begin to tighten down heavily on road discipline.

IMHO, its death trap and not a bounty. Yes they are much better than the past. But now these roads make us feel safe and drive fast, without knowing that we are stepping into a death trap. In your own style...

• Why would an highway need speed breakers or barricades, if it is a "high" way??
• Why would 4-lanes become 2-lanes or 3 lanes abruptly without any signage?
• Why would highways don't have marked exits for villages and towns in between but have barricades for you to slow down greet the people over there and move ahead?
• Why would side roads join from left in some places and from right in others?
• Why there are pot-holes in the highway?
• How would cattle or people cross highways just like that, if it is a so called highway? Is it not because they intersect their town or village through which they carry out their day today lives?
• In a nutshell why there are so many surprises on our roads compared to an Autobahn or just a simple motorway in developed countries?
• Finally, why we people accept all the insane road design and the mediocrity?