[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by nitrous

Why does F1 sell so much?

come on thalaivar, there is a difference between a sport and driving on public roads.

I am sure he did not mean restrict speeds on F1 cars

[Hyundai.Lover]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

So you do agree that our roads are full of inexperienced drivers. Care to ask ANY driver on the road if he is immature? I will be interested in knowing how many drivers accept they are immature/inexperienced.

Not many of them will accept that they are immature and inexperienced. But yes, when i had started driving on that time i accepted that i'm not an experienced and skilled driver while taking the car to the mountains. lol and on the highways too. When i had driven a car on the highway for the first time. I was driving it like a city driving. Taking the car from the wrong side without dippers etc. and driving very close to the cars. like in 1997 i guess. lol thats what we call immaturity.

But yes, now i have driven the car on highways so much that now i make that out who is an immature and senseless driver on the road and who is not, and i act according to that itself.

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

(being able to piss on public roads in public view shud give enough sense of freedom )

haha logic dude and yes, the means of transportation.. but slowly slowly its changing. People are becoming a bit aware, but still not many of them knows what is bad and what is good. and many of them buy cars by looking at their brand name not even bothered to look what is there in the car.
Few people around me told me that Verna VGT and Petrol is a crappy (because of brand name) and under powered car (because of brand name and they are least bothered to drive a Verna) if compared to honda city zx. Why? Brand Name Honda vs Hyundai. Honda have a stronger brand.

Once (long time bakc) one of my friend started teasing me with his NHC, "Hyundai is a company providing no power no class to their cars and he also sees Hyundai Accent in his rear mirror wheneva he had a street crappy racing with Accents on the road. Because NHC is a Honda and power booster and he can beat the hell out of my accent."
I was shocked to see that How he is comparing 1.6L DOHC 102hp with 1.5L 77 HP. around 11 at night, i asked him to go for a drive and let us see the power..
We reached Expressway, noida. Poor guy lost 0-100, 30-100, 60-150 with a good difference. lol i always used to tease him "how is your power booster going and how many accents you saw in your rear view." haha now he bought a Verna VGT and i'm scared to sit with him with his driving on Verna and decided i will not encourage him for any kinda boosting. He told me he had driven Verna at 203 KMPH 3-4 times on express way, noida. Scary!!

I always discourage him and always tells him about the accidents due to high speeds... But he is a fool to understand. Verna at 200 kmph Scary. Even though i had driven my car at 190 kmph sometimes. but after hitting this mark i just applied brakes and again backto business of 120-140 kmph.

So, Fun should be with mature behavious, its not like we are driving cont. at 200 kmph.

Sometimes i becomes very naught in cities...
Ofcourse in delhi this car street racing is increasing day by day, Whenever so you see a car heading towards you way back... Slowup your speed to around 50 kmph and block that racer... start running your car parallel to a bus or a truck to block the street racers. haha it is more fun to see racers getting angry on you because you are blocking their dangerous fun. I love to block racers with my car.

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

and then there is a concept called defensive driving. which essentially enforces the fact that staying defensive, losing on a couple of seconds from another car is a good thing to do if it saves lives. Being courteous to fellow road users is another point, But I am not sure how feasible it will be on indian roads.

Yo! very good point.

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

come on thalaivar, there is a difference between a sport and driving on public roads.

I am sure he did not mean restrict speeds on F1 cars

Come on man we had seen Isha Deol driving an F1 in the movie "Cash" haha

[vasudeva]

[quote=apachelongbow;598120]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

My 2 cents. Road fatalities in India are high because we have no emergency response system and people are afraid to help the injured because of police hassles. The first 30 mins post accident/trauma are most crucial for saving a person's life. For the statistics, USA has a far higher percentage of accidents compared to India but a far lower fatality rate. So lets not confuse or compare between these 2 nations

By that logic since India has a worse infrastructure, then higher accidents translate into death, and so the dangers of overspeeding is also higher!.

I have already posted estimates of overspeeding deaths in India and so am not bothered to repeat them again.

Really, by raising issues of relevancy, which is also relevant, there is no convincing anyone. If by God's grace, I or anyone else gives JP Nagar, Bangalore figures, then someone will say I stay in Akbar Road, Delhi and so NIMBY. If Guwahati figures are given, then that is hilly, and I stay in Goa, so NIMBY again. and I really feel like

[arunk]

wonderful post vasudev! all speed limits and cops will not prevent a crazy driver from doing his kind of damage. I think every one needs to be reminded that driving safely is one thing that comes with responsibility and maturity. No point ripping the traffic when all you are doing is getting to your office . It only makes sense if you need that extra minute to save something or someone valuable. As you gain experience, you may be able to be a better judge and decide when you can and cannot speed. Speeding is not an individual decision, it can affect the lives of many people directly and many more indirectly

[diabloo]

I have question:

If the speed limit in a country is 120Kmph, then why do manufacturers sell cars that do more than 240Kmph

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by diabloo

If the speed limit in a country is 120Kmph, then why do manufacturers sell cars that do more than 240Kmph

It has always been a subtle method used for population control!

[hyper123]

Man vasudev! Good discussions, where did you get all that info from anyway?

Its more like the NEED FOR SPEED. We are human beings and we love to push things to the limit, reach new levels, etc. Like most people have said here, everyone must be within their and their machine's limit.

@rks: Frequent overtaking is better than being frequently overtaken.

There are some good points mentioned by rks. Here on Indian highways, most of the trucks and buses and even few cars are not in a good working condition and drivers are not educated. So it is always better to be ahead of them all the time. And to do that, you need to overtake frequently; and for that you need SKILL and EXPERIENCE.

rks: Fast driving means you get a clear view of the road ahead, since you will get ahead of slow-moving vehicles.

This is a valid point too. Especially if there are heavy vehicles are more in number. Its impossible to tell when they brake and when they go over undulations on the road!!

This is especially true for 2-wheelers. Whenever I ride my bike, I always try and stay ahead of traffic. Ofcourse, I do that carefully and I don't ride rash just to get in front of everyone else.

In the end, I guess a driver's skill, experience, his common sense and few other things are important .

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by Hyundai.Lover

I love to block racers with my car.

road rage again.

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by diabloo

I have question:

If the speed limit in a country is 120Kmph, then why do manufacturers sell cars that do more than 240Kmph

they give you more power, mostly to be used for quick acceleration. incidentally it can take you to higher speeds too. if you check, the figures to flaunt are mostly 0-100 kmph (or 0-60 mph). did you see anybody boasting of XXX seconds for 0-150?

now you don't expect authorities to put delimiters on everything in life, do you? that itself will be a huge cost to the taxpayers.

[rks]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

because you are "the smart one", isn't it? and all others are the immature drivers.

inmagine if everybody starts following your view, and tries to keep 5+ kmph over everybody else......cascaded amplification?

That is not the way it works. Everybody drives in his comfort zone. I am quite comfortable at speeds like 100-120 kmph on normal highways and 120-150 kmph on Expressways. For others who are not comfortable with these speeds, or do not have appropriate vehicles, this driving style is not recommended. There are many, many good practices to follow, especially while driving in this style; I try to follow most, if not all of them.

For example:

-- Good anticipation is very essential. Avoid sudden braking/lane changes because of your failure to anticipate. E.g. you fail to see a pothole/speed-breaker and then brake/swerve hard, which is a frequent (and sometimes unavoidable) scenario on our roads. Good anticipation will help in getting your car in the right position at the right time and at the right speed.

-- Follow vehicles in a staggered manner so that you can see ahead of them. This will help in anticipating trouble and avoiding it. Also gives breathing space if the guy ahead brakes suddenly. If not possible to stagger, then try to see through the windshield of the vehicle ahead of you.

-- Always make maximum use of braking distance available, so that guys behind you will have the time to brake (and your brakes will last longer).

-- Never make another driver brake because of your driving (except when unavoidable). To make people brake unnecessarily is my definition of bad driving in the "bad drivers" thread, for you are relying on somebody else to save your own neck.

-- Get ahead of slow-moving vehicles so that you have a clear road ahead of you. There are several good practices to follow while overtaking/lane-cutting which I will not list here.

-- Drive in the middle lane or in the middle of the road to give yourself more margins (and less possibility of hitting stones, etc.).

-- In an emergency, braking is preferable to uncontrolled swerving. But swerve if you have no other option to avoid a head-on collision.

-- Various principles used in cornering safely, driving on wet roads, ghats, night-driving, etc., etc.

-- Above all, concentrate, keep your cool, *never* panic in any situation. Most of the accidents are caused by panicky drivers when they encounter something unexpected. Especially panicky, uncontrolled swerving at high speeds when moderate braking would have been enough.

Now tell me how many average Joes will be aware of or follow all these practices? Not too many, from my experience. Most of them are not enthusiasts and will not give much thought to these principles or care for them. *They* should not drive fast, like I do.

Of course I do not claim to be perfect. I will make the occasional mistake like anybody else, but I will take these small errors seriously and try to learn from them.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by rks

Of course I do not claim to be perfect. I will make the occasional mistake like anybody else, but I will take these small errors seriously and try to learn from them.

After the vivid descriptions you have provided about your special gifts I would say you are being needlessly modest.

[gopinathann]

I completely agree with rks. I am also comfortable at high speeds with full concentration. It depends on the driver, errors are possible even in slow speeds.

[Torqy]

Originally Posted by gopinathann

I completely agree with rks. I am also comfortable at high speeds with full concentration. It depends on the driver, errors are possible even in slow speeds.

But there's a difference between errors at slow speeds and errors at high speeds.

I've always thought that safe driving is all about "anticipation" / defensive driving. It's about being confident and at the same time anticipating mistakes from others. Here everyone seems to assume all other drivers to be highly skilled.

You may have FULL CONCENTRATION. What if the cabbie coming against you is HALF DRUNK?

-- Torqy

[anupmathur]

At least it will not be his fault. The cabbie is at fault.

[Torqy]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

At least it will not be his fault. The cabbie is at fault.

It's not about that.
What if you don't live to tell the story?

-- Torqy