[hserus]

A parked bus at the bus stand in Bareilly had the ignition key inserted. A monkey got in and managed to start the bus, put it into second gear.

The driver who was snoozing inside managed to shoo it away and stop the bus but not before it hit two other buses and narrowly missed several passengers waiting at the depot.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report...e-back-2158807

Looks like a random monkey in a representative photo though - can't find a photo of the actual incident but several articles are carrying this attached photo.

[honeybee]

The report says as the monkey started the engine, upon which the driver woke up and tried to shoo away the monkey. Scared, the monkey shifted the bus into second gear before running away. It also says the monkeys often interfere with the repairs going on in the workshops.

Would have been funny to see if the monkey drove better than the driver.

[Shivanshu]

Read this sad news on msn, there is no value to humanity now.

Here is the link: http://www.msn.com/en-in/news/nation...lPm?li=AAgfYGb

[hserus]

Originally Posted by honeybee

The report says as the monkey started the engine, upon which the driver woke up and tried to shoo away the monkey. Scared, the monkey shifted the bus into second gear before running away. It also says the monkeys often interfere with the repairs going on in the workshops.

Would have been funny to see if the monkey drove better than the driver.

Remember, it managed to start the bus and it into gear on its very first attempt. So already a better driver than most of the first time drivers that turn up with brand new driving licenses in India.

I am not sure just how it was able to put the bus into any sort of gear by the way. Don't buses have a clutch that needs to be depressed before, presumably, the monkey jumped onto or grabbed the gearshift in order to engage second gear and set the vehicle into motion?

I refuse to believe that the monkey could keep the clutch depressed and pull on the gear lever. The monkey playing with the ignition key could start the bus, but then pulling on or jumping onto the gear lever would still not put the vehicle into gear unless the clutch was depressed first.

Or unless the vehicle was actually parked with first or second gear engaged. I see at least some valet parking drivers etc leave a car in gear rather than neutral when parking it on absolutely flat ground, even claiming it is a best practice (yes I understand about parking it on a slope but there you'd generally twist the wheel so that the vehicle would go into the curb if it decided to start rolling on its own). The bus driver might have done just that, so that twisting the ignition key was enough to start the bus moving.

[tanwaramit]

This is what fog can do.

Better drive safe during this season.

https://www.facebook.com/manjeet.hoo...type=2&theater

[Pferdestarke]

Originally Posted by hserus

The monkey playing with the ignition key could start the bus, but then pulling on or jumping onto the gear lever would still not put the vehicle into gear unless the clutch was depressed first.

That's incorrect. One can slot in a gear successfully without pressing the clutch but that would certainly stall the engine unless ample gas is pumped to it to keep up the revs.

Originally Posted by hserus

The bus driver might have done just that, so that twisting the ignition key was enough to start the bus moving.

This one sounds undoable. In case the vehicle is parked with gear slotted in and cranked up, the vehicle would flit a bit and stalls the engine.

All these hypotheses are far-fetched and are viable only when we suppose that the monkey has managed to press the gas pedal too.

[sjcherian]

So many monkeys get to drive in the roads without knowing what they are doing.
So what if a real monkey managed to move a bus a bit.

I think the bus may already have its engine running. The monkey pressed the accelerator only. (Just like on the driving test that most human monkeys on the road take). Vehicle will move in whichever direction the front wheels are pointing.

[fiat_tarun]

There was a bad accident near NIFT on OMR (Chennai) early this morning. An Ecosport had smashed into the road divider and brought a solid light pole down. The car looked like the passenger cabin hit the pole as the car must've toppled after hitting the divider. No idea about the passenger's, but looking at the cabin it did not look good.

Anybody with more details?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Pferdestarke

All these hypotheses are far-fetched and are viable only when we suppose that the monkey has managed to press the gas pedal too.

I have driven a car with a broken accelerator cable. Of course, it needed clutch control, and idle-in-first was the car's maximum speed. This made turning right onto a busy London main road pretty tricky, but I didn't have far to go to get home and I made it.

Engaging gear without clutch is also possible. My father used to demonstrate no-clutch driving to me as a trick! But I don't think he wanted to stress the gearbox by no-clutch-from-stationary start: at least, there are going to be some nasty noises!

[Bigzero]

If the bus was parked in first gear with no handbrakes on, isnt it possible that the starter motor could have just about managed to jump the bus forward a bit? If the engine iis warm, isnt it possible that a brief jerk of that sort could have started the engine?

[aerohit]

Originally Posted by tanwaramit

This is what fog can do.

Better drive safe during this season.

During fog they they turn their blinkers on but drive super fast.

Driving with blinkers doesnt mean you are invincible (just like keeping religious idol doesn't make one invincible)

[sooraj.naik]

Originally Posted by Pferdestarke

That's incorrect. One can slot in a gear successfully without pressing the clutch but that would certainly stall the engine unless ample gas is pumped to it to keep up the revs.

I want to recall an incident which took place at KSRTC Bus Station in Mangalore. The bus was TATA, Rajahamsa which was parked. Driver and Conductor stayed outside and there had some passenger inside the bus. I was standing in front of the bus, the engine started, and the bus started crawling with the engine idling. One of the drivers jumped inside and stopped the bus. Remember the engine was off and he key was in the ignition slot!

I had this discussion with one of my friends in KSRTC (Airavath), who told me that it crawled and engine didn't die because the bus will be parked in 1st gear (which they call it has extra and use only during high incline).

[blackwasp]

Witnessed this 4 car pileup on Lp flyover Nerul half an hr ago. Looks like some one braked and resulted in a 4 car pileup. The vehicle that braked was not at site. No one looks injured and the people were chatting in the fast lane.

The wagon R bore the brunt of the hit with coolant leak. The order was Wagon R, Ritz,City , Endy and a Eeco. Only the Wagon R and Eeco looks a bit bad rest all had fender benders.

The pics are not clear as I was taking a time lapse and they are the screenshots from it.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Looks like some one braked and resulted in a 4 car pileup.

Braking, no problem.

Driving too close to car in front, big problem.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Braking, no problem.

Driving too close to car in front, big problem.

The time this happened to me, it was at a signal where we were stopped - and then as soon as we started moving the guy ahead of me (a Palio) who had gone forward a bit suddenly slammed on his brakes and then decided to take a right turn out of the blue.

So I stopped - well behind him - and then an Innova with bull bar plus one of those attachments for attaching a party / govt flag rammed into me from behind. The metal of that flagpole base put a hole into my rear bumper. So lucky that this was a low speed collision as we had just set off from a red signal.

The guy behind me had seen the signal start to go green and so hasn't slowed down all that much - which explains his slamming into me at 25-30 kmph instead of a much faster speed. Meanwhile the Palio took his right turn and drove merrily off.