[nairrk]

Woman dies after buses collide on ECR

One of the buses involved in the accident near Muttukadu boat house on Sunday; an injured passenger undergoing treatment at the Government Royapettah Hospital

Over 40 passengers injured in accident involving three state government buses near Muttukadu Boat House

A 59-year-old woman died and over 40 passengers were injured after two Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses collided at Muttukadu on East Coast Road on Sunday afternoon.

The two buses — one travelling towards Chennai from Chidambaram and another towards Puducherry from the city — were involved in the head-on collision.

Another bus proceeding behind the Puducherry-bound bus, rammed into it.

G. Lakshmi, who was travelling in the Chennai-bound bus was critically injured and was rushed along with several other injured passengers to Government Royapettah Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. Her husband Ganesan was also injured in the accident.

The couple, residents of Race Course Road in Guindy, was returning from the Mahamaham festival in Kumbakonam, when the accident took place, a senior police officer of Kancheepuram district said.

In the impact, one of the buses was ripped apart, with several passengers suffering major injuries. Some of them were taken to Government Medical College Hospital in Chengalpattu.

Parts of the bus fell below the bridge across the backwaters near the Tamil Nadu Tourism Corporation’s boat house at Muttukadu.

Raja, who was travelling with his wife Santha from Royapuram to Cuddalore, while recounting the accident, said it took place as the driver of the Chennai-bound bus was driving rashly. Raja suffered a broken tooth and several injuries.

R. Narayan Babu, Dean, Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, said 37 passengers were injured in the multiple collisions and taken to the Government Royapettah Hospital.

Among them, four were shifted to to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for further treatment. Two are being treated for injuries on their legs. The rest were discharged after first aid.

Of the seven injured passengers taken to the Chengalpattu hospital, six were discharged, sources said. Kelambakkam police have registered a case and are investigating. None have been arrested so far. All the buses belonged to Villupuram division of TNSTC, police added.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...?homepage=true

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by nairrk

The two buses — one travelling towards Chennai from Chidambaram and another towards Puducherry from the city — were involved in the head-on collision.

Another bus proceeding behind the Puducherry-bound bus, rammed into it.

This is just dreadful, that three "public service" state-bus drivers are driving so badly as to be involved in such an accident, including loss of life and goodness knows what injuries.

Nothing will happen: they will go for "training" and then back to their jobs. Those who claim compensation will just go on the waiting list along with the others who never get paid.

[ravradha]

Originally Posted by shady_lawyer

It's electrifying that your worry is about the transformer. Let us completely overlook the absolute moron who was hammered at 3PM.

As an aside yes pole mounted step up/step down transformers are perfectly valid.

You are right. The driver was guilty as charged.

[n.arun01]

"G. Lakshmi, who was travelling in the Chennai-bound bus was critically injured and was rushed along with several other injured passengers to Government Royapettah Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. Her husband Ganesan was also injured in the accident"
I do not get this logic of taking a critically injured person to a hospital atleast 40 km away from the accident spot. Can't they treat them at a nearby hospital ?

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by n.arun01

......Can't they treat them at a nearby hospital ?

A lot of hospitals refuse admission to critical cases, sometimes for lack of sufficient facilities to treat a particular case and a lot of times just not wanting to risk an angry mob of relatives (a common occurrence in India) if things go wrong.

How do I know? A few years ago, a relative had a stroke in the early hours and we had to take him to a handful of hospitals before ending up at Fortis Bannerghatta Road nearly 2 hours later, from his home in BSK 3rd Stage near Mysore Road. Some of the nearby hospitals we visited en route were actually equipped to take him in, we pleaded with them to at least provide 'golden hour' primary care and stabilize him, post which we'll take him elsewhere. They all refused, the last one generously offered to provide an ambulance if we paid an absurd 'fee' upfront (108 and similar ambulances weren't a well-serviced option then, we wasted 20 mins of the golden hour trying to get one to no avail).

By the time we reached Fortis ER, he had already slipped into a coma from which he never recovered, passing away a fortnight later.

That's Indian emergency medical care for you in a nutshell, if you don't live next door to a 5-star facility (and pray you don't need it during rush hour)

[john doe]

Terrible Accident near Mangalore. Two bikes in a high speed collision. At least one young lad killed in the prime of his youth.

Notable in the photos of this accident are the pics of the safety gear, esp. the catastrophic failure of one of the helmets.

A RC 200 (?) and a Pulsar NS 200 were the 2 bikes involved. Despite the article initially blaming the truck, just look at the tyre skid marks of the 2 bikes and the double tyre skid marks of the truck and you can tell what happened!

Link to the accident article:

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_...sp?n_id=381397

Take a look at this kid's FB cover page. Initially I felt that I should leave his FB page well alone, but I really feel that if our younger brothers / friends could see the fate that awaited this super fit , good looking guy who was clearly a good rider ( based on the stunt photos also on his FB) and was wearing a helmet, perhaps it might be an eye-opener.
Note the same helmet in the accident photos.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by john doe

perhaps it might be an eye-opener.Note the same helmet in the accident photos.

Not at all to sound abrasive but why is this surprising? Helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, jackets etc are there as protection. They prevent injuries or serious injuries in case of loss of balance while going over a pothole or prevent the elbows from getting badly bruised and if one is lucky, save the trip to the doctor for a tetanus shot.

ALL bike safety gear have no guarantee of saving a life in high speed impact, reckless riding or impact with heavier objects. The helmet in the end is a combination of a few types of toughened fibreglass, EPS foam padding, toughened plastic and perhaps types of metals depending on quality. Ultimately all safety gear will shatter/rip, only variable on the extent is the amount of force. Iron Man was a good movie, I liked the first part and hated the rest.. realistically Iron Man cannot be anywhere near as durable as shown in the movie. Gravity is the biggest equalizer, one can wear Kevlar under titanium or aluminium armour but an impact from a mere 20 feet above will ensure the wearer gets smashed inside irrespective of how well the armour holds up outside. Whiplash, displacement, impact injuries etc happen as a result of gravity.

Safe driving, safe riding, is what one must aim to do. Helmets, knee-pads & elbow-pads for bikes, airbags, seatbelts & ABS for cars are there for purely when Murphy's Law kicks in the sequence of events of danger which is beyond the scope of larger control for the driver/rider and to increase the chances of recovery/survival thereafter. P.S that FB post on the right side if it is written by the rider in question, doesn't speak very highly of his approach to safety.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by john doe

Take a look at this kid's FB cover page. Initially I felt that I should leave his FB page well alone, but I really feel that if our younger brothers / friends could see the fate that awaited this super fit , good looking guy who was clearly a good rider ( based on the stunt photos also on his FB) and was wearing a helmet, perhaps it might be an eye-opener.
Note the same helmet in the accident photos.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

P.S that FB post on the right side if it is written by the rider in question, doesn't speak very highly of his approach to safety.

On reading that FB post, I could recollect one sentence. Once while driving on NH50, I read this on the rear side of a truck in hindi, "Jinko jane ki jaldi thi, woh to chale gaye".

English translation, "Folks who were in a hurry, have already gone".

May the departed soul R.I.P. But going by that FB post, the young lad would always be in a hurry, race against time or other fast moving vehicles on the road. The fate that he has met today is no surprise.

[Viju]

Having gone through the street-racing and stunting days in younger days, I understand the adrenaline rush that these kids get when they are on their motorcycles. Moreover, the new gen bikes are more potent than ever before.

I went through his FB page, and it was depressing to see the RIP messages posted by his friends and family. But more than the rider, my heart goes out to those parents who lost their son due to no fault of theirs.

As a crazy teen, I could never understand why my mother got paranoid whenever I returned home late after a bike ride. But 15 years later, as a parent myself, I totally understand the horror she must have gone through. I was lucky to have escaped that phase of my life with a few broken bones and ligaments, but I guess, not all are so lucky.

Rest in peace, fellow rider.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by john doe

Terrible Accident near Mangalore. Two bikes in a high speed collision. At least one young lad killed in the prime of his youth.

.

The third pic from top shows the bike tire skid marks on the wrong side of the yellow line.

1- yellow line is like a divider. You are strictkly not allowed to cross it While driving/ riding ! Shows the bikes were on the wrong side

2- skid marks indicate these bikes tried to brake at high speeds

3- on that narrow road, vehicles on the opposite lane have no place to move when there are idiots trying to commit suicide

Our cops as usual will take the easy way out. They cannot do anything to educate road users / enforce rules. So the simplest way is to blindly blame the larger / more expensive vehicle

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Viju

......parents who lost their son due to no fault of theirs.....

As gut-wrenching and apparently insensitive it may be, that oft-peddled statement in such cases is patently false. Parenting can and makes a lot of difference in how kids turn out, including their approach to driving/riding.

Teenagers obviously don't have the maturity to always weigh pros and cons - we've all been through that phase - and that's where parenting can make a difference, sometimes a life & death one.

I sympathize with the parents for their loss - losing a young child can be shattering - but I can't say 'it was no fault of theirs'. The guy didn't become a reckless biker overnight (quite the opposite if his FB profile is any indication), and the parents need to take some responsibility, if for nothing else then for not intervening before his need for an adrenaline rush turned fatal.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

As gut-wrenching and apparently insensitive it may be, that oft-peddled statement in such cases is patently false. Parenting can and makes a lot of difference in how kids turn out, including their approach to driving/riding.

Kids generally have good observation. While going in the car, my kid observes people on the road, way they drive/ride and then compares them with me as to why I am driving slow.
I just tell him that in city one has to be careful as lot of people walk on the roads and since I am driving a car I have to be careful that I dont bang into a 2 wheeler.
Even while driving on the highway, my son observes that most of the vehicles zip past me. Again I tell him that on highways we can go fast provided you are able to control the vehicle. I do tell him that since our 2nd kid (2 yr baby) is also accompanying us, it is better to drive normal.
I also make it a point to tell him that driving consistently at more or less the same speed on the highways will be less strenuous for me.

[MSMILES]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

As gut-wrenching and apparently insensitive it may be, that oft-peddled statement in such cases is patently false. Parenting can and makes a lot of difference in how kids turn out, including their approach to driving/riding.

Teenagers obviously don't have the maturity to always weigh pros and cons - we've all been through that phase - and that's where parenting can make a difference, sometimes a life & death one.

I sympathize with the parents for their loss - losing a young child can be shattering - but I can't say 'it was no fault of theirs'. The guy didn't become a reckless biker overnight (quite the opposite if his FB profile is any indication), and the parents need to take some responsibility, if for nothing else then for not intervening before his need for an adrenaline rush turned fatal.

Spot on Chetan. Statements like Parents lost because of no fault of theirs is trying to run away from responsiblity. It is time to own the responsiblity of parenting and allowing kids to enjoy their freedom once you have educated them enough of the consequences. Teenagers and kids will learn from their own mistakes only if they survive from their first.

This is sheer recklessness. I am not trying to be insensitive. I surely understand their pain at this moment of grief.

Again, My heartfelt condolences to the family for the loss and may the almightly give them courage and strength to overcome the tragedy.

[aspire]

Well!!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/51112045.cms

Irony !
Cops, who reported the accident from near Kathna bridge, said a FIR has been filed at the Gajroula police station and that a complaint has also been made out against the driver of the mini-truck for rash driving

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by aspire

Well!!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/51112045.cms

Irony !
Cops, who reported the accident from near Kathna bridge, said a FIR has been filed at the Gajroula police station and that a complaint has also been made out against the driver of the mini-truck for rash driving

Satisfaction level of a man vs life of a man. Which is important. Looking at the recent posts, i get the feeling that the former has got more priority.
In this case, what if the car driver had run over a pedestrian???