[jagpreetsingh]

Originally Posted by pavi

Another accident involving a truck and a mini truck.

The truck driver has exactly 2 seconds to figure out the bus has stopped, apply brakes, look out for oncoming traffic, swerve right or left.

IF the truck driver had taken his eyes off the road for even half a second, the accident was sure.

Lucky is the guy on the road. He moves a few step backwards few seconds before the accident. Those steps saved him.

[deepakdsk]

More details: https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news...n-tn-1.3691125

Previous incident at same spot a year before: https://www.maalaimalar.com/News/Dis...nt-5person.vpf

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

The truck driver has exactly 2 seconds to figure out the bus has stopped, apply brakes, look out for oncoming traffic, swerve right or left.

No. The truck driver has as long as the bus took to slow down and come to a stop. Add to that that, as has been mentioned already, buses stop, and other vehicles are expected to expect that. Nothing happens instantaneously.

Of course, it is a good point that the truck driver's eyes might not have been on the road at all. Which would be even more damning.

[Nimalan]

Originally Posted by deepakdsk

More details: https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news...n-tn-1.3691125
[/url]

Thought of posting this, but refrained because of the credibility of the news. The accident did happen.No doubt about it. The news about it in each media raises the credibility issue. The number of passengers injured and the cause varies in each media. In mathrubhumi it is 26 passengers, in Tamil newspapers and in TOI it is in the range 12-14 passengers. According to a daily newspaper, the accident occurred due to drowsy driving while a news channel stated the reason to be drunken driving. We might never know the facts. This is the state of the media these days, they can publish any news with any facts.

[jagpreetsingh]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

No. The truck driver has as long as the bus took to slow down and come to a stop. Add to that that, as has been mentioned already, buses stop, and other vehicles are expected to expect that. Nothing happens instantaneously.

Of course, it is a good point that the truck driver's eyes might not have been on the road at all. Which would be even more damning.

Buses? Half of the so called bus stops in India are non-designated. Specifically in such suburbs-villages. Don't we all get stuck behind buses that just stop to pick/drop passengers.
Do check the video again and notice the time. Hardly anytime. Bus is for sure at fault as much is the trucker. Truck drivers are much more saner than bus drivers.


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[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

Buses? Half of the so called bus stops in India are non-designated. Specifically in such suburbs-villages. Don't we all get stuck behind buses that just stop to pick/drop passengers.
Do check the video again and notice the time. Hardly anytime. Bus is for sure at fault as much is the trucker. Truck drivers are much more saner than bus drivers..[/b]

I don't know mate, if you watch that video carefully you may note that the truck was 2 seconds behind the bus and going far too fast for what is essentially a town street.

The truck driver ought to have been driving a lot slower that he was. You see, if he was going slower, he would have had enough time to stop.

This is not to say that the bus is not at fault. Stopping on a dime without any warning, and not stopping by the side of the road is what contributed to this, but there's no denying that the truck was going much too quickly for a narrow road.

[jagpreetsingh]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

I don't know mate, if you watch that video carefully you may note that the truck was 2 seconds behind the bus and going far too fast for what is essentially a town street.

The truck driver ought to have been driving a lot slower that he was. You see, if he was going slower, he would have had enough time to stop.

This is not to say that the bus is not at fault. Stopping on a dime without any warning, and not stopping by the side of the road is what contributed to this, but there's no denying that the truck was going much too quickly for a narrow road.

Yes, trucker is equally at fault. But he did save a lot of people (bus passengers) whom the bus driver put in danger.

The design flaws in the urban-rural planning are very well visible in such accidents. There is hardly any proper space given for buses to stop. Whatever space is there, is evolutionary and not intentional.

[aadya]

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

Do check the video again and notice the time. Hardly anytime. Bus is for sure at fault as much is the trucker. Truck drivers are much more saner than bus drivers.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

The truck driver ought to have been driving a lot slower that he was. You see, if he was going slower, he would have had enough time to stop.
This is not to say that the bus is not at fault. Stopping on a dime without any warning, and not stopping by the side of the road is what contributed to this, but there's no denying that the truck was going much too quickly for a narrow road.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

No. The truck driver has as long as the bus took to slow down and come to a stop. Add to that that, as has been mentioned already, buses stop, and other vehicles are expected to expect that. Nothing happens instantaneously..

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

Yes, trucker is equally at fault. But he did save a lot of people (bus passengers) whom the bus driver put in danger.
.

More so that it is a truck which was trailing. If it was an automatic car driven by a novice it is acceptable, but not by a truck driver. Truck drivers typically have very high mileage and expected to be more sedate, anticipatory and defensive.

If the bus was able to stop within such distance, which was not possible by the truck, it must be due to 1.Truck had brake failure 2.Truck was at much higher speed 3.Driver was distracted.

Division of responsibility Truck 51%: Bus 49%

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

Bus is for sure at fault as much is the trucker.

What differently the bus should have done to avoid this accident? Every time pull over to the shoulders if it has to stop? Or diligently provide hand signals before every stop? Isn't it much easier that rest of us drive safe and defensively.

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

But he did save a lot of people (bus passengers) whom the bus driver put in danger.

Oh Man! You made a hero out of the truck driver from nowhere.

[jagpreetsingh]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

What differently the bus should have done to avoid this accident? Every time pull over to the shoulders if it has to stop? Or diligently provide hand signals before every stop? Isn't it much easier that rest of us drive safe and defensively.
..

Yes, use shoulders to stop. Every time. There is always, always enough space for the buses to pull over and pick-drop passengers. Not following the rule caused the accident. The roads are not bus stops. In this case, the bus is a hurdle - a wall that was moving and decided to stop. The bus was fast and the truck was equally fast behind it. The bus stopped very quickly, but it was planned/anticipated. The truck got very little time to react since for it, the stop was not planned nor anticipated.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

Yes, trucker is equally at fault. But he did save a lot of people (bus passengers) whom the bus driver put in danger.

He saved people? I think he was keen on self preservation rather than saving others. *Wink*

The design flaws in the urban-rural planning are very well visible in such accidents. There is hardly any proper space given for buses to stop. Whatever space is there, is evolutionary and not intentional.

Poor infrastructure definitely plays a role here, but is there a point in blaming the infrastructure after the accident has taken place? The drivers should keep these factors in mind, I.e. the limitations of the infrastructure, while driving commercial vehicles.

Originally Posted by aadya

More so that it is a truck which was trailing. If it was an automatic car driven by a novice it is acceptable, but not by a truck driver. Truck drivers typically have very high mileage and expected to be more sedate, anticipatory and defensive.

If the bus was able to stop within such distance, which was not possible by the truck, it must be due to 1.Truck had brake failure 2.Truck was at much higher speed 3.Driver was distracted.

Division of responsibility Truck 51%: Bus 49%

I think we are forgetting one crucial aspect of the truck, and that's the load it's carrying. The load plays a huge factor in acceleration of a vehicle and its stopping distance. Higher the load, further the stopping distance becomes.

The trucker is clearly inexperienced, and probably just graduated from a goods-auto or some such vehicle.

An experienced trucker would be aware of the load he is carrying and wouldn't venture to exceed certain speeds as he would know that it takes a lot more time and effort to stop the truck.

With that in mind, I would say 75% to the truck and 25% to the bus.

Originally Posted by balenoed_

What differently the bus should have done to avoid this accident? Every time pull over to the shoulders if it has to stop? Or diligently provide hand signals before every stop? Isn't it much easier that rest of us drive safe and defensively.

Buses think they own the road and have the right to be in the middle, even if it means that they're blocking other road users.

It is definitely a lot easier for all of us to imbibe defensive driving, but the bus should have at least partially gotten off the road to make way for other vehicles.

[GeneralJazz]

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

Bus stopped very quickly but it was planned/anticipated. Truck got very little time to react since for the truck, the stop was not planned nor anticipated.

Then why did he tailgate the bus? Shouldn't he have maintained a safe distance? This is the typical reply of bikers who run into you if you brake a bit too aggressively in traffic.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

Do check the video again and notice the time. Hardly anytime. Bus is for sure at fault as much is the trucker. Truck drivers are much more saner than bus drivers.

I checked the video before posting. It is only possible to see a couple of seconds because of the blocked cctv view. Before the bus comes into view it must have been slowing down.

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

Yes, trucker is equally at fault. But he did save a lot of people (bus passengers) whom the bus driver put in danger.

He didn't save anyone. He possibly killed the minitruck driver. He is doing almost everything wrong: how can you possibly see anything right in it?

Originally Posted by aadya

Division of responsibility Truck 51%: Bus 49%

Truck 100%. Don't forget the primary rule here: if you run into the guy in front it is your fault! Not keeping sufficient difference. Here, the truck driver does something possibly worse than simply running into the vehicle stopped in front of him: he steers onto the opposite side of the road, which is not clear for him to do so.

Come on guys, this one is easy! Why excuses suddenly appearing from nowhere? There are no excuses for that head-on collision with the mini-truck on its side of the road.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Come on guys, this one is easy! Why excuses suddenly appearing from nowhere? There are no excuses for that head-on collision with the mini-truck on its side of the road.

Exactly. Bus stopping on the road is obstructing traffic. But that doesn't absolve the truck driver in any way. He was not maintaining the required gap and was way too fast and what's more..He jumped to the wrong lane and hit an oncoming vehicle

[balenoed_]

Sorry, I tend to disagree to almost all your points.

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

Yes, use shoulders to stop. Every time.

Are you sure? Imagine you are on a bus and the bus pulls over to the shoulders every time it has to stop. Isn't it more inconvenience when the road - shoulders are not leveled and when the bus again merges back to the traffic. I would say that is rather dangerous.

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

There is always, always enough space for the buses to pull over and pick-drop passengers.

Again, Are you sure? Even at places where there are proper bus shelters, the buses "just" stop on the road. It is not practical and feasible to construct bus bays at each and every places in the incredibly long road network in India.

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

Not following the rule caused accident.

100% agree

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

The roads are not bus stops.

Why not. Where else do they stop?

Originally Posted by jagpreetsingh

Bus stopped very quickly but it was planned/anticipated. Truck got very little time to react since for the truck, the stop was not planned nor anticipated.

There is always something called as "Safe Braking Distance". As already said in posts above, if you hit something stationary in its rear which is going in your own direction, then it is 100% your fault.