[sudev]

Speaking from my driving and rallying experience on the BMW crash near Kaza.

Early morning the roads are ice cold - even if there is no ice per se - and when you start your journey the car tires are also cold. It takes time for them to heat up and start giving higher level of grip.

Combination of fast speed, cold road, cold tires (and may be some dust/rubble) and you come to sharp left turn.

A few years back the first two starters from Sarchu during Raid de Himalaya - they were the champion rally drivers - met with similar fate. Combination of roll cage, safety seats, rally belts and much lesser drop saw them walk out unscathed.

[TrackDay]

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

Got the images of a BMW X4 crash in Spiti Valley, the car rolled over while being driven at Night. Of the 4 occupants, one passed away on the spot. The car was HR registered.

The picture in itself is scary to look at and then to imagine falling from such heights ! This is one of my worst nightmares, especially when driving in hilly areas without barriers. For a fall like that, that too without a roll cage, the car has held up pretty well. I hope the survivors come out of this fine.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Oh dear... I'm one of those people who could walk across a plank with six inches under me with no trouble, but not 6, much less 60 or 600 feet. Except this does not apply to mountain driving, which I won't do. I get nervous with the wheels close to a ditch, let alone such a drop.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by locusjag

Not sure if this is the case everywhere in India or if this stupidity is endemic to this state or city; every region has a collective automotive character and set of idiosyncracies. This locomotive mentality to just keep chugging on in a straight line is Chennai's defining trait 100%.

In Chennai, riders overtake you on both sides if you slowdown for a pothole or speed breaker, let alone stop. No concern given to the people coming the other way or what's in front of the vehicle they are overtaking. As you rightly said and I have said it before here as well, many riders ride as like they will be penalized if they brake and stop when riding from one place to another unless they are forced to with zero options. I ride as much as I drive and I often wonder what goes through their minds when they do this.

[TejasKinger]

This happened near my house (off outer ring road, Bangalore) earlier this afternoon.

New automatic transmission car, Newbie driver, an 'L' sticker on the front and read windscreens, no seatbelts worn by either the driver or the co-passenger.



The driver missed a turning, noticed it a little late, panic braked, but hit the accelerator instead of the brakes. The car picks up speed and rams into the divider.

Both the airbags opened on impact. The occupants of the car suffered minor injuries which could have easily been avoided if seatbelts were worn.

[pkulkarni.2106]

Originally Posted by TejasKinger

no seatbelts worn by either the driver or the co-passenger. <SNIP>
Both the airbags opened on impact.

Are you sure about this?
Just curious how did the airbags deploy if none of them had worn the seatbelt.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by pkulkarni.2106

Are you sure about this?
Just curious how did the airbags deploy if none of them had worn the seatbelt.

No relation between both these two safety features.

[pkulkarni.2106]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

No relation between both these two safety features.

That's news to me (good to know).
I always thought that the car manufacturers use fastened seatbelts as a means to determine if someone's sitting on a particular seat and hence will deploy the corresponding airbag. Similar details in this thread (Airbags don't activate if you aren't wearing a seatbelt?) too.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by pkulkarni.2106

That's news to me (good to know).
I always thought that the car manufacturers use fastened seatbelts as a means to determine if someone's sitting on a particular seat and hence will deploy the corresponding airbag. Similar details in this thread (Airbags don't activate if you aren't wearing a seatbelt?) too.

This is a myth that has become very popular and probably in a good way as some people might be belting up just so that the airbags work.

OEM's can decide the deployment strategy and I haven't come across any OEM that disables the airbags if seatbelts are not fastened. Since the probability of airbag related injuries are higher if seatbelts are not used - burn injuries due to the airbag blasting into the face, some OEM's slow down the rate of deployment in such cases.

To detect a passenger in the seat, weight sensors are used and that is how the seat belt alarm also works for the passenger seat.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by pkulkarni.2106

Are you sure about this?
Just curious how did the airbags deploy if none of them had worn the seatbelt.

The whole airbags not deploying if seatbelt isn't worn thing, is a myth. Might be true of some cars but certainly not the majority. Manufacturers have certain conditions and parameters that need to be met in order to deploy the airbags. Some cars have belted passengers and topple over but since the sensors themselves may have faced zero impact, these cars disregard other vector information and simply don't deploy the airbags (several Toyotas on this thread and another thread on an XUV500).

Certain states in the US in fact do not require you to wear a seatbelt so several cars are designed to take weight of the passenger and other impact vectors into consideration before deploying/not deploying the airbag. I have personally been in a car equipped with the whole suite of airbags, front, side, curtain and witnessed just the front airbags deploy. On the passenger seat was a girl just about 5 feet tall who probably did not weigh more than 40 kilos and although she was not belted up, and lunged forward hitting the windscreen, I believe the airbag opening prevented her from whacking the windshield too hard.

[Turbanator]

Two young riders lost lives yesterday, guy on BMW- XR rear ended the Busa at unmentionable speeds.

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Two young riders lost lives yesterday, one on BMW XR ear ended the Busa at unmentionable speeds.

Just got the news and the pictures. That too when police had closed the expressway to riders.

Busa owner tires burst. Bmw owner rear ended the Busa. The Yamuna expressway is concrete and not tar so it shreds the tires too fast and the speeds of the riders were indeed very unmentionable.

I know the BMW owner very well. I bought the MV from him. Really sad to hear about this tragic and unfortunate accident.

[Vasuki]

Originally Posted by no_fear

That too when police had closed the expressway to riders.

I didn't know Yamuna expressway was closed for bikes. I travelled on my bike last Jan 2021 from Agra to Delhi.

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by Vasuki

I didn't know Yamuna expressway was closed for bikes. I travelled on my bike last Jan 2021 from Agra to Delhi.

Yamuna expressway is not explicitly closed to bikes. During the Covid lockdown, bikers were riding on the expressway, defying the lockdown rules. Police put an end to this behavior. On Sundays, too many bikers use that road as their own personal speedway and there has been increased police vigilance. If the police see a group of bikers, they stop them from entering the highway and ask them to turn back. If you are genuinely traveling somewhere, the police let you through.

[ask_017]

https://youtu.be/v99PFXOVxgg

Drunk car driver and horrifying to see the auto rickshaw violently thrown around. Sadly the auto driver lost his life.