[adisan]

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

Having had similar experiences on highways, my wiper was running at the highest speed which sort of salvaged the situation.

The real problem is when one is driving after heavy rain has just stopped, and the wiper is off. Need the presence of mind to turn on the wiper in such a situation.

[Vasuki]

Originally Posted by AdityaDeane

The location of Jalori Pass is this:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ThsFUCZZD8hdesyn6

They probably were on the way down from the pass towards Jibhi

Hope my video helps:

Originally Posted by arun_josie

This video will give you some idea

How do you compare the difficulty of this road to the Shinku La road(Jispa to Kargil via Padum)?

[AutoNoob]

Caught On Camera: Head-On Collision Between Buses In Tamil Nadu

Source: NDTV

head-on collision between two buses in Tamil Nadu's Salem was caught on a camera installed inside one of the vehicles...

Thirty people were injured in the accident...

the bus, which had the camera, travelling at speed when the other one, coming from the opposite direction, swerved into the wrong lane.

[DriverR]

Originally Posted by AutoNoob

Caught On Camera: Head-On Collision Between Buses In Tamil Nadu

Source: NDTV

Quite a chilling video. Surprised but glad no one died. The education institute bus was definitely on the wrong side of the road, trying to overtake another vehicle, from what I can make out.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by AutoNoob

Caught On Camera: Head-On Collision Between Buses In Tamil Nadu

Source: NDTV

Lucky no one died. The driver of the bus with the camera was not wearing seat belt.
To me it looked like that negligence saved the driver from some more damage, since he was thrown out of the seat, to his LHS, saving him from the oncoming debris.

[Thad E Ginathom]

the bus, which had the camera, travelling at speed

looking at the speed relative to the broken white line, it doesn't seem very fast to me. Also evidenced by the fact that the driver is conscious.

[AdityaDeane]

Originally Posted by Vasuki

How do you compare the difficulty of this road to the Shinku La road(Jispa to Kargil via Padum)?

Frankly speaking, I haven't gone beyond Baralacha Pass on that road, so can not say how will it compare.

You can see the videos in this Playlist of mine, and compare the road conditions to and from Baralacha Pass:

https://youtu.be/rINAjUXuzbQ

And as far as I remember now, the drive to Baralacha Pass does not have any steep ascent or descent or narrow road section now, as compared to the continuous climb and descent on the Banjar - Jibhi - Jalori Pass road, along with numerous hairpin bends and tight roads.

[SR-71]

Originally Posted by DriverR

The education institute bus was definately on the wrong side of the road...

And therein lies the irony!

[LOL_FWD]

Originally Posted by jarpit96

Ended up driving over the water, which threw ungodly amounts of water on the windshield, the entire windshield was covered, even the passenger side person was not able to see anything. We were blind for a good 3-4 seconds, intial 1 sec, I didn't understand the gravity of the situation and expected to regain visibility (as there no vehicle in front of me in close vicinity). But post that I started panicking, but didn't do very hard braking, as it was a 2 lane flyover, where people zoom past on 100-120kmph.

Mate, this is giving me serious goosebumps. I was in a similar situation on the same flyover heading towards E-City back in 2017. I was riding my friends ER6N and was doing probably 60kmph on the slow lane. It started raining suddenly, and there was significant water logging right next to the median. I slowed down further to about 45kmph. There was a white truck approaching from the other lane (opposite side) very quickly. He must've been doing at least 70-80kmpl. He suddenly switched to the fast lane and within seconds all the water next to the median splashed up and hit me on the other side of the road like a clothesline from hell. By god's grace I somehow managed to slow down quickly, hit the sidewall of the flyover and stop in a few feet without falling. If I hadn't slowed down, it would've been a good 50 feet drop down to the road.

I did lodge a complaint at the next toll booth regarding the water logging but never followed through. Hearing your ordeal I see it's still occurring and is a disaster waiting to happen.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

You need to check your basics of driving. Hazard lights are to be used when your vehicle is posing a hazard to other users; such as occupying a narrow single lane road, broken down in middle of a road, stopped at the road side etc. Driving with hazards on is purely an Indian jugaad which is meaningless.
For more reference: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.car...all-along/amp/

The link you have shared is having half the information.

I use hazard lights whenever I see an unexpected obstacle on the road ahead. How I do it:

1. Driving let's say at 100 km/hr.
2. Spot an unexpected obstacle ahead, like a herd of sheep/goat just ahead of a curve, gardeners mending expressway with traffic cones on road, an accident, or sudden fog cloud over a bridge etc.
3. Start applying brakes and turn on the Hazard lights.
4. Move away from the zone such that other commuters behind me can spot the hazard
5. Turn off the hazard light and either stop or drive at a slower pace, or accelerate if there is sufficient space and visibility.

Hazard light is not just for you becoming an hazard, but to warn others if you spot a hazard ahead, which they cannot if they continue to drive like they are doing. Usually this happens when you are at high speeds.

Maybe this link will help.
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-ne...d-you-use-them

Originally Posted by Raghu M

I am sorry but I don't get this point. When there is heavy downpour and the visibility is just around 10 to 20 meters, isn't it a good practice to drive with hazard lights on? How are you going to warn the oncoming vehicles of your presence? The hazard lights have pretty good visibility even in fog like situations.

You cannot drive the vehicle with hazard lights on. The reason is simple, how will others know when you are about to turn etc? Anything that confuses other road users, should not be executed.

If you are engulfed in rain/fog suddenly, on a fast moving highway, follow the procedure I mentioned above. Do not drive with hazard lights on. You can turn on briefly and find a safe spot to park and turn off the light. If you think others just cannot spot you(if it is night or fog etc), you can keep the car parked and continue to turn on the hazard lights.

This situation happened with me a few years ago when I was cruising from Hyderabad to Vizag.

It was early morning, sometime around 7, when a sudden fog cloud appeared on a bridge near Suryapet. It was like hitting an opaque wall. I immediately turned on my hazard lights and headlights, reduced speed to around 50 (from 100km/hr), further reduced speed to around 30 or so but the visibility remained very poor. I parked the car with hazard lights ON, on the left lane of the bridge and stood out with family on the edge of the road, just hoping that others can see my car and brake in time. This was the time when all external lights in my car were ON, including brake-lights, hazard lights, headlamp (the car was an i10 magna 2009 model, and didn't had fog lamps). Luckily, there was no one coming to that lane and other road users were driving past me at slow speeds with all their lights and hazard lights ON.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Raghu M

I am sorry but I don't get this point. When there is heavy downpour and the visibility is just around 10 to 20 meters, isn't it a good practice to drive with hazard lights on? How are you going to warn the oncoming vehicles of your presence? The hazard lights have pretty good visibility even in fog like situations.

Most cars have front and rear fog lamps for such situations. That would your goto in such situations instead of hazard lights.

[Jonathan Arpith]

Originally Posted by jarpit96

Had a minor accident today on electronic City flyover (for those who don't know, it's a 8km toll flyover). It rained heavily sometime back and then stopped raining. Speed limit is 60, I was driving at 60-65kmph. It's two lanes, I was driving on the right lane, close to the median. I noticed a puddle of water little late and didn't have enough time to change lanes. Ended up driving over the water, which threw ungodly amounts of water on the windshield, the entire windshield was covered, even the passenger side person was not able to see anything. We were blind for a good 3-4 seconds, intial 1 sec, I didn't understand the gravity of the situation and expected to regain visibility (as there no vehicle in front of me in close vicinity). But post that I started panicking, but didn't do very hard braking, as it was a 2 lane flyover, where people zoom past on 100-120kmph. By the time, I was about to stop, I ended up bumping into the crash guard/divider on the median (which was kind of a metal sheet). Got away with a dent and long scratches on the panel above the right wheel well of my Nexon.

Lesson learnt today : never to take stagnant water lightly.
Anything else I could have done differently? Is this something everybody driving on highways who are already aware?

I had the exact same situation occur to me 2 days back. I braked gently but not too much, didn't want to get rear ended. I think I maintained the lane fairly well

[asethi]

Originally Posted by jarpit96

Had a minor accident today on electronic City flyover (for those who don't know, it's a 8km toll flyover). It rained heavily sometime back and then stopped raining. ....

I fully understand your situation as I've been in exact same situation at the same location few years back, nothing has changed since then. The deceleration after hitting the water is significant as the volume of water accumulated is huge and one doesn't expect that while driving.
For me I got blinded by my own splash, plus there was splash from other side of the road too which also entered the car via slightly open front window. Now I stick to left lane on this flyover during the rains, middle lane is recipe for disaster especially for someone who's driving very fast.

Luckily for me, I came out safe as it was late in night and there was less traffic.

This flyover has basic design flaws - narrow lanes, no shoulder space and no drainage in the fast lane. A bus driving on this flyover can easily occupy 1.5 lanes due to narrow width of the road.

[chaitanyakrish]

MOD NOTE : Please put a space after a punctuation mark, not before it.
Thanks.

Thanks Everyone for sharing their experiences on ECity Flyover, they're really helpful.

While slowing down due to a puddle, we have to watch out for tailgaters, who may not be observing due to reduced visibility.

There is no shortage of footage in our country. We have road users who can test even the best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOEvQAFdvyM

[adisan]

Caught On Camera: Head-On Collision Between Buses In Tamil Nadu
Source: NDTV

Looks like the collision happened at low speeds, with only minor injuries (thankfully) since the report mentions all the injured have been released after treatment.

In bus accidents, the major cause of injuries is people getting slammed on to the seats ahead of them. Especially in long-distance buses where people relax after the bus has exited city limits, as they expect smoother acceleration and deceleration.