[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Apparently, not wearing seat belts and the high speed at time of impact. Wonder how they figured out that the car covered 20kms in 9 minutes. Speed cams?

CCTV cameras. Quoting from the same linked news article:

"While analysing the footage captured by CCTV cameras at the Charoti check post, Palghar police found the car had crossed the check post at 2.21pm and the accident took place 20 km ahead", the official said.

This shows the car covered a distance of 20 km in just 9 minutes, the official said, adding that the accident took place at 2.30pm on the Surya river bridge."

If the car averaged 120km/h then it is very likely that the car was at much higher speeds in between.

[deathwalkr]

Meanwhile, Mr Mahindra has been quoted as saying he always wears seat belt in the car. Hope it helps drive awareness amongst people.

No matter the safety rating, number of air bags etc, seat belts always make a difference.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

I have shared a similar video of mine in the past, the situation was exactly the same. Had I braked, I would have killed the biker behind me and may have killed the biker in front too due to tyres getting locked.

If while taking the turn, the biker skid & fell due to whatever reason, you would have run him over. You should have braked & slowed down.

No denying that the biker should have taken the turn more carefully. But in the end, it doesn't matter whose mistake it was that lead to the accident - the time/money/life lost by both parties is deterrence enough to do everything possible to prevent an accident from happening.

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

Moreover swerving is also a defensive driving technique.

In scenarios where the driver has to choose a course of action (brake or swerve) in a matter of seconds, the outcome is dependent on lot of factors, including luck.

I was driving down the median-less 2-lane KL highway at a sedate speed (60kmph or so) when I see that suddenly all vehicles ahead of me stopped for some reason. There is like 10-15ms to the Honda City in front of me & I brake. But the brake doesn't work (Brake Master Cylinder gone bad). I can see that I will crash into the City & at the last minute swerve to the right (oncoming lane) - this was done instinctively without having the time to check for any vehicles on that lane.

Luckily for me the lane was empty. If a biker was overtaking me at that time or a vehicle was coming from opposite side, I would have hit them. It was pure luck, not my skill or defensive driving. I wouldn't normally swerve like that, but that's what I instinctively did, given the other option of ramming into the City's rear.

In my opinion, defensive driving means driving such that we don't end up in situations where we have to take last minute panic decisions like these which could be hit or miss.

[Akash_1806]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

A 20 year old has the experience to drive a BMW at high speeds? Of course, he thought so.

This is a problem with youth everywhere.

Sir, I would say that we don't hold the right to generalise youth. I am 21 and I have been driving since the past 3 years. Experience and patience do come with age and that fragile ego goes away but in tasks like driving, it is also important to know the limits of the vehicle as well as the road you are driving on.

I will also not say that I have not had a accident, I had one where I swerved my Santro into a pile of bricks to save a dog which ran out of leash at 5:30 AM while going to my internship. The damages were significant and estimate given to me by HASS was close to 65k. This was in 2019. From then till now, I have come a long way. I don't drink and drive even if that means I have to leave my car ad go back home in a cab. I don't cross the speed of 100 on highways and 60 in city limits.

These habits are either inculcated by the parents or come in after self realisation. Driving a luxury barge with all the gizmos at 100kmph is definitely safer than driving a budget hatchback at 100kmph, but do the roads allow? That is the major question we all should be looking at.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

If while taking the turn, the biker skid & fell due to whatever reason, you would have run him over. You should have braked & slowed down.

Thanks for your concern.
If the biker would have fell, even if I braked, he would have died.
Braking doesn't mean stopping.
I drive a Safari Dicor. I know the car's limitation.
I was at a good speed and this guy came suddenly. I swerved to avoid impact and braked too. But I can only brake when I lift my leg from the accelerator, which I did. See the video in 0.25 x speed and count the seconds from this guy appearing and getting past my car.
How much time do you think a biker takes to cover a distance, equal to the length of his motorcycle. This was the time I had!

[OffRoadFun]

Originally Posted by losblancos_sr4

20-year-old man was killed while another was injured after a speeding BMW spun out of control and fell from the Greater Noida Yamuna Expressway on Saturday morning.

Who handed over an M340i to a 20 year old on crowded roads? Do their owners realize the capabilities of these machines to attain ridiculous speeds under a few seconds which a 20 year old on India's roads may not know how to handle?

They handed over a suicide bomb to this 20 year old! Look at the mangled car. Terrible!

[Capri89]

From my dashcam last month.

I think mindfulness and low speed prevented a direct hit.

watch from 0.40

https://youtu.be/j_VtEcEfiyw

[NYMEX]

Unfortunately the problem is that movies, zero knowledge about safety, road regulations and lack of experience are causing an unbelievable number of accidents.

YouTube channels including auto reviewers (like the Indian from Mumbai who is perpetually twirling his fingers for conducting an invisible orchestra in his videos) irresponsibly promote high speed driving. They take shelter of 'Disclaimers' despite knowing that nobody reads them.

Add to this the exuberance of youth and lack of law enforcement of traffic rules, the situation gets worse. My friend's daughter alongwith 4 others died in a high-speed accident a few years back. I have seen a potentially fatal accident being averted by sheer luck that could have been caused by speeding drunken youngsters.

As parents we too have a role to sensitize our children to the perils of dangerous & unlawful driving. Also, I told my daughters - Don't sit in a car with any rash driver because such a person does not care about your life. Just walk out of the vehicle at the earliest opportunity

[Capri89]

One more encounter with a Go Matha, where I could avoid a potential hit purely because of my sedate driving.

watch from 0.25

https://youtu.be/z-cIZxYsXHE

[Turbanator]

Cows/ Buffaloes will never turn back (mostly). Instead, they try to rush and keep moving forward even if they sense something is approaching. The best is to brake or see if there is space behind the animal.

One needs to keep eyes away from the object we will hit, just like riding. The more we focus on the animal, the high chances we hit. Easier said than done, so the best is to drive at manageable speeds and slow down with the slightest sightings of such animals.

[Samarth 619]

Originally Posted by losblancos_sr4

20-year-old man was killed while another was injured after a speeding BMW spun out of control and fell from the Greater Noida Yamuna Expressway on Saturday morning. The incident happened near Galgotia University of Dankaur area. The accident occurred around 8.30 am when Bharat and his friend Gaurav were going towards Agra by Yamuna Expressway. When they reached Galgotia University, the speeding BMW spun out of control.
20-year-old Bharat, who was driving, died on the spot while his friend Gaurav was seriously injured, has been admitted to Kailash Hospital by the police for treatment.Attachment 2354560
Attachment 2354561

Guys, this car, the BMW M340i was one of those cars I'd made up mind to buy whenever life & budget allows in future. I'm a 37yr old Duke 390 rider. These pics are heart wrenching.
I've heard of immense strength of most German cars, including brands like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, etc. and how they protect the inhabitants in case of crash.
On the contrary, I also very know that no car or vehicle can escape high speed impacts, and beyond a certain impact limit, nothing is safe.

But, my honest question to knowledgable Tbhpians:- Is a BMW of today the same quality as those of yesteryears which made headlines? Based not on this accident, but on other observations around, could you guys comment?

[Tanmay_868]

Originally Posted by losblancos_sr4

20-year-old man was killed while another was injured after a speeding BMW spun out of control and fell from the Greater Noida Yamuna Expressway on Saturday morning. The incident happened near Galgotia University of Dankaur area. The accident occurred around 8.30 am when Bharat and his friend Gaurav were going towards Agra by Yamuna Expressway. When they reached Galgotia University, the speeding BMW spun out of control.

20-year-old Bharat, who was driving, died on the spot while his friend Gaurav was seriously injured, has been admitted to Kailash Hospital by the police for treatment

The person who died (Bharat) was my brother’s friend.
It has been in circulation that at the time of incident their speed was around 200kmph.
Also he had a BMW M2 in his friend circle.
Coincidentally, few months earlier people involved in the X4 accident that happened in the Spiti Valley were also from this family only (first cousins).
The family is in complete shock.
Also because Bharat’s dad too died died a month ago due to cardiac arrest.

[bordeaux]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

A 20 year old has the experience to drive a BMW at high speeds? Of course, he thought so.

This is a problem with youth everywhere.

But what does age has to do with driving a BMW or any sports car as long as the it's the legal driving age? A 50 year old who has never driven a 300+ BHP car will be equally bad or even worse! By your logic, all these kids shouldn't be allowed to drive Formula 1 cars.

[asmr]

Originally Posted by Capri89

from my dashcam last month.

I think mindfulness and low speed prevented a direct hit.

watch from 0.40

https://Youtu.be/j_VtEcEfiyw

That's a pretty good example of how our roads are and how a reasonable speed is helpful in avoiding accidents.

It is, however, sad that many drivers do not see a vehicle braking in front of them as a sign of caution for them and continue to overtake, like the Innova in the video. If the cow had made a run for the other side, I can only imagine it hitting the Innova, at the speed it was coming.

[Akshay6988]

Originally Posted by bordeaux

But what does age has to do with driving a BMW or any sports car as long as the it's the legal driving age? A 50 year old who has never driven a 300+ BHP car will be equally bad or even worse! By your logic, all these kids shouldn't be allowed to drive Formula 1 cars.

The major difference between Formula 1 drivers and average person driving fast cars is that, f1 drivers are used to fast cars way earlier in their life. They know the capabilities of the car, it's dynamics, it's brakes and they don't do the racing on public roads ! They've dedicated, closed race tracks with proper safety measures in place - safety barriers, run off areas, gravel traps, racing helmets, harness to name a few.

Besides formula 1 cars are way way safer and stronger than your mass market 5 star GNCAP crash rated cars. Your comparison doesn't make any sense here mate ! Thad is right about age factor. I was 20 something once and I've done my share of speeding albeit on a bike. But now that I've gotten a car and aged as well (28, not much btw ) I understand the dangers on the roads, I understand what and how much my car as well as I can handle. This maturity comes with experience and age. No offense to you but just stating the facts here.