[ashishpotdar]

Originally Posted by ts75

I have driven several times in the night (more out of compulsion). Just sharing few tips which I follow, which may be repetitive.
a. I have a couple of mild coffee drinks (can/tetrapack) in my car. It is taken much before sleep sets in and actually when I think I dont need it (say 11 pm).

These are nice suggestions for driving safety. Adding a few more that I follow.

1. Compulsory breaks every 90 minutes to 120 minutes. Set an alarm on your phone for a break at beginning of journey. Stop for 5 minutes atleast. Important to get out of the car, stretch your legs, look into distance to stretch and relax eyes.

2. Cold water splash on the face. Nothing like this to get refreshed. Keep a bottle or thermos of cold water dedicated to wash face during the 90 minute break.

3. Something I got from one of my long distance reliable cab driver is "Chewing Gum". He was a teetotaller and very safe driver on Mum Pune expressway. This is a definite way to stay alert. This was also studied and proven by an NCBI study. Have attached the link below.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4499992/

4. If you don't get chewing gum, chew on anything - Toffee, Saunf. Or just try the chewing action. Studies have shown that it is very difficult to fall asleep while chewing as it kick starts the autonomous nervous system. Tried this on a drive on a US freeway (San Diego to San Francisco). Driving first time on a freeway, left hand drive, night and pouring rain. Chewing gum really helps !!!

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22061430/

5. Be careful with caffeine. Strong coffee, energy drinks give you a sense of alertness and not actual alertness. Any caffeine high will also be followed by a Caffeine low, which in some people can lead to sleepiness. And around 10 percent of population processes caffeine rapidly, and hence get sleepy with coffee. A caffeine high will not last more than 2 to 3 hrs max

We should actually start a complete thread on safe driving tips for highways (Or there might be one already). There cannot be any forum better than Team BHP for this in light of these recent incidents

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by ashishpotdar

We should actually start a complete thread on safe driving tips for highways (Or there might be one already).

There are quite a few threads on this and related topics. Copying some of them below.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...-ghats-24.html (Safe Driving on Indian Highways & Ghats)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...ing-india.html (Tips for driving in India)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...t-driving.html (Guidelines & Tips for Safe NIGHT Driving)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...ng-safely.html (The Ten Commandments of Driving Safely)

[bravo82in]

It’s a relief Rishab Pant is out of Danger. Hope to see him back in action soon. The first thing I did was to order two sets of seat belt cutter and safety Hammer for my cars. It’s something essential and out of my laziness never ordered. A lot of lessons to learn from Cyrus Mistry and Rishab Pant’s accidents.

[theabstractmind]

Originally Posted by AROO7

Can’t even trust these news media outlets reporting these days because in the morning a news channel claimed that the bus driver had a heart attack (and died on the spot) while driving which caused the crash.

While I agree inconsistency in reporting, in the given case it seems that the Fortuner jumped into the opposite lane and not the bus. It is completely possible that the bus driver panicked and died.

Originally Posted by Yash390

OT - I still cannot comprehend the hate for the 5th Gen Honda City's LED headlights. I've attached some samples from completely unlit highways. Yes, the foglamps are useless but the headlights themselves are quite good as per my experience, sorely miss the cornering lights though. Maybe my perception will change when I get to drive cars with fancier headlights.

Indeed the pics and the video show that the lights are very good. At the same time, I had a pretty bad experience driving with those in the rain in city conditions (on a cousin's 5th Gen City - stock LEDs) - I prefer the regular yellow lights in the rain.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

Unfair criticism of him choosing to drive. Do we target regular taxi or truck drivers who drive without sleep or proper rest?

The celebs are as entitled as us to drive on their own. Them driving is statistically insignificant in causing accidents that I feel criticising them for that is unfair.

In addition, most, if not all, drivers are very rash and poorly trained. I would trust my own driving over any so called ‘professional’ driver in India. So far, I have never seen anyone drive safely and that includes taxis, buses and friends and relatives. My wife is the only other safe driver I know.

[StopUnderrides]

Originally Posted by ashishpotdar

3. Something I got from one of my long distance reliable cab driver is "Chewing Gum". He was a teetotaller and very safe driver on Mum Pune expressway. This is a definite way to stay alert. This was also studied and proven by an NCBI study. Have attached the link below.

You are misquoting the results of the study. It says that chewing gum improves driving performance. It doesn’t say it prevents you from falling asleep. If you are feeling sleepy the only thing that is scientifically recommended is to take a 15-30 min nap. Coffee, Splashing water on your face, Changing the temperature- none is guaranteed to work and in fact these give false confidence.

[Nalin1]

Huge relief that Rishabh is out of any danger.

He should have had a driver makes no sense. He should have done everything in his hands to prevent this, drowsiness or fatigue, loss of concentration/control etc. I concentrate even more on the road if I am a passenger as the control is somebody else's hands and I try my best to ensure he is in control all the time!.

[ZeRo©]

Also, highlighting the sad state of our nation

Attachment 2397165

source: https://twitter.com/GabbbarSingh/sta..._A_x75PDFWcmmQ



Lot of fake news floating around

https://youtu.be/eHoWAmMijcs

[Dr.Car]

From my last test drive of Mercedes GLE 300d a few months back, I recall that the SA told me Mercedes has a feature which detects of you are feeling sleepy but analysing your driving statistics, behaviour etc. and starts to vibrate the steering along with some beeps too along with a message on MID stating, “Take a Break”. Did it not happen in this case or were the warnings to feeble or is it that Pant never actually dozed off and was just overspeeding and the media and police made this thing up afterwards. I hope Mercedes also do a thorough investigation (might not be entirely possible since the car is charred off) so as to bring out the truth!

[premsky]

First and foremost, it's important to remember that the highway is not our personal racetrack. No matter how much we may want to put the pedal to the metal, it's important to keep speed under control.

Next, we need to pay attention to our surroundings. Keep an eye out for other vehicles, and make sure to use our signals when changing lanes or merging.

Make sure to give other vehicles plenty of space. No one likes a tailgater, so keep a safe distance between you and the car in front of you. Trust us, you'll both be glad you did if you happen to hit a patch of bad road or suddenly have to slam on the brakes.

Finally, stay alert and avoid distractions. No texting, no eating, and definitely no grooming while you're behind the wheel. After all, we don't want to end up as the next viral sensation on YouTube for all the wrong reasons.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by poised2drive

... But when you are exhausted ... ... ... having a professional driver chauffeur you is safer ...

When you are exhausted, or even below par, having anyone who is alert and awake, and not exhausted, is safer.

Originally Posted by Yash390

... Yes, the foglamps are useless ...

I haven't driven the car, don't know its lights, but...

I wonder what are you expecting of them? Fog lights are intended to illuminate a wide spread of road immediately in front of the car. They are not intended to throw light any distance.

[uthra]

1. Rishabh was driving fast but not at 150kmph or anything like that. Around 100.

2. He dozed off. Simple. Wasn't drunk, wasn't DUI. Was coherent, awake & aware after the accident.

3. The roadways driver who was first on spot has stated the car hit the divider & went over to the other side, he wasn't driving in the wrong direction.

4. He wasn't looted, there were no thieves. Police official statement.

5. He was not thrown out of windshield so not wearing seatbelt is not a point. He broke it & was helped to climb out of the burning car.

I am not a mechanical person so no idea of the details of the car or it catching fire. The above-mentioned are simply points on how the accident happened & what happened immediately after. Request people to please verify facts before citing & sharing unverified claims. Thanks.

[kaushikduttajsr]

Originally Posted by attinder

Pant was driving tired, in low visibility conditions and
probably around 150k/h. He was lucky to survive with minor injuries and not collecting anyone else.

Please quote the source if you are making such allegations. Without a source, you are pandering to the media rumors and being one of them

Also, there is too much gyaan on how to avoid an accident for an actual victim. Please folks, let's show some respect. This could've happened to any of us. In retrospect, we'd all be billionaires because we forecast the stock market so well. Let only the actual billionaires speak. If Pant fell asleep, so could his driver. I 100% disagree with anyone who says, a professional driver could've been better. Why? Are professional drivers inhuman? Do professional drivers not sleep at night?

I sincerely wish him a quick recovery and hope our roads become safer. Atleast, a 25yr old had the balls to accept he fell asleep at his wheel (regardless of the cause). I hope this is a warning bell for all of us who like to drive in the dark.

[ts75]

Originally Posted by kaushikduttajsr

In retrospect, we'd all be billionaires because we forecast the stock market so well. Let only the actual billionaires speak. If Pant fell asleep, so could his driver. I 100% disagree with anyone who says, a professional driver could've been better. Why? Are professional drivers inhuman? Do professional drivers not sleep at night?

Absolutely.
In fact, I have shifted from a professional driver to self driving on highways precisely for this reason:
a. The professional driver never accepts that he is feeling sleepy or has not taken adequate rest. His over-confidence has done couple of my relatives in. In both these cases, the accident by the professional driver happened just 25-30 kms before the destination at early morning hours because his ego prevented him from disclosing that he may no longer be able to drive.
b. I have had bad experiences when after near close misses in broad daylight, the professional driver has stated that he is on fast that day or that he had not properly slept the previous night but wanted to keep the driving commitment for fear of being fired by his boss.

What a professional driver possesses in the form of superior driving skills can easily be made up by oneself by being at appropriate speed and just deciding not to proceed further if the conditions so warrant. [Of course the ultra-rich can hire extremely good professional drivers]

[AJ56]

Folks here suggesting that a ‘professional’ driver is at par with a surgeon, I beg to differ. Unlike a good surgeon who is a master of his craft, the drivers you get in India have not spent decades practising performance driving or been certified in any area of it. 99.9% have not even driven on a track and would not be able to control a car that’s fishtailing or any other high skill manoeuvre.

Due to the nature of my work, I’ve gone through at least 30-35 of these ‘professional’ drivers over the years and still I don’t fully trust a clients car with my current ones.

All the close calls I’ve had on highways was with one of these professionals behind the wheel, ABS activations/swerves, etc. never had such incidents when I’ve driven myself, despite keeping the same speeds as these professionals. So no a driver isn’t safer, what’s safest is driving yourself, fully rested and alert and not crossing 120% of posted legal speed limits as then you’re going past a road’s design speed. Obviously go slower if conditions are bad like low vis/traction, etc.

I will add that a good racing simulator with a high quality force feedback wheel helps understand the mechanical limits of a car and how it will behave under extreme braking/loss of traction events. So if it ever happens in real life, you default to something you’ve practised before and are not left startled.