[DetectiveMiles]

Originally Posted by StopUnderrides

Post Cyrus Mistry's publicised accident and the photos atleast I see that my family no longer laughs it off when I ask them to belt up in the rear seats. Videos/pictures do have an effect on some people

It is good to know that people are taking safety seriously. I have always been able to convince(!) people to wear seat belt before too. But the accident helps people agree.
But my comment was more on day-to-day observation outside. Outside, People just say whose fault caused accident, but when comes to their own driving habits and road-sense, they act like they are always right. Not meant to finger-point at any individual, but a generic observation.

[chaitanyakrish]

Originally Posted by DetectiveMiles

but when comes to their own driving habits and road-sense, they act like they are always right.

This is called Optimism Bias.

https://www.autox.com/opinion/sriniv...gerous-111343/

[abhishekjoshi84]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Sorry, what did the parked cargo truck do? You can't park a vehicle on the road side is it?

If there is a road'side' you can park there. In this case it's parked on the road itself. Also, if for any reason your vehicle is parked on an active road lane (broken down for ex) then warning triangle should be placed at least 30-50m behind your vehicle. Pretty sure no one follows the rules.

[kaps454]

Originally Posted by StopUnderrides

Can you DM me the video? Might be gruesome but would be educative to show others what happens.

I have some videos saved on my youtube watch later list. Not gruesome, just educative videos to get people in the rear seat to buckle up. And they don't work. I get reprimanded instead by most of the elders, common words they love throwing around are, "bhagwaan ka naam", "apshagun", "safe driver".

These days I have shifted to, "wear it or i ll make u pay the fine."

regards kaps454

[MT_Hyderabad]

A good for learning video.

https://youtu.be/hgXMlHcTlZE

My learning: If you see the car in front applying brakes, please brake! This guy did nothing.

[revvharder]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

A good for learning video.

My learning: If you see the car in front applying brakes, please brake! This guy did nothing.

Also for the Baleno driver, one should honk before overtaking to let them know of your presence.

For the Altroz driver, I think one should start their overtaking maneuver once the car in front has successfully completed their overtake and the view in front is clear.

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

A good for learning video.

https://Youtu.be/hgXMlHcTlZE

My learning: If you see the car in front applying brakes, please brake! This guy did nothing.

Unless it is a one way road, the Altroz has no business constantly hogging the incoming lane. The car is doing this for the entire length of the video. Not sensible in my opinion.

[venkyhere]

Both Baleno and Altroz drivers don't know driving. Entire video is filled with mistakes (bike riding on center lane marker, overtaking maneuver by baleno, hogging opp lane by altroz), but what takes the cake is the amount of overcorrection by the baleno driver after making his move on the biker.

[abhishekjoshi84]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

But what takes the cake is the amount of overcorrection by the baleno driver after making his move on the biker.

Very few people can handle traction loss properly and safely. You can see both right side tyres of baleno went to gravel and left ones were on paved road. This resulted in traction loss on right side and car would have swerved to left hard even with slight steering, then he braked hard resulting in counter steer.

It's important to NOT brake hard or steer heavily when one side of your vehicle goes off the road, braking and steering in moderation would ensure control of vehicle. If one is ending up steering/braking hard while overtaking or traction loss scenario they made a mistake already by trying something when there was not enough clear distance.

[binoym]

You Should See The Other Guy

Excuse the title. This was not a bar fight but rather an appreciation post for the make and build of one manufacturer over the other.

As a prelude, the family has many, many Maruti Suzuki cars over the years. The low cost of maintenance, supposed mileage and durability, accessible price point have made brand Maruti a mass favorite. But with growing awareness on road safety, mandatory seatbelt and airbag requirements - is the brand doing enough? I have a general awareness of global automotive brands and amongst the Japanese brands, Honda, Toyota, Nissan take a much higher share of the market compared to Suzuki. Which would mean that the Indian Subcontinent is a very important market for Suzuki. Why can’t they then elevate on general safety and meet home grown Tata and Mahindra on Safety Norms?

Okay, now the story:
My Baleno, now six years old has become the workhorse for the house. Market runs, school and class pick up-drops, etc. It’s mostly driver driven and almost never goes on the highway anymore (We have an Octavia for highway runs). I stay in a relatively busy residential area. So touching high speeds is not possible.

My driver was on his way back from my son’s class. He was trying to navigate a narrow lane where a Thar was reversing into a parking space on the street. It seems that both cars didn’t stop in time and the Baleno drove into a Thar head on at what was apparently 20 kmph. (The Thar being almost stationary as it was backing into a spot). The Thar seems to have a modified front bumper, but when I saw my Baleno (I wasn’t in the car at the time), I thought the accident was at a much higher speed. The Thar as you see has a scratch. Quite literally ONE scratch while the Baleno is smashed in.

I only fear what would’ve happened if this was 60kmph? Luckily there was no family in the car at this time. The drives of both cars are safe. Not sure, how I felt sending the Baleno to the workshop this morning - But it’s days are numbered. I get that the Thar is a rugged unbreakable beast. But most Mahindra cars rate high on the GNCAP. Even the Tata Punch rated high. I will buy a Tata or a Mahindra before I get a Maruti again - both accessible, home grown brands.

If Maharashtra state has made it mandatory to use rear seat belts (triggered after a business tycoon lost his life) - When will brands be real with their customers on the importance on GNCAP? Two or Four Airbags wont save me if the safety rating of a car or a shell is zero. Or is this a chicken-egg situation where Maruti will comply with government norms but wont surpass them? As a brand Maruti Suzuki owes this to India.

Mods: I do consider this as consumer advise to current and future Baleno owners so posting it here:

[abhishekjoshi84]

Originally Posted by binoym

The Thar seems to have a modified front bumper, but when I saw my Baleno (I wasn’t in the car at the time), I thought the accident was at a much higher speed. The Thar as you see has a scratch. Quite literally ONE scratch while the Baleno is smashed in.

Not absolving Maruti of their faults in not focussing on build and safety of their cars, but I think most cars would not have fared much better in this scenario. Looking at the custom bumper on the Thar, it looks like cast iron? Definitely a hard/strong thick material. The fact that the scratch in material is deep and there is zero deformity around it means that it not fiber/sheet metal. This would be like a corner of one's car hitting a tall concrete pavement (Thar would be close to 1.8 Tons).

I hope cops enforce the rules around bull bars and custom bumpers like these more strictly, these can easily kill or maim a pedestrian at even 15kmph.

[epiccross]

Originally Posted by abhishekjoshi84

N Looking at the custom bumper on the Thar, it looks like cast iron? Definitely a hard/strong thick material. The fact that the scratch in material is deep and there is zero deformity around it means that it not fiber/sheet metal. This would be like a corner of one's car hitting a tall concrete pavement (Thar would be close to 1.8 Tons).

Yup. Absolutely illegal, hazardous to the pedestrians, others and even themselves at higher speed crashes as it won't protect the occupants. Who cares about how much of a dent it makes or it doesn't - it's all about saving the cabin's occupants and what can be best done about that. And crash bars absolutely do the opposite. Maybe in this low-speed scenario it helped the Thar, but see what it did to the Baleno!

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by binoym

You Should See The Other Guy

Glad your employee is safe.

That aside, I was imagining this accident being heard in Indian Courts (insurance case). Even if you have a GoPro 8K quality Dash cam no one will believe the Thar did this because of that scratch

[mayankk]

If you have the heart for it, you should take the legal route for the thar owner to cover this damage. That thar is just weaponised. Imagine what it would do to a human being.

The purpose of getting these solid metal bumpers is what?? Never understood. Maybe over-compensation, and bragging rights, that you should see what it can do another car in case of an accident. Hateful things.

[Axe77]

Seems like there were apparently 3 accidents in a space of 2 hours in the night within a 1.5 km distance. All of them involving heavy vehicles. While everyone is focused on speed cams, we really do need stringent regulation of the road worthiness of heavy vehicles plying our highways. These are regularly causing serious accidents.

This particular stretch is a continual nightmare with its long flowing downslope - very recently in the news for the incident where a truck rammed into some 16 - 17 vehicles some time last year. Only in India do you need to see unusual signboards that warn drivers not to coast in neutral.

4 killed, 22 injured after truck hits bus on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune

https://indianexpress.com/article/ci...uries-8570932/

I was searching for this news since it directly impacted our travel yesterday on this route.

I was returning to Mumbai from Panchgani early on Sunday morning with two other riders. Post the Khed Shivapur toll we had to reroute via the old Katraj highway because all movement on the Northbound side was shut off for a few hours. About 8 - 10 of the balance riders from our group who left about 3 hours after us could however make it via the normal route on the Khed to Pune section as the accidental vehicles had been moved to the side of the road by then.

Coincidentally even my Jeep (which was returning to Bombay from Ratnagiri with my mum and uncle) was on the same route but by the time they crossed the spot much later in the afternoon / early evening it was absolutely smooth sailing for them.

Some pics and a quote from the article above.

Officials from Bharti Vidyapeeth police station said the major accident occurred around 2 am in front of the Swaminarayan Temple in Narhe Ambegaon when the bus, which started from Kolhapur on Saturday night and was taking passengers to Dombivli in Mumbai, was hit by a truck from behind. The driver of the truck, which was transporting gunny bags of sugar, claimed that a brake failure of his vehicle led to the mishap.

PC: Indianexpress news link above