[binand]

Originally Posted by sharkashwa

I honestly don't think there was any turn that the auto driver was preparing for.

This is the exact location of the accident:

https://goo.gl/maps/2CCi3f4qayhAsKjW8

(If you zoom in, you can see the zebra crossing and also the shop, "Sandra Collections", that are visible in the video).

The camera that shot the video is mounted just ahead of the building marked "St.Joseph's EMHSS, Eravu" on a pole of its own.

I believe the auto was planning to turn into the lane marked "Thamalipuram road" that is just behind this school.

The direction from which the ambulance came curves to the left for the auto driver with shops on both sides; he most certainly did not see it coming.

Also, I don't think there are any speed breakers on the road. What looks like one is actually just a stop line for the zebra crossing.

[DetectiveMiles]

4 Dead, 33 injured as two buses collide head-on in TN

The driver of a Cuddalore-bound bus lost control of his vehicle as a tyre burst, and collided head-on with a bus proceeding towards Tiruvannamalai; the injured have been hospitalised

Four persons were killed and 33 others sustained injuries in an accident involving two private buses near Panruti in Cuddalore district on Monday. The driver and conductor of a private bus and two passengers were killed.

Source:https://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...le66985498.ece

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by binand

This is the exact location of the accident:

https://goo.gl/maps/2CCi3f4qayhAsKjW8

Thanks for sharing the location, which made me dissect it a bit more.

Let me throw my perspective;

1st Image - where Auto tries to evade the stop line (with cats eyes) prior to Zebra crossing. You can see 3 images in the corner (encircled) with a gate and white compound wall. Screen Grab from Video.

2nd Image - You can see the same 3 images in the corner (encircled), white compound wall and the gate which is somewhat hidden by a yellow parked vehicle. Screen grab from Maps. Hence, that confirms the accident spot on the Map.

3rd Image - Is the auto view from the screen grab from Maps, evidently showing stop line. Just on the left of this stop line there's a minor road turning left. Also, at that time, ambulance should have been in the outer radius, thus giving auto driver clear sight of the ambulance. He tried his luck here.

4th Image - Accident spot from ambulance point of view. Yellow parked vehicle in the far corner can be seen. Screen grab from Maps.

5th Image – Approximate distance from the accident spot (minor road turning left) to the right turning of “Thamalipuram Road” was around 40m. I don't anticipate that Auto driver would have attempted to turn 40m before the actual turn.

Hence in my opinion, evading the stop line, with cat eyes was a costly affair. Perhaps during the darkness of night, driver mistook the stop line as a minor speed hump. Also, this seems to be an accident-prone area, that’s why there is continuous double line all the way.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by tilt

Imagine I was in a sedan instead of Thar.

Also, the barrier missed the Indica and the scooterist behind me - he fell anyway.

And I was not driving fast either - maybe 80 or even 70, since I was approaching this "crossing".

I wonder which idiot thought it was a good idea to have U-turns and pedestrian crossings on highways - this makes cops do the stupid thing of putting barriers to slow people down and also not providing enough warning about said barriers.

Cheers

The barricades are forced by the locals for their safety and convenience due to multiple 2-wheeler accidents in the highway intersections, and the cops have no other choice. The problem lies in the design of our highways with so many intersections. Unless we go with properly planned highways with exits, there seems not be a solution to this. And the locals will also protest if their villages are left out without exits and we have villages lined up every 5 km!

But my heart goes out to the Thar and you for having to go through this.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by luvurride

The barricades are forced by the locals for their safety and convenience due to multiple 2-wheeler accidents in the highway intersections, and the cops have no other choice.

But my heart goes out to the Thar and you for having to go through this.

It used to be done with speed breakers and to be honest, the barrier solution is far better. This was a freak accident and quite unfortunate but as a solution, all the other immediately implementable ones are worse. Speedbumps make the driving experience awful, cones will get stolen, etc.

[Arun yadav]

Just came across a news flash today:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../101116684.cms

This is definitely a step in right direction, although a bit late in the day.
Driver comfort can help a lot to reduce fatigue, irresponsible actions and tendency to cut corners/rules.

[jaaz]

Originally Posted by Meph1st0

I think the main problem is how people take right turn.

You're right..

I thought this phenomenon of taking right turn exists only in Bangalore. Instead of taking 75 to 90 degrees turn, they take a diagonal turn (45 degrees) turn. Traffic police should start painting an arch in some of the major junctions, so that users get used to such turn.

Another problem about Indian driving style is they don't use STOP & GO. If you don't do this in Western Countries, you'll be admonished. I've seen Drivers do this even late night, when there's obsoletely no traffic at all. They just stop at every junction where STOP symbol in Red and hexagonal shape (generally, where there are no signals) is displayed and then move on.

[Neil Roy]

Originally Posted by Arun yadav

Just came across a news flash today:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../101116684.cms

This is definitely a step in right direction, although a bit late in the day.
Driver comfort can help a lot to reduce fatigue, irresponsible actions and tendency to cut corners/rules.

Along with that, they should also ensure that drivers don't drive more than 10 hours a day. With the technological advancements that we have, enforcing such rules are very much possible.

[sarathlal]

Originally Posted by jaaz

Another problem about Indian driving style is they don't use STOP & GO. If you don't do this in Western Countries, you'll be admonished. I've seen Drivers do this even late night, when there's obsoletely no traffic at all. They just stop at every junction where STOP symbol in Red and hexagonal shape (generally, where there are no signals) is displayed and then move on.

Part of the blame lies with authorities also. They put this STOP sign at seemingly impractical spots thereby diminishing its importance. If such a sign is put where one cannot do this 'Stop and Go' (eg; for a right turn crossing on an arterial city road), after a point almost everyone driving through that place will 'learn' to ignore such a sign, over period of time.

[vvivek85]

Scary accident in Puducherry, an autorickshaw carrying school children collided head-on with a bus. 8 children are injured and admitted in hospital, in another video Puducherry governer Tamilisai Soundararajan stated neurosurgeons are in readiness to do surgery. I hope the kids come out safe.

Viewer discretion is strictly advised

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqr1YdtkD2w

[SLK]

Originally Posted by vvivek85

Scary accident in Puducherry, an autorickshaw carrying school children collided head-on with a bus. 8 children are injured and admitted in hospital, in another video Puducherry governer Tamilisai Soundararajan stated neurosurgeons are in readiness to do surgery. I hope the kids come out safe.

So so sad. Seeing that school bag fall out of the auto sinks my heart.

Driver of the bus/ auto, whoever is at fault, what did the children do!

I just keep imagining, whatever would have been Parents' compulsion to send their child in a over-loaded auto-rick. I've known many well-to-do parents who do this.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by vvivek85

Scary accident in Puducherry, an autorickshaw carrying school children collided head-on with a bus.

Hard to tell whose fault it is from that angle but the auto is clearly on the wrong side of the road. These contraptions and the way they're driven is just an absolute menace.

[revvharder]

Originally Posted by vvivek85

Scary accident in Puducherry, an autorickshaw carrying school children collided head-on with a bus. 8 children are injured and admitted in hospital, in another video Puducherry governer Tamilisai Soundararajan stated neurosurgeons are in readiness to do surgery. I hope the kids come out safe.

It looks like to be an undivided road, bus minding it's own business and i think auto driver nodded off and drifted onto the oncoming lane, other than sleeping on the wheel i don't think there would be any excuse of him drifting onto the oncoming lane despite the bus heading towards it.
All this is assumption and i could be wrong but to me this seems the case.

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Hard to tell whose fault it is from that angle but the auto is clearly on the wrong side of the road. These contraptions and the way they're driven is just an absolute menace.

My guess is that the standard Indian habit of "merging" into a right turn (by the auto-driver in this case) is the reason for the accident. Right turns are particularly dangerous. What is worse is that instead of taking the turn at right angles, (stopping if necessary) bikes, autos and even cars start moving towards the right from a distance. This is really irritating and dangerous.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by electric_eel

... instead of taking the turn at right angles, (stopping if necessary) bikes, autos and even cars start moving towards the right from a distance. This is really irritating and dangerous.

And the worst example is bikers who move to the far-right-hand side of the road some way before making the right turn, which they then take, sometimes blind, from the wrong side of the road they are leaving, into the wrong side of the road they ate entering.

I don't understand how they can even think of this, let alone be comfortable with it