[Sedate driver]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ogre

I think something is seriously wrong with google maps, especially in India. It had on numerous occasions taken me on routes where there was no proper roads.
While coming from Goa to Mumbai, it took us through one such short cut in the middle of the night, which eventually ended up at the bottom of a hill after meandering through single-lane jungle roads.

When google suggests you an alternate route and if you are doubtful, it is better to check the route in satellite view and zoom in. It will actually show you whether a road is present there or it is a mud road etc. Usually before planning a trip with Google maps I often check it in satellite view to verify the terrain there.

[IAmGroot]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ogre

I think something is seriously wrong with google maps, especially in India. It had on numerous occasions taken me on routes where there was no proper roads.

Usually before starting my long journey, I add tactical intermediate stops to stay on the desired path and not allow google maps to suggest alternatives. The route can be saved as shortcut on mobiles home screen and plus there is option to download offline maps, useful where there is no cell coverage.

During the actual journey, at crossroads it is always better to take a pause and zoom-in zoom-out maps to check whether we are on right path and road ahead is clear.

Sometime there are ad-hoc diversions, especially in rural areas. Best to talk to multiple locals and verify the road ahead. Recently we were in Ahmednagar and visiting a remote place. Suddenly railways decided to close a level crossing for a day and maps re-routed us through a village. As we were passing through the village, a local confidently told us to go ahead, however something did not add up. We stopped near a field and asked another local. He stated that road ahead is only suitable for 2-wheelers and our car is bound to get stuck in unpaved road. Taking his advice, we did a U-turn and cancelled our short trip.

Sometime back we were in Munnar, Kerala in a hired Innova. The driver was using google maps to navigate. On outskirts of Munnar the road suddenly started becoming narrower and at a turn the Innova got stuck, overlooking a steep valley on one side. We had to be rescued by a 4x4 Thar with a winch. We paid 500 to the local rescuing us, even though he did not want it. The local person informed that the road we were on is not a motorable road, just a small walking path for villagers to come up and down the mountain.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ogre

I think something is seriously wrong with google maps, especially in India. It had on numerous occasions taken me on routes where there was no proper roads.

It is a good revenue generator for Bangalore Police, I see poor taxi drivers being guided down the wrong way down Hayes Road.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

No words for this one.

Viewer discretion adviced!

The single comment on that video speaks volumes about our driving knowledge.

"Kids fault"!!!

Such a narrow path, so many people on road and the biker has to zoom like his pants are on fire! Should be riding at 30kmph on roads like that.

And the way the lady picked up the kid

[Mad Max]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I was on that stretch last week. The TN authorities have done what they can. The trucks are slowed down and forced to the left lane. Lanes are kept narrow to slow you down.

This segregation has been in place for a while now. One thing I observe is that braking at the turns especially where they have installed those multiple speed bump thingies (speed cushions?) pulls the vehicle to one side or another and if you have ABS, it tries all sorts of gimmicks, even at lesser speeds. And braking action is minimal.

They need to remove those and put either larger single humps or grade the road at the right angle.

As an aside, have you guys heard those loud "GO SLOW" announcements? It's hilarious that the dog and the kid wake up absolutely startled when we descend into Salem and this happens.

[SuperGirl_Dad]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I was on that stretch last week. The TN authorities have done what they can. The trucks are slowed down and forced to the left lane. Lanes are kept narrow to slow you down.

This happened after the descent. The killers seem to be overloading, overheated brakes, bad tyres and overconfident drivers speeding.

Seems the action from authorities have not fully had its effect . Not very familiar with this route. But is there any RORO (railway) service for the trucks on this route - like the Konkan routes, to make it safer for all drivers.

[darkfantasy]

Originally Posted by IamNikhil

An ambulance, ostensibly rushing to a hospital, considering the high speed and the flashing lights, loses control, hits the cars in front and eventually crashes into a tree.

Location seems to be somewhere in Kerala, considering the number plates of the cars around.

https://Youtu.be/_3UdVJ9Cbvk

I will not fault the black car at all. There seems to be a curve just before what's viewable which might have hidden his view. Also it is absolutely not safe to move to left if an ambulance is trailing you. The ambulance might be planning to squeeze through the left and if you moved in front of him, you would be blamed for blocking the ambulance. Happened to me once. He was at the right lane and decided to move to the extreme left at the last moment despite me having left indicators on. I quickly abandoned the maneuver and still he clipped my mirror and shouted something and proceeded at the same speed with half the vehicle off road. I have had multiple bad experiences with ambulances on both two wheeler and car that whenever I see them in RVM, I start to panic. Unlike what many of us seem to think, the black car driver did not have enough time to react given the speeds the ambulances travel at and he didn't have the luxury of hindsight. It's 100% the ambulance drivers fault.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

This segregation has been in place for a while now.

Originally Posted by SuperGirl_Dad

Seems the action from authorities have not fully had its effect.

The segregation, audible announcements, speed calming devices etc. were all installed after the last major accident in 2020:

https://www.newindianexpress.com/sta...r-2235379.html

On the plus side, there has been a 3 year gap since then. Perhaps enforcement started lagging?

Originally Posted by SuperGirl_Dad

But is there any RORO (railway) service for the trucks on this route - like the Konkan routes, to make it safer for all drivers.

This ghat is part of Krishnagiri-Salem section of NH 44 - Krishnagiri is where the major highways coming from Bangalore and carrying vehicles from points north/northwest/west and coming from Chennai carrying vehicles from east/northeast merge, and Salem is where they separate westwards to Coimbatore/Cochin and southwards to Madurai/Trivandrum. So this 100 km section sees extremely high traffic which is not strictly speaking, point-to-point that RoRo can help, I believe.

[RGK]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I was on that stretch last week. The TN authorities have done what they can. The trucks are slowed down and forced to the left lane. Lanes are kept narrow to slow you down.

Absolutely right.

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

Could you please shed some light on this and if possible the source for it?

This stretch surely seems notorious and has its own thread too.

Originally Posted by Mad Max

This segregation has been in place for a while now. One thing I observe is that braking at the turns especially where they have installed those multiple speed bump thingies (speed cushions?) pulls the vehicle to one side or another and if you have ABS, it tries all sorts of gimmicks, even at lesser speeds. And braking action is minimal.

They need to remove those and put either larger single humps or grade the road at the right angle.

Yes. The speed cushions have worn out due to huge traffic.

Pasting my earlier post here on the safety measures by TN Govt & L&T.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...ml#post5397185 (Cyrus Mistry passes away in a road accident)


The sitting MP of Dharmapuri, Mr Senthil is stressing for an elevated highway now to cross the entire Thoppur Ghat. I feel creating a tunnelled highway is better and will avoid slopes.

[Goandiaries]

Happened to see this video in my YT feed. Poor bike fellow was minding his own business on the safest possible zone for a 2-wheeler on a highway. But still he was taken down by the irresponsible driver of Seltos. I possibly would've driven in the same zone had I been on a 2-wheeler - and I shudder to think beyond that. Don't know why such hurry!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9J0CgiNIuU

[d.w.w.]

Originally Posted by GeneralJazz

I know several people who drive an ambulance part time just for the thrill of driving like maniacs.

I have to agree on that. In Kerala it has become like if you want to break all road rules legally, go become an ambulance driver. I don't want to generalize, but many ambulance drivers are too abusive on road showering bad words on their way, using sirens and horns even if there is no emergency. Most of these ambulances belong to private establishments, unions or political groups and driven by young chaps mostly in their 20s. There were rumors that these ambulances are used for illegal activities - mostly drugs.

[self_driven]

Originally Posted by Goandiaries

Poor bike fellow was minding his own business on the safest possible zone for a 2-wheeler on a highway.

Exactly. I feel sorry for the biker. 8 seconds into the video, the truck driver moved sharply to the left to make space for the bus to overtake. Had he done it sooner, this idiot would have been off the road even before losing control and hitting the oblivious biker.

[sarathlal]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

And the way the lady picked up the kid

Exactly! Fail to understand what people gain by swooping up victims from the road irresponsibly, only to place them back on the ground.

[sabsubs]

Originally Posted by chaitanyakrish

Another deadly crash is reported at the notorious Thoppur section.

As you said, Thoppur ghat section is notorious for accidents. I travel through this route frequently. I have seen many accidents happening here. There is an urgent need for a flyover connecting the Thoppur toll and Thoppur village. The entire stretch is very dangerous. When you drive, the road would seem like an ordinary road, but that's a big mistake, because of its steep decline. However, this accident is very unfortunate because it happened on the twin flyover where the road is flat, as you can see from the video. My condolences to the family members and friends of the deceased in this accident. I am just adding the street view of the bridge taken from the Google map.

[Samarth 619]

Originally Posted by Sedate driver

When google suggests you an alternate route and if you are doubtful, it is better to check the route in satellite view and zoom in. It will actually show you whether a road is present there or it is a mud road etc. Usually before planning a trip with Google maps I often check it in satellite view to verify the terrain there.

I feel they automatically make routes on the basis of phones that pass through these locations.
When too many phones start passing through, it makes it a road, based on AI analysis of the satellite image, plus the analytics data from phones.

I once took a shortcut to my office, and it turned out to be an offroading tour with mud, slush and bushes, all through someone else's farmhouse I think. Ok, thank god the people were kindly disposed to the idea of me just passing through. It was in Kayad village near Ajmer & yeah, I've had better rides than that particular one, not to mention being 9 minutes late in signing in on biometrics.