[asr245]

Originally Posted by ecenandu

Then I heard conductor tapping the dash board. Our bus driver was sleeping peacefully, he woke up suddenly and started starring at the conductor as if he disturbed his nice nap behind the wheel. This must have repeated at least 5-6 times in the next 45 mins. One time both of them were sleeping and it was my friend who woke them up by banging the seat.

All in all one horrendous night.

Not sure which one of the 2 is scarier. But if I were in the bus I would have asked him to stop and wash up a bit. Who knows who he would have killed driving like that!! But no sure if the driver can be blamed either because of their less than human working conditions.

Originally Posted by ch.nathan

Ecenandu,
Glad that you are all safe. ECR is one of the finest roads in India to drive. I wonder why it doesn't have dividers.

Isn't ECR the (toll) road which goes from Chennai towards Pondicherry? If it is, then I am not sure what's fine about it. I drove on it once some 4.5 years ago. Sure it was not potholed but paying toll for a 2 lane road!! And the speeds are high too. I think it was one of the most dangerous roads (not counting broken+narrow hilly roads) I have driven on.

[puchoo]

Not the expert on this and Chennai members can advise better , but i spent a considerable amount of time in Chennai in the last 2-3 months and used the road often enough , while the road condition is excellent i was told by multiple people that there are now permanently stationed ambulances on that road owing to the high number of accidents which take place there.

Originally Posted by asr245

I think it was one of the most dangerous roads (not counting broken+narrow hilly roads) I have driven on.

[gendarmee]

Location: ORR, Beyond Hi-tech city.

[BoneCollector]

^^ Looks like he went straight into the barricade on which the tail gate is resting.Moreover,if one looks closely,its not even resting on the road but on the elevated surface.Could be a very high speed impact.

[gurudutt]

Originally Posted by gendarmee

Location: ORR, Beyond Hi-tech city.

Looks like the Santro banded into something @ high speed and turned turtle..

[anilisanil]

Originally Posted by gendarmee

Location: ORR, Beyond Hi-tech city.

Now that was scary!! If the Santro somersaulted once it would be facing the barricade, with the rear on the barricade it should have somersaulted twice or rotated!! In either case that must be one hell of a collision. Any news on casualties?

[Ragul]

I think I have came across an instance recently where an under construction toll booth was not illuminated and well lit with warning signs, making me swerve at the last minute. This was when returning to Bangalore and it was only 1730hrs or something, yet the construction debris and barricade was not visible from far.

This turtule'd Santro may be a similar case of negligence by the contractor.

--Ragul

[traveloholic]

Originally Posted by gendarmee

Location: ORR, Beyond Hi-tech city.

I took the same pics yesterday from the Nanakramguda-Narsingi Service Road on the ORR. I was held up with work and could not post it. You beat me at posting the pics.

This route isn't the exit of the Toll Booth but the Entrance of the Toll Booth. So the funda behind it driving into the Toll Booth is negated as the first place where he would hit would be the Toll Booth Sill, hence flipping over the Toll Booth Sill is impossible. My 2 cents

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by asr245

Isn't ECR the (toll) road which goes from Chennai towards Pondicherry? If it is, then I am not sure what's fine about it. I drove on it once some 4.5 years ago. Sure it was not potholed but paying toll for a 2 lane road!! And the speeds are high too. I think it was one of the most dangerous roads (not counting broken+narrow hilly roads) I have driven on.

You are right about the ECR being dangerous. A 2-lane road without dividers and quite some curves thrown in is a recipe for disaster when you have our local Schumachers at the wheel. Add to the equation, people/cows/animals darting across the road.

The ECR is quite scenic and a good option if you practice safe/defensive driving. If you want to drive fast, use the NH45 to pondicherry.

[navan49]

Chennaites, If you are on ECR beware. There different kinds of drivers.The high end adventurous ones are in the jet speed.The Taxis are the supersonic and never bother about the people by the side and behind. It is not a blame. If you are on the way to Pondy when ever you see accidental car mostly the taxis. The public transport drivers should be more cautious of the lives trust them and travel.Just observe these people will scare you every where.

[drmohitg]

My dad told me when he taught me how to drive and I have never forgotten this piece of advice: Treat every person on the road as an Idiot and think that you are the only sane person on the road. So the onus is on you to take care not to hit anybody whether its the car/bike/pedestrian in front of you or behind you, a stray animal and the likes. Its actually very helpful. I maintain a decent gap from the vehicle in front, I give way to all those jet speed drivers who want to cut lanes and run ahead, I stop for cycles and pedestrians and so on. End result is that I haven't yet been in any accident, minor or major, Touchwood!

[ch.nathan]

Originally Posted by asr245

Isn't ECR the (toll) road which goes from Chennai towards Pondicherry? If it is, then I am not sure what's fine about it.
I think it was one of the most dangerous roads (not counting broken+narrow hilly roads) I have driven on.

I agree it could be one of the most dangerous roads in India - all bcos of overspeeding.

Actually this is what I meant:

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

The ECR is quite scenic and a good option if you practice safe/defensive driving.

[navan49]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Treat every person on the road as an Idiot and think that you are the only sane person on the road. So the onus is on you to take care not to hit anybody whether its the car/bike/pedestrian in front of you or behind you, a stray animal and the likes. Its actually very helpful.

Dr Mohit,
Really a worthy advise by your Dad. You follow that good advise. I too keep sufficient gap. But once or twice for none of my fault I got accident. I love accident free drive. The memorable one is once a truck on the left and a mini truck on the right squeezed my car and truck guy damaged my car. Second incident is a tyre burst on a highway.But both no injury to passengers but injury was there for the lovely cars.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by navan49

I too keep sufficient gap. But once or twice for none of my fault I got accident. I love accident free drive. The memorable one is once a truck on the left and a mini truck on the right squeezed my car and truck guy damaged my car. Second incident is a tyre burst on a highway.But both no injury to passengers but injury was there for the lovely cars.

One can only narrow down there odds. Given the state of our roads, maddening traffic and a total lack of road etiquette, its sometimes inevitable to get a scratch or a small dent. Drive safe!

[ecenandu]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

The ECR is quite scenic and a good option if you practice safe/defensive driving. If you want to drive fast, use the NH45 to pondicherry.

Yes safe/defensive driving will help, but not always.If you take my case for example, I was driving defensively throughout that journey, giving way to fast moving vehicles, not overtaking on the curves and sticking to 80 Kmph.

I never expected that Indica to come straight towards me. I now feel that I didn't react that fast. May be an much experienced highway driver could have probably avoided that accident.

Having said that, I am happy that no one of us got hurt and damage to my car is also relatively less.

My dad told me to use the car only in the city and use public transport if I wanted go to Pondy or Banglore. Now I am feeling a little guilty that I breached it.

Anyways, a lesson learned the hard way. 'Expect the unexpected.'