[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by poloman

If this is the Kuthiran accident, here is it how happened as per the local media. The car was following the truck on Kuthiran Ghat section. The truck for some reason stalled and started coming down reverse. The Car driver realized this and parked the car on the side of the road. Unfortunately the truck in an effort to avoid the ditch on the other side came straight on the parked car which was crushed between the truck and the rock.
There is a even more gruesome video of this on Youtube.

Yes it is the Kuthiran mala accident. Very unfortunate! may their souls R.I.P!!

[athanedar]

Originally Posted by poloman

If this is the Kuthiran accident, here is it how happened as per the local media. The car was following the truck on Kuthiran Ghat section. The truck for some reason stalled and started coming down reverse. The Car driver realized this and parked the car on the side of the road. Unfortunately the truck in an effort to avoid the ditch on the other side came straight on the parked car which was crushed between the truck and the rock.
There is a even more gruesome video of this on Youtube.

Can you post the link poloman ? I tried searching with kuthiran ghat swift accident / palakkad accident but didnt get any hits

[poloman]

Sorry I cannot post the youtube link since it is tagged highly gruesome even in youtube. Here is one link which describes what happened.
Two killed in lorry-car collision near Thrissur
Yes it is very hard to believe how a vehicle backing down, develop sufficient momentum to crush a car in to such a horrific state.

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by poloman

Sorry I cannot post the Youtube link since it is tagged highly gruesome even in Youtube. Here is one link which describes what happened.
Two killed in lorry-car collision near Thrissur
Yes it is very hard to believe how a vehicle backing down, develop sufficient momentum to crush a car in to such a horrific state.

A fully loaded truck like the one in this accident will gather downhill momentum due to gravity in no time/distance at all.

Edit: @athanedar - just search for kuthiran accident on youtube.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Happened somewhere near Palakkad - 2 people lost their lives
source: SSC

I too saw this on SSC. RIP, unfortunate souls. What a horrible way to go.

Goes to prove so far as vehicles on Indian roads are concerned, "bigger the better, and biggest is best". I think it was Dilip Bam who said that a long time ago.

[anilisanil]

^^ Gosh that was really gruesome, frightening and depressing :(

I am shocked at the way the injured were extracted out, they just tied ropes and people were pulling apart the car! I am sure whatever the truck did not do was complete by that kind of extraction, had that was properly gas cut, may be they could have survived! RIP

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by F150

the cabin seems to be intact, how were the injuries lethal ?

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Though the cabin apparently seems to be intact from the above pictures, the front of the car has been severly damaged (will hunt for another picture from Sakal - Marathi daily, which clearly shows the damage). Also the lady (sitting in the co-driver seat) who succumbed to her injuries was 66 years old, so the old age would have aggravated the damage & she would not have been able to sustain the impact

I am not double sure if they were wearing seatbelts. With the amount of damage, i feel that seatbelts could have saved the life. The Cabin seems to be only about 20% damaged.

I am not 100% sure if seatbelts were worn or not.

[ramzsys]

Kuthiran accident:

The damage to the cabin cannot be ascertained, considering the picture posted by Latheesh.

The truck driver did his best to save his life, the Swift driver did his best, but in the end it is all a game of chance in Indian roads.

Was the truck carrying sand?

Witnessed a similar accident at Meenakshipuram railway gate(Pollachi-Thrissur) a few years back when a laden truck rolled back and caused a pile-up of cars.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by poloman

Yes it is very hard to believe how a vehicle backing down, develop sufficient momentum to crush a car in to such a horrific state.

It doesn't need momentum. How many tons are there? A small hatchback (or any car, come to think of it) is just going to be squashed by sheer weight.

I don't have the stomach to see YouTube, or any other source, for further detail, but I doubt the occupants had much chance. Probably one of the few times when it might have been better not to be wearing seatbelts, as where they needed to be was out of the car. But how? Rock to one side: truck to the other. They probably never got the doors open.

[krish82]

This is destiny and Bad luck, They were'nt overspeeding, neither driving on wrong side, neither they might have been drunk, they 'just parked the car to avoid the truck, even i would have done the same, moving away from direct path and park in the side. May their sould RIP. Feel very sorry.

[sunishsamuel]

I am not sure who to blame for the kuthiran accident. Its unfortunate and hope the family gets the support to move on. May the souls RIP. Saw a pic of the car under truck and it looks so horrible. Looks this happened because of some confusion seeing the broken down truck coming back.

We lost a close family friend and his nephew way back in 90s in a mishap like this. My dad and the uncle were very close and dad was shocked for a long time. This was between a brand new amby nova diesel and a truck. The National Permit truck went over the ambassador crushing it. Brake failure was the reason !

While it might not help in all cases, arent trucks equipped with some emergency stop mechanism (in cars last resort of hand braking might work) ? And wouldn't frequent and correct maintenance of vehicles reduce accidents to a greater extent ? And looks this truck did not have the iron bar at the rear that can reduce the impact.

Who to hear !!!!

[ontheroad]

Regarding the Kuthiran accident, there was some reports in the media that the emergency brake/hand brake of the truck was purposefully removed. Reports suggests that the owners remove it fearing the drivers would drive the truck with the handbrake engaged, resulting in low fuel efficiency.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Many a hand brake on many a vehicle is not adjusted properly (it should be just about impossible, from stationary, to move the car in 1st gear. On my Swift it is: on other cars I have had, it has been possible to forget it and drive off).

What I don't understand is how it would be possible to drive any vehicle on mountain roads, without at least a badly-working handbrake. Hill starts?

If it was removed, that's just evil --- but to me it seems an unlikely story.

[poloman]

This is very much the case.
City Journal
Is the handbrake mechanism different in trucks?
Normally they use wooden logs as stoppers.

[suhaas307]

It's high time we see features like hill-descent control and ABS, not just on road cars, but also on trucks and buses. And it's high time truck-drivers are enrolled in driving-courses for highway-driving. The running-condition and health of trucks and buses needs to be monitored every other week by informed authorities and organizations.

Our road-network system is heavily flawed. A complete review/re-look is the need of the hour.

Otherwise, accidents and fatalities will only keep increasing and this thread will be in business.