[DWind]

The bus just made did not even make the first half of the almost 210 degree curve.

1. Looking at the front wheel angle, the bus was carrying more speed than necessary for the curve and driver tried to break during the start of the curve.
2. This curve is on the downward slope of the flyover. Knowing well how our buses (an ordinary bus most likely Viking BS3 / BS2) struggle while negotiating the upward slope of flyover there was a delay in slowing down after reaching the summit of flyover. This could only be caused by distraction on the part of the driver.

Clear sign of driver talking on the phone.

[thoma]

At least we have to thank god that it has not fallen from the highest point on the flyover. Just imagine if a bus had to swerve at the top of the flyover. It would have affected the vehicles plying underneath too.

The rails seem to be built on top of the fly-over, after the fly-over has been built, and not integrated with it as a unit. Is there still no practical solution to end this cell-phone chatting of the drivers?

[LDJ]

Two similar accidents on the same day!

Passed by Poonamalle high road and just after Chennai Ford there is this signal where there's a sharp turn on the road. A speeding Eicher Tanker (probably containing water) had taken the turn at such a high speed that it jumped the 2-3feet pedestrian walkway and then jumped the road & fell onto the other side which was a sheer drop of about 10feet!

Reached office and later heard of this Gemini flyover bus incident which is pretty much the same - taking turn at high speed & falling over!

Hightime these public vehicles are fitted with speed governors?

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by LDJ

Hightime these public vehicles are fitted with speed governors?

And cell phone signal jammers, if that would be practicable. At least some means of rendering the driver incapable of using a cellphone when driving. Would be a nice to have feature in all kinds of road transport, actually.

Rajan

[shankar.balan]

Empower the police better to take penal action on violators. Possibly with electric prods.
Our chaps only understand force and beatings.
No amount of reasoning will work with them.

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Empower the police better to take penal action on violators. Possibly with electric prods.
Our chaps only understand force and beatings.
No amount of reasoning will work with them.

And that brings forth the age old question - "Who will police the Police?"

Rajan

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Empower the police better to take penal action on violators. Possibly with electric prods.
Our chaps only understand force and beatings.
No amount of reasoning will work with them.

Expect a cop to prod that rod into you, unless you buy your way out with a nice fat bribe.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

When we have to overtake slow moving vehicles we base our decision to overtake based on certain facts and few mental calculations like whether the road is wide enough, whether any vehicle is coming from the opposite side, speed of the vehicle we are planning to overtake, speed of oncoming vehicle etc... Based on this data and the confidence we have in our vehicle's ability to accelerate let's say we make the decision that it is perfectly safe to overtake.

Now halfway through this overtaking maneuver these calculations can go awry. Suddenly the ego of the driver being overtaken may wake up and he may step on the gas to make it harder for you to pass. The oncoming vehicle could speed up for some weird reason like that. The driver of the vehicle behind you ( who you probably just overtook a while back) could slot himself directly behind the vehicle you are trying to overtake just to needle you. Believe me these things happen on our roads. In such tricky situations having those reserve horses under your hood can be a life saver.

+100 to that. Underpowered vehicles can be dangerous.

[Thad E Ginathom]

The Chennai Bus crash

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Coverage from The Hindu. In this pic they have the bus the right way up.

Expanded coverage now on that same link, along with a video of the recovery efforts. The Hindu also has a Photo Slide Show.

[shankar.balan]

There was a good article in TOI recently.

Without empowering or providing them with proper tools we expect the poor policeman to police our country and our unruly people.

No one follows rules through inherent discipline. We take advantage and squeeze and trickle through gaps to save those precious free seconds, when the cop, like the school teacher, is looking the other way and handling some other similar crisis on the other side of the road, the likes of which crisis, we ourselves are in the process of simultaneously perpetrating on this side( when he is otherwise engaged on the other side).

We are single minded in our determination not to be thwarted by anyone ore anything in whilst we are pursuing our own agendas and to hell with everyone and everything around us, whatever the cost! We are High speed nirvana seekers or instant karma seekers for the self and are ok as long as we and ours are the first and the Devil take the hind-most! Example: our behaviour when getting into and out of a common building elevator.

In a society which so completely lacks self discipline or a sense of the collective good, when individual interest and privateerism always triumphs over the greater good, can we ever be in a position to rule ourselves responsibly?

It is a matter open to debate, but I do believe we require to be dictated to, we do not have the ability to rule ourselves democratically, emotionally, in government or otherwise. This is why, we respect only fear, religious diktats and bargains/ pacts with god, rank goonda-ism, stooge-ism, crony-ism and the rod and not much else.

These views maybe radical and not to everyones taste, but perhaps the time has come to bite the bullet and accept the bitter pill of truth, which is not always palatable.

Think on it!

Kaliyugam has arrived. The Rakshasas are all around us. It is only a matter of time before we self destruct!

About time too, if you ask me.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

And cell phone signal jammers, if that would be practicable. At least some means of rendering the driver incapable of using a cellphone when driving. Would be a nice to have feature in all kinds of road transport, actually.

Rajan

Signal jammers could block signals of the passengers' phones also. I don't think people will like that to happen to them while traveling in buses.

Instead transport corporations could install some kind black boxes with video surveillance which would keep an eye on the drivers so to speak. Talk on the cell phone while driving, lose your job.

[Ketan]

I see quite a few slow moving vehicles almost everyday, mostly in the right most lane not bothered about my vehicle behind or finally me honking. When I overtake them from left, I see that saar is busy in a conversation over the phone. These are all types of private + public vehicles I'm talking about. We need strict rules + better execution to take care of this.

[esteem_lover]

They arrested the driver and the conductor. Why the conductor ? Maybe it was his job to monitor the driver ?

These MTC employees are very rude and lawless, even if a cop admonishes a driver for rash driving, they instantly park the buses in the middle of the road and go on a flash strike. They are known to have hit the cops too. Their union is very strong, I doubt if anything serious will come out of this one.

[supremeBaleno]

This is the route I take everyday to work and today morning at 9AM they were still sweeping away the debris from yesterday's "accident". The damaged wall has been covered with some makeshift arrangement. While the traffic at this place is less compared to what would be below the main area of the flyover, there still could have been damage to others - fortunately others seem to not have been affected.

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

These MTC employees are very rude and lawless, even if a cop admonishes a driver for rash driving, they instantly park the buses in the middle of the road and go on a flash strike. They are known to have hit the cops too. Their union is very strong, I doubt if anything serious will come out of this one.

+100. Idiotic morons most of them, especially the ones driving the Volvos. Today while driving to work, every other FM station had this accident as the theme and there was this Volvo a/c MTC bus bullying everyone in the way right from TIDEL Park signal to Thoraipakkam. Even when there was choc-a-bloc traffic in front, the guy was honking like crazy as if he expected us to fly over the traffic and give him way. After it became irritating, I just slowed down without giving him way - there is only so much one can honk and then he stopped. At Jain college, he has to stop at the bus stop, but he is in the lane adjacent to the median and honking again like crazy (there is a jam here due to students crossing the road etc). I again stand my ground and only after honking for some time does he realise that he has missed the bus stop. Guess what he did ? He reverses the bus in peak traffic and then moves to the extreme left to make the bus stop.

[jayguar]

Two accidents yesterday evening in Chennai, one in Medavakkam and the other in Pallikaranai (distance between the spots is less than 2 km). The first looked fatal which involved a small child (could be around 7 to 8 years old). When I was crossing the spot, people were covering the child with cardboards. After crossing the spot and moving towards Velacheri, I saw people carrying a man into an ambulance.

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

It seems the bus involved in Chennai flyover crash is badly maintained some news (tamil) saying that the driver seat is tied with rope and it gave up while the driver taking the curve, that makes him lost the control.

<http://tamil.oneindia.in/news/2012/06/28/tamilnadu-ill-maintained-spare-bus-with-makeshift-driver-seat-156593.html>