[rishabh.asthana]

Read this account of a NDTV reporter http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/e...n-noida-415189

I believe the car driver was not the offender here. Sure he was driving fast but according to the writers own statement they were still on the expressway when his car hit the cycle rider. Another thing i noticed was the "law abiding" self righteous attitude of the writer. He blamed the driver of driving fast when he was himself breaking the law by driving slowing (at 80 kmph when the limit is 100) in the fast lane.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I am always amazed to see pedestrians wandering over flyovers, when it would not have been trouble to cross the road beneath, and no hills to climb. However, their stupidity does not merit a death sentence, so drivers must always avoid them.

It reminds me of one my father's driving-lesson trick questions:

"When do pedestrians have right of way?"

I trotted out the various UK-Highway-Code answers I could remember. He shook his head and said,

"Always! It is always illegal to run over them!"


~

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by rishabh.asthana

He blamed the driver of driving fast when he was himself breaking the law by driving slowing (at 80 kmph when the limit is 100) in the fast lane.

What fast lane? On Noida-Gr.Noida Expressway there is nothing as fast/slow lane. Have you seen people driving there? Some Tarmac stretches have no lane markings. Some state-of-art expressway,ha?

Why not ban cyclists on expressway? Whole stretch has a nice laid tarmac running parallel to it.

Here is one more. From Gurgaon. Youths. Speeding Vento. Loosing control. Tree. Car splits into two.One Dies,One critical. Parents blame dumper.

Source:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/22499260.cms

[Trojan]

This happened with us when we were returning from Goa last month,

We were returning from Goa left on Sat, 17th August, I was the lone driver travelling with 3 women and a kid (my wife, my daughter, my MIL, and my wife's friend)
We have an i10-LPG, as you would be aware, i10 is not an enthusiasts car especially with 4 adults with luggage.

I was cruising between 100-110 with no cars in sight (ahead or behind us) simply because all of them used to just zoom ahead.

At a point, there is this hotel called Sahara (highway dhaba) on the Belgaum side next to a Mosque, there were trucks parked on the Kolhapur side of the highway on the mud track away from the road. The highway is really broad with a truck lay-bye provided as well.

While approaching this spot, I became a bit wary, I saw that a truck was trying to move back to the highway. There was more than enough place for him to come easily, but something told me that there was something wrong, and how right was I.

The trucker entered at right angles to the highway and blocked the entire highway leaving no room at all.
I slammed on the brakes, we were at quite some distance from the truck, but then the wheels locked and the car began to skid.

I put all my strength to keep the car as straight as possible and we kept skidding without respite. By then the truck had nearly completed the turn though there was still no place for any car to pass through.

The car fishtailed towards the end though the speed had diminished to around 10-15kmph and we hit the truck on the side.

Those moments are still fresh and I thank God that all of us escaped without a single scratch or bump.

The main issue was the wheels getting locked, if I hadn't braked early enough, I would most probably not be there to write this today. But I also feel, maybe the car can do better speeds but... ...
In today's expressways 100-110 kph is not fast enough, I felt the same when the other cars were zooming ahead, but it was the exact reason, why we were able to get away without harm. Simply put, the car (i10) isn't trustworthy at those speeds, this I didn't know before, now I am sure.

By grace of God, everyone was safe and sound, the vehicle suffered damage to its entire left side but was driveable. Drove the car to a garage before Kolhapur, nice fellas there, they did a thorough check on the car, we reached Pune safely.

[Dieseldunk]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

So that's what caused the traffic pile up between 8:30-9:00hrs this morning. Maybe it was blood?

The white TT should atleast have been doing more than 80kmph to not brake in time and the TT has been notorious for its brake capability.

That reading on your snaps are interesting. Is it a software or a GPS enabled mobile photo.

Originally Posted by Trojan

This happened with us when we were returning from Goa last month,

We were returning from Goa left on Sat

Mate good to know you are safe.

i10 has a stability issue and the front brakes come on before the back brakes and thereby causing a wheel lock. It helps if you shift down gears as you start hitting the brakes.

May be the gurus on the forum will offer more suggestions.

Cheers
Prasad

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[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by Trojan

The main issue was the wheels getting locked, if I hadn't braked early enough, I would most probably not be there to write this today. But I also feel, maybe the car can do better speeds but... ...
In today's expressways 100-110 kph is not fast enough, I felt the same when the other cars were zooming ahead, but it was the exact reason, why we were able to get away without harm. Simply put, the car (i10) isn't trustworthy at those speeds, this I didn't know before, now I am sure.

It is because of lack of ABS, which would have otherwise helped out with minimal damages (whatsoever). This can happen with any car which has got good brakes, but no ABS.

Originally Posted by rishabh.asthana

Read this account of a NDTV reporter http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/e...n-noida-415189

I believe the car driver was not the offender here. Sure he was driving fast but according to the writers own statement they were still on the expressway when his car hit the cycle rider. Another thing i noticed was the "law abiding" self righteous attitude of the writer. He blamed the driver of driving fast when he was himself breaking the law by driving slowing (at 80 kmph when the limit is 100) in the fast lane.

The limit is for max speed & not minimum. So he was surely on the correct side of law. It was coincidentally the cyclist who was at fault. It is high time we have strict enforcement for jay-walkers/ peddlers.

[::CMS::]

Originally Posted by Trojan

The main issue was the wheels getting locked,

I think you should learn how to pump the brakes instead of standing on the brakes, its a must for a non ABS cars. I was doing the same method during my Amby days, its pretty effective.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by Trojan

This happened with us when we were returning from Goa last month, ....

Good to know you got away unharmed. In this case, the i10 is not to blame, it is the lack of ABS. I think the i10 is quite stable at 100 kmph and isn't as bad as the newer Hyundai's when it comes to the steering & suspension.

Any car without ABS in the situation described by you would have locked up under hard braking resulting in a skid. What you could have probably done is pumped the brakes to regain control from the skid, but I guess when in that situation one does not tend to think much.

Having seen and experienced the advantages of ABS, I increased my budget to get that ABS equipped model when I recently bought my car. I trust you will do the same with your next car.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by Trojan

This happened with us when we were returning from Goa last month,

Not judging your driving skills or anything as in panic situations things can go haywire, but I sincerely advice you to practice some panic braking situations on an empty road or a parking lot to get a feel of how to modulate the brakes as locking the brakes without giving it any respite during hard brakings can lead to disasters.

[::CMS::]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

but I guess when in that situation one does not tend to think much.

Its a myth, if you regularly practice or make it as a habit even for normal braking, the human brain will automatically do that even in a panic braking situation too. I have experienced it in my amby once, but the other guy got panicked on seeing me stopping very close to his car (remember the braking distance may vary depending on the situation), but avoided a collision.

The problem I faced was when I moved to an ABS equipped car, it took me one week to stop pumping the brakes. Even with ABS also, doing both is good\bad depending on the situation (eg, the car will stop but not the people inside, especially when kids are there)

[Trojan]

Agree, ABS would have definitely helped saved the day.

Pumping the brakes could have been an option - maybe I didn't/couldn't think of it, but margin of error was very low.

With ABS, the car would/should have stopped without colliding, as with skidding we hit the truck at around 10-15 maybe lesser.

Sorry, no testing for me, all the tests in the world cannot create a real life situation.
But yes, it does make way for moving to something which has ABS (at least)

[KiloAlpha]

Originally Posted by Trojan

Agree, ABS would have definitely helped saved the day.

Pumping the brakes could have been an option - maybe I didn't/couldn't think of it, but margin of error was very low.

With ABS, the car would/should have stopped without colliding, as with skidding we hit the truck at around 10-15 maybe lesser.

Is your i10 running on OEM tyres of stock size? If so, I would advise an upsize (175/70R13) and upgrade. Upsizing with better quality tyres makes a world of difference in braking stability and reduces braking distance. The i10 is badly under-tyred as it is.

[docaxe]

In my humble opinion I think driving a car without ABS is like riding a bike without helmet. I think govt should make ABS compulsory on all vehicles on road.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by rishabh.asthana

Another thing i noticed was the "law abiding" self righteous attitude of the writer. He blamed the driver of driving fast when he was himself breaking the law by driving slowing (at 80 kmph when the limit is 100) in the fast lane.

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

The limit is for max speed & not minimum. So he was surely on the correct side of law. It was coincidentally the cyclist who was at fault. It is high time we have strict enforcement for jay-walkers/ peddlers.

Correct side of the law perhaps but not on the correct side of the road! Agree that the limit is for max speed but the lane discipline dictates that you should not occupy the fast lane if you are going slower than the allowed speed limit.

Just when I reached the Mahamaya flyover at the end of the Expressway, around 10 km from Delhi, I noticed a white Volkswagen in my rear-view mirror, closing in at a menacing speed, zig-zagging its way through.

In just a few seconds, the car flew past me from the left - the wrong side.

The writer has mentioned that the car overtook him through his left which means he had an empty left lane and he was driving in the wrong lane. So he is equally responsible for the traffic violation of the other car since he was driving on the wrong lane and didn't leave enough room on his right for faster cars to overtake. That might also explain the zig-zag driving of the driver - there were many slow cars on the expressway, with some of them driving in the wrong lane while others were in the correct lane.

If the faster car had the right lane clear for overtaking, this accident might not have even happened! The cyclist was on the left side of the road and the other so-called 'slow' drivers forced a fast car to drive on the slower lane because they took up the fast lane and didn't follow lane discipline. I would put equal blame on the journalist who wrote that article for indirectly causing an accident with his slow driving on wrong lane.

If the driver's father is a good lawyer, the news article has enough points to get his son off the hook.

[Trojan]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Good to know you got away unharmed.
Having seen and experienced the advantages of ABS, I increased my budget to get that ABS equipped model when I recently bought my car. I trust you will do the same with your next car.

Hi Arun,
Major coincidence, I was in fact reading your Ford Figo ownership thread and you quoted my message

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

Is your i10 running on OEM tyres of stock size? If so, I would advise an upsize (175/70R13) and upgrade. Upsizing with better quality tyres makes a world of difference in braking stability and reduces braking distance. The i10 is badly under-tyred as it is.

Thanks KiloAlpha, this is my priority at the moment, will be upgrading my tyres soon.