[amit_mechengg]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Dont blame the car or the driver before the facts are out. As per me, it looks like the 3 idiots crossing the road were at fault, they crossed from front of the parked truck, a santro or similar car narrowly missed hitting them, the cop in the Safari couldnt spot them in time, hit them, then in the process of avoiding them he skidded left and crashed into the stationary truck killing the cleaner and driver who were below the truck repairing it.
I believe the 3 idiots got themselves killed by their foolishness, got the driver and cleaner killed (who were illegally repairing the truck on the highway) and got the policeman and his family killed for no fault of theirs.

Agree with you totally. I have very recently faced a similar situation. On the NH4 i was travelling in my linea at decent speeds on emtry stretch.
Suddenly one Jeep - which carries passengers etc fully loaded on highways that we usually see stopped on the left hand side few 100 metres away.

I was just about to pass the jeep - i honked heavily so that the jeep doesnt jump back onto the road, but out of the blue 2 aged people jumped right in front of me from the big shrubs planted on the median- to catch the Jeep.

No way they were visible to me and despite of me honking so much they dint bother about it and started running towards the jeep waying their hands to the jeep to stop.

Luckily i was in my linea and the ABS+EBD+vehicle dynamics+chassis etc worked flawlessly to save them.

I also own a SAFARI and in no way those idiots as well as the Jeep would have been saved in the above incidence. And may be i would have severly got hurt too.
So yes - the vehicle plays an important role too, but we cant expect all vehicles to behave or handle the same. Safari can never handle like a sedan.

[yamaniac]

Originally Posted by yamaniac

This happened near Panmbur- Mangalore.

A Police Tavera, coming from the wrong side smashed in to a truck.

More details on the incident here. Luckily no one was killed in this incident.

http://www.mangalorean.com/news.php?...dcastid=403392

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Dont blame the car or the driver before the facts are out. As per me, it looks like the 3 idiots crossing the road were at fault, they crossed from front of the parked truck, a santro or similar car narrowly missed hitting them, the cop in the Safari couldnt spot them in time, hit them, then in the process of avoiding them he skidded left and crashed into the stationary truck killing the cleaner and driver who were below the truck repairing it.
I believe the 3 idiots got themselves killed by their foolishness, got the driver and cleaner killed (who were illegally repairing the truck on the highway) and got the policeman and his family killed for no fault of theirs.

How fast does the car have to be when it tramples three pedestrians to death and also hits a parked truck so hard some of its occupants too die? It doesn't take too much intelligence to deduce the obvious answer: The DSP was speeding. This is a very typical scenario with someone who becomes impatient. He speeds up to overtake the car in front, which has slowed down to allow some pedestrians to cross, and the overtaker realizes only too late why the car in front had slowed down. By this time he has already run over a few of them, and has directed the vehicle in another direction as a knee-jerk reaction.

So instead of blaming the pedestrians, maybe we should spare some thought on the actions of a DSP behind the wheel. Again, just how fast do you have to drive in order to achieve this?



Another horrific accident took place on the Mumbai-Nasik highway near the Kharegaon toll plaza, when a Santro rammed into a stationary truck in the wee hours of the morning. All five occupants were killed on the spot, and the newspapers claim the vehicle had to be towed towards the toll booth so enough lighting could become available in order to cut open the vehicle and extract the bodies. The photos in the newspapers are horrifying.

However more worrisome is the lack of action by the police. Apart from the usual statement on whether the Santro driver was drunk or not, there's no investigation into whether the truck had its tail lights working. I am sure they weren't.

That brings us to another oft-neglected safety point: The unfit vehicles. There is absolutely no action against vehicles which have no working tail lights. How many deaths will it take for the cops to take their job seriously?

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by sajo

A police accident again, this time in Pune.
The Vehicle seemed to be a Tata Safari.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/20638738.cms

I am surprised people are commenting about the accident without actually paying attention to the details. Some are assuming that out of 5 dead, 3 are the ones who were crossing the roads. That is not correct. 1 of those 3 is dead, 2 from the SUV and 2 who were changing tire of the truck are the ones who died.

It was an accident. Maybe the girls crossing the road were not on a pedestrian crossing, maybe the SUV was speeding, maybe the truck was not properly maintained and hence broke down (almost certainly)

The survivors are going to live through this trauma for the rest of their lives. The rest have already paid the ultimate price. The least we should do is not point fingers without actually being there. The most we can do is to be prepared for the worst when out on the road.

[rohanjf]

7 school children, autorickshaw driver killed in accident in Tamil Nadu
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/20661172.cms

PUDUKOTTAI: Seven school children were crushed to death when an autorickshaw, doubling up as a goods carrier, in which they were travelling, was hit by a private bus in Pudukottai district in central Tamil Nadu at 9.30am on Wednesday. The autorickshaw driver too was killed in the violent collision, police confirmed. Three other students, who suffered serious injuries, have been admitted in the Thanjavur medical college-cum-hospital. Twelve students, between the age group of 12 and 15, were crammed into the autorickshaw when the accident occurred.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by amitoj

The least we should do is point fingers without actually being there.

Guess you intended "not point fingers".

[n_naik]

A common sight in India. A private bus which rolled (and probably killed few people), now being driven to workshop for repair. Once it gets repaired, it will be ready for one more 'rock-n-roll' session.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by n_naik

A common sight in India. A private bus which rolled (and probably killed few people), now being driven to workshop for repair.

Looks quite intact for a rolled over bus, apart from the pillars. Probably just tipped over when parked at the edge of the road.

[Maxwell Arthur]

Originally Posted by n_naik

A common sight in India. A private bus which rolled (and probably killed few people), now being driven to workshop for repair. Once it gets repaired, it will be ready for one more 'rock-n-roll' session.

Rightly said. And the best part, the driver seems to be using his mobile phone.

[DrvSafe]

This accident happened in Tirur, kerala 3 weeks back. XUV driver was not able to spot a sharp curve and hit the truck side at around 11.30 pm. XUV driver was injured critically and one passenger died (got this news from locals).

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by DrvSafe

This accident happened in Tirur, kerala 3 weeks back. XUV driver was not able to spot a sharp curve and hit the truck side at around 11.30 pm. XUV driver was injured critically and one passenger died (got this news from locals).

That is one painful scene. RIP the deceased.

Might be that the driver wasn't familiar with the twists and turns of the area.
Or may be he knew the curve and approached it with speed, expecting the opposite lane to be free, whereas the truck turned up as a surprise.

The driver side airbag have deployed, but from the impact it seems that the airbag might have helped very less.
In anycase, the driver surviving is quite surprising, from the fact that the driver side has caved in completely !!!

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by DrvSafe

This accident happened in Tirur, kerala 3 weeks back. XUV driver was not able to spot a sharp curve and hit the truck side at around 11.30 pm. XUV driver was injured critically and one passenger died (got this news from locals).

I think the driver survived because he was wearing seat belts.The passenger seems to have by-passed the seat belt warning and just plugged in the seal belt into its slot. I have taken one of your pics and highlighted it the part in Red where you can clearly see that the seat belt is buckled and hugging the seat. If the passenger was wearing the seat belt , the rescuers would have had to remove it and definitely would not bother to make it as dummy! Also the passenger part of the compartment is fairly intact. Much better than the driver side!

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by DrvSafe

This accident happened in Tirur, kerala 3 weeks back. XUV driver was not able to spot a sharp curve and hit the truck side at around 11.30 pm. XUV driver was injured critically and one passenger died (got this news from locals).

Looking at this unfortunate picture I am wondering the speed at which the car hit the truck.
There is one question that springs to my mind - what is the safe speed on the highways? If one knows the way, I believe he can drive with a bit more speed if one does not know the way what should a driver do?

I have not had a lot of road trips (as a driver). The ones I have undertaken, I typically assess the road conditions and then decide what is safe. My safe number typically hovers around the 80 kmph mark. Though I wonder is that number safe for a Figo (with Airbags, ABS, Seatbelts)?

Comments are welcome.

Drive Safe Guys.

[500ContyCruiser]

Originally Posted by pratyush6

what is the safe speed on the highways? If one knows the way, I believe he can drive with a bit more speed if one does not know the way what should a driver do?

I cannot say of a defined safe speed. Not an expert but couple of things I keep in mind on highway / ghat section, (also things can vary depending day / night and other driving conditions)

1. Be alert! Slightest hint of drowsiness, stop at nearby safe location and take a break.
2. Try to anticipate things. Especially on blind spots. I know there are lots of places where you cannot anticipate what can possible happen next, in that case, I just come down to controllable speed (it can even be as low as 20 kmph).
3. Honk / flash lights on blind spots (especially ghat section). However I have seen people does not respond back to horn. That some times can get scary.
At times, I love driving ghats at night, you will know if someone is coming at blind stop and control your speed. Flip side, you will have to deal with high-beam.

Few more such things..

Not sure if you have come across this article, this should give you fair idea on how be prepared and handle things.
ARTICLE: Safe Driving on Indian Highways & Ghats

Originally Posted by pratyush6

I have not had a lot of road trips (as a driver). The ones I have undertaken, I typically assess the road conditions and then decide what is safe. My safe number typically hovers around the 80 kmph mark. Though I wonder is that number safe for a Figo (with Airbags, ABS, Seatbelts)?

Cannot really comment on number part.
As you know, assess your speed, know your vehicle, be alert, dont drive when you are tired and take call depending on situation (I am not talking of phone call )

[evilshantanu]

Originally Posted by DrvSafe

This accident happened in Tirur, kerala 3 weeks back. XUV driver was not able to spot a sharp curve and hit the truck side at around 11.30 pm. XUV driver was injured critically and one passenger died (got this news from locals).

This is what happens when the SUV owner mistakes it for a Sedan and drives it at high speeds.
They dont realize the fact that since its a big vehicle, their Centre of Gravity (CG) is also high, making them highly unstable

The highways are filled with such idiots, everyday I see Fortuners and XUV likes being driven at 130+ km/hr