[Akash_1806]

Originally Posted by deetee

Bigger vehicle is naturally blamed in an accident. In this case also, most probably KSRTC driver will be decided the culprit even in court.

If this XYLO driver carries this much momentum into the curve , he could end up crashing into pedestrian or some other vehicle coming in opposite direction because of 'locked brakes' or 'understeer'. Will the major fault then lie with the pedestrian who crossed the road where he should n't have crossed? ability.

I would say that the possibility of a 2 tonne BOF SUV understeering before braking is quite low knowing that the TUV is a RWD vehicle. And as for locking brakes they can lock even at speeds around 50 kmph. If wheels can lock at 50-60 kmph in a vehicle like a Santro or Gypsy, it surely can in a vehicle this big. The TUV can be seeing braking as long as it appears in the frame, seeing the tire marks in the snapshots shared by other members.

Even if we consider that the vehicle was over speeding as you say, if the bus hadn't crossed the double yellow lines this accident wouldn't have occurred. But that is a scenario of what if, so it is safe to say the fault lies with the bus driver in this case.

And I say this not because there is a bias towards the bus drivers but there have been n number of incidents due to rash or negligent driving by the government bus drivers, be it from any state in the country. Also to mention that there is a video evidence in this case showing whose mistake it was, quite clearly.

[khanmaj]

I am failed to understand how come a state like Kerala with around 94 % of literacy rate can tolerate such reoccurring accidents caused by the reckless drivers of state run buses. People should ask questions and demand strict punishment for these morons. It reminds me the era of Bule line buses. Similar scene used to occur in Delhi almost everyday but thanks to Delhi gov and authorities they removed them from the road and made it little safer for the other road users.

Originally Posted by deetee

Judging by the length of the building and position of the cars parked next to it, XYLO covered a distance of approx 55-60m under 2 secs even after braking hard and skidding along.

Since you did such a microscopic level of analysis of this accident, I have one question, will you overtake the white car crossing into the opposite lane while approaching an intersection with curve the way this bus driver did?

[vegitakarthik]

Originally Posted by khanmaj

I am failed to understand how come a state like Kerala with around 94 % of literacy rate can tolerate such reoccurring accidents caused by the reckless drivers of state run buses.

Since you did such a microscopic level of analysis of this accident, I have one question, will you overtake the white car crossing into the opposite lane while approaching an intersection with curve the way this bus driver did?

Not just in Kerala. Try using Trichy-Pudukkottai NH336 Two lane highway. Without any passing lane and long S shaped curves, government buses literally bully private cars to stop while they overtake in your lane.
Coming to the accident, both parties are at fault here.
Xylo:
a) Above manageable speeds in a two lane road that too at a S curve.
Bus:
a) Instead of slowing down and spare 2-3 seconds for the white hatchback to take its turn, overtook at a blind curve that too at a much higher speed then the a 20 ton city bus can handle.
Illegal parking by those two cars.
So what can anyone do here? No point arguing about why our state transport bus drivers lack brain cells. At the end of the day, you are going up against 20 ton steel in your tiny 1-2 ton cars with your loved ones. Anticipate mistakes/predict possibilities/don't take any risk and reach home safe everyone.

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by khanmaj

.. failed to understand how come a state like Kerala with around 94 % of literacy rate can tolerate such reoccurring accidents caused by the reckless drivers of state run buses.

Well literacy in our country does not impart road safety /rules awareness and we are not conditioned/trained by our system to be aware of safe practices and road rules. Literate people can also be ignorant or just indifferent to rules.

Slowly but surely hope stringent driving tests become the norm to obtain and maintain a valid driving licence with a centralized system across the country.

Not just KSRTC, driving on roads in Kerala is relatively more aggressive with almost everyone eager to overtake one another.

[NB_4763]

Originally Posted by bejoy

That double yellow line is there for a reason. This puts the KSRTC driver solely responsible for the accident. This is an S curve, so both the approaching vehicles will have limited visibility. The mistake by the Xylo driver was the lack of defensive driving - not expecting the unexpected. As one can see the Xylo driver braked as soon as the vehicle is in frame and skids for a good distance.

Here is a higher resolution video.

https://Youtu.be/wEhQx1Vm7xs

All of this could have been avoided if the bus wouldn't have crossed the double solid line . But I am surprised at members saying that the Xylo was at fault too. You can clearly see that he slammed on the brakes and tried to turn but as his car did not have ABS he locked his brakes and hit the bus.

Could this have been avoided if he would have not slammed the brakes and maneuvered slowly - Maybe.

But at that moment this would have never crossed his mind. His first instinct was to slam on the brakes for which no one can blame him.

[TeddyBear]

Originally Posted by Turbohead

While I do agree that most Indian drivers have questionable/ terrible skills, blaming it all on the driver doesn't work anymore in the age of new age infrastructure.

Here are a few questions -
1) Wasn't the car overloaded? Were no concerns raised at the toll booth?
2) Were the tires in good shape?
3) Were the tires able to handle the additional load of 5 passengers?
4) Did the driver fall asleep?
5) How was the car driven?
6) Did a team of experts analyse the causes and submit a report for prevention of such accidents?

A point to note here is that the driver was belted and yet he died. Pretty sure passengers at the back weren't belted properly. Unless point 6 isn't done for fatal accidents, we will continue to have large amounts of casualties.

Why can't the Government / Road Transport Ministry & Insurance company insist and get all the new cars installed with both rear and front cameras, so the accidents can be analysed and punishment & Insurance claims can be settled based on that?

They can start with new vehicles, and existing public and Private Transport vehicles to start with.

[RavSam]

Originally Posted by NB_4763

Could this have been avoided if he would have not slammed the brakes and maneuvered slowly - Maybe.

But at that moment this would have never crossed his mind. His first instinct was to slam on the brakes for which no one can blame him.

Absolutely agree on that! One can only judge "after" something has happened.

The BUS is in the wrong. If every bus driver drives like that then defensive driving would be keeping the car at home.

Commenting that 'he could have avoided..' is like saying an X person could have avoided death by not doing Y thing, while you yourself would be doing the same thing and escaping death narrowly by luck and either thanking your stars or bragging about your false skills which helped you avoid your fate.

[saisree]

Originally Posted by khanmaj

I am failed to understand how come a state like Kerala with around 94 % of literacy rate can tolerate such reoccurring accidents caused by the reckless drivers of state run buses.

Caution BIG OT to this thread.

Being Literate has nothing to do with the manners. Road manners included. I see a minimum of 10 morons, who doesn't know how to drive in a parking driveway, how to park etc., in the Tech Park my office is located. The place is considered to have highly educated, skilled and highly civilized people.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by khanmaj

I am failed to understand how come a state like Kerala with around 94 % of literacy rate can tolerate such reoccurring accidents caused by the reckless drivers of state run buses.

Adding my bit.

Literacy: Measure of proficiency in language skills, science, math & social subjects.

Nowhere driving proficiency and pedestrian proficiency together called traffic sense or road sense is measured.

Since every citizen is a road user, it is high time traffic subject is taught in high school and educate all citizens on road sense, and traffic sense. As additional topics, they can cover defensive driving, mitigating road rage, and handling accident situations.

[nagr22]

Originally Posted by saisree

Caution BIG OT to this thread.

Being Literate has nothing to do with the manners. Road manners included.

I agree with this 100%. Literacy in Indian context just means a person knows to read and write. Even highly literate, high IQ folks with upper middle class income don't have an iota of common sense (forget road manners, simple common sense!!) when they sit behind a vehicle. See picture below:


There's a road in which a railway underpass is built such that at any point only one lane of vehicles can pass in each direction. But EVERYDAY you'll see thousands of motorists living in the posh apartments of this area drive such that they block both the lanes causing a grid lock which lasts for hours! You will hear them whining endlessly about lack of planning by BBMP, government and what not (all are valid reasons BTW) but till date I have never seen the crowd realizing their common sense and patiently following lane discipline. This phenomenon repeats itself like a template everyday in every railway crossing in our country! I am surprised our folks haven't figured it out yet!

In many other countries, I have seen even the less educated and less literate folks patiently waiting for their turns without causing artificial grid locks. Most people will wait at red signals and almost everyone obeys lane markings etc. But here we see even bhpians arguing that rules like lane discipline are not practical in India. So there is something fundamentally wrong with our population when it comes to having common sense on the road and I see no hope of fixing it.

[khanmaj]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Adding my bit.
Literacy: Measure of proficiency in language skills, science, math & social subjects.

Please read my comment again. It’s not in context of driving skills or road manners but knowing the right and the wrong for the general population which pretty much comes from education. KSRTC bus stories are making news very frequently for all wrong reasons and the very same general population looks indifferent. That’s why I mentioned literacy expecting them to know their rights better than rest of the country and question the authorities if something is wrong.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by khanmaj

Please read my comment again. It’s not in context of driving skills or road manners but knowing the right and the wrong for the general population which pretty much comes from education.

No, traffic sense is not taught in schools, It doesn't come with school education.

In the current Indian context, only if an individual is interested, then they acquire traffic sense by self-effort.

Eg: For instance, legal, medicine, finance are not taught to the general population in schools and hence the legal sense, medical sense, finance sense in the general population is limited. Only the folks who are interested will self-study and gain more knowledge and gain sense in these topics. Traffic sense is similar. But can be changed if traffic is added curriculum.

[khanmaj]

Originally Posted by msdivy

No, traffic sense is not taught in schools, It doesn't come with school education.

How traffic sense and road manners are related to People’s right to protest or question transport minister & authorities when such accidents happen? I am simply saying that being educated they should demand correct course of action from the related officers.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by khanmaj

How traffic sense and road manners are related to People’s right to protest or question transport minister & authorities when such accidents happen? I am simply saying that being educated they should demand correct course of action from the related officers.

Protests and questioning authority is outside the scope of traffic rules. It is the lack of traffic education and civic sense which leads people to block roads, protest, and cause inconvenience to fellow road users.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Don't know what was the rider thinking.

5 near misses = 1 accident!

His own rear views were serving each other

https://youtu.be/TxXNvtRORyg