[fusionbang]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Talking of ill-fated KSRTC Buses, here is another one that just caught my eye while browsing news.

10 Killed is extremely shocking !!

It is really scary, I was literally in shock for sometime when I read about this in the newspaper, as I travelled to tirupati this saturday and that too in a KSRTC bus. I will never ever travel in a KSRTC again seeing this incident, my car will be the safest as per me.

Also I recollect that the KSRTC bus which I was travelling back to bangalore stopped right in front of a truck(just 2 m away) while overtaking a fully loaded truck going uphill as he could not complete the maneuver in time.

I do not understand why these drivers are so keen to overtake vehicles when they know they cannot complete the maneuver and they expect the truck drivers to slow down which is not at all possible with the load they carry on an uphill. Funny part is he started scolding the truck driver for not letting him go

[ramzsys]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

It is really scary, I was literally in shock for sometime when I read about this in the newspaper, as I travelled to tirupati this saturday and that too in a KSRTC bus.

Ditto for me too. I use the KSRTC Suvarna Sarige to go to Tirupati- mostly night trips and they take about 6 hours(or even less) to cover the trip.

The lack of reserve power to overtake in these AL/Tata engines results in such accidents; but then if you give them a Volvo then they become absolute morons on road.

Damned if you give a powerful engine, damned if you don't.

[fusionbang]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Ditto for me too. I use the KSRTC Suvarna Sarige to go to Tirupati- mostly night trips and they take about 6 hours(or even less) to cover the trip.

The lack of reserve power to overtake in these AL/Tata engines results in such accidents; but then if you give them a Volvo then they become absolute morons on road.

Damned if you give a powerful engine, damned if you don't.

You are right ramzsys, Volvo's are already morons in this stretch. I saw some volvo's cruising at more than 100kmph including KSRTC Airavat's. Last time when I came back I took a Volvo and trust me he literally took 4.5 hrs to reach Bangalore( Mysore Road Satellite bus station).

IMO day time travel in your own car is the best option to go to Tirupati.

[Arjun Reddy]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

You are right ramzsys, Volvo's are already morons in this stretch. I saw some volvo's cruising at more than 100kmph including KSRTC Airavat's. Last time when I came back I took a Volvo and trust me he literally took 4.5 hrs to reach Bangalore( Mysore Road Satellite bus station).



IMO day time travel in your own car is the best option to go to Tirupati.

+1 to travel in one'a own car. IMO safest. Apart from the buses we are blaming,I would also blame the road contractors that have been given the road widening job. I traveled from Bangalore to Tirupati a couple of weeks ago and noticed that this stretch of road was pretty dangerous. The diversions to enter the other side of the road are also not marked. If you are tailing someone you just follow him or if you are heading the pack you are actually guessing if you have to make the diversion. Guessing on the highway is not a good sign. Really appreciate the contractors like L&T on the Bangalore -Chennai road. There diversion markings were spot on and gave ample warning of a diversion. Atleast 2-3 boards before a diversion. RIP to those on the ill fated bus.


Sent from my iPhone using Team-BHP

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Talking of ill-fated KSRTC Buses, here is another one that just caught my eye .....
The right side of the bus is a total rip off.
...

On the contrary, there is hardly any damage to the right side cabin of the sand Tipper/Dump Truck that is seen toppled.

Seems like the the right side of the Bus missed the Truck cabin and brushed against the extremely rigid metal box carrying the sand.
The rigid box combined with the mass/momentum of the heavy sand load has ripped apart the bus.

Tipper Trucks are built very rigid by design and are known to inflict heavy damage on anything colliding with it.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

It is really scary, I was literally in shock for sometime when I read about this in the newspaper, as I travelled to tirupati this saturday and that too in a KSRTC bus. I will never ever travel in a KSRTC again seeing this incident, my car will be the safest as per me.

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Ditto for me too. I use the KSRTC Suvarna Sarige to go to Tirupati- mostly night trips and they take about 6 hours(or even less) to cover the trip.

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

....Apart from the buses we are blaming,I would also blame the road contractors that have been given the road widening job. I traveled from Bangalore to Tirupati a couple of weeks ago and noticed that this stretch of road was pretty dangerous. The diversions to enter the other side of the road are also not marked. If you are tailing someone you just follow him or if you are heading the pack you are actually guessing if you have to make the diversion. Guessing on the highway is not a good sign. Really appreciate the contractors like L&T on the Bangalore -Chennai road. There diversion markings were spot on and gave ample warning of a diversion. Atleast 2-3 boards before a diversion. RIP to those on the ill fated bus.

Well, some relief for the bus driver, although he is no more.
The bus was at a a normal pace, and not speeding or rashly driven. It was the sand truck which was driven rashly and rammed the poor bus.
Good to see the Govt officials being taken to task. The Road Widening Contractors should also be taken to task.

Some more information emerging as survivors speak.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/42090675.cms

As the road was being asphalted, traffic was allowed on only one lane of the road. A speeding sand-laden truck hit the bus, crushing it till the emergency exit on the right side. The impact of the collision was such that the right side of the bus was completely clobbered. Passengers seated on this side bore the brunt of the collision.
.
.
Gopalappa, a farmer from Keelasahalli near Anekal, who sustained head injures, told TOI the bus was moving at normal pace but was hit by the speeding truck.
.
.
FOUR OFFICIALS SUSPENDED
Kolar deputy commissioner DK Ravi has placed under suspension four officials, including Mulbagal circle inspector Krishnappa, Nangali PSI Amareesha Gowda and two revenue Inspectors Aswath and Krishnappa, for failing to control illegal sand transportation. IG (Central Range) Hussain told TOI that police officers should have shown rmaturity and taken steps to install indicators on the road being widened.

[n_naik]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Attachment 1284993

Attachment 1284994

A commonly debated subject among the KSRTC bus fans in social network sites is how the build quality of KSRTC buses has got degraded over the years. In the quest of making the buses more and more fuel efficient, KSRTC has over the years replaced most of the metal portions of a bus with glasses. This results in compromising the structural rigidity of the bus and the in the event of an accident, the bus gets reduced into a heap of scrap metal within seconds.
The lorry which hit this bus seems to be having almost no damage while the bus seems to be completely unrecognizable.

Regarding the build quality, see this pic of a KSRTC bus which hit a road side tree at normal speeds in 2011.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by n_naik

A commonly debated subject among the KSRTC bus fans in social network sites is how the build quality of KSRTC buses has got degraded over the years. In the quest of making the buses more and more fuel efficient, KSRTC has over the years replaced most of the metal portions of a bus with glasses.

If you compare the body of the earlier KSRTC buses and the present ones, i feel the major difference lies in the front portion. The current buses have a big front windshield akin to cars while in the earlier buses, there were 2 windshields in the front separated by metal.
Also i guess the sheet thickness used to make the body could be different as this plays a major role in deciding the overall vehicle weight.

Old KSRTC bus





New KSRTC bus

[tharian]

I'm not surprised at the damage on the bus. Yes, it looks like the KSRTC body builders are lightning the body quite a bit by the looks of it.
More than that, I feel the damage is this bad because of the load on the tipper.

I have seen these trucks on the highway. The load of sand they carry on a double axle dumper is unbelievable. It is way over their axle load limit. These guys increase the height of the tipper deck and the height is much more than the cabin.
Add all this and the speed they gain on a highway is quite high and the momentum they carry is equal to a rail loco.

[n_naik]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

If you compare the body of the earlier KSRTC buses and the present ones, i feel the major difference lies in the front portion. The current buses have a big front windshield akin to cars while in the earlier buses, there were 2 windshields in the front separated by metal.
Also i guess the sheet thickness used to make the body could be different as this plays a major role in deciding the overall vehicle weight.

New KSRTC bus

Attachment 1285279

Buddy, the third pic was taken by me in Bangalore Majestic bus stand in Mid 2012. (I do have a picassa album of buses).

It is not only the front windshield which has chanegd, even the passenger windows have undergone a major change ( metallic portions have given way to swanky glasses). In the event of an accident, the window glasses vanish in a second and directly expose the passengers to the oncoming vehicle which was not the case with earlier models. And in the front, the metallic portion around the grille has been replaced with fibre. All in all, the buses have become lighter and more unsafe for the passengers.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

If you compare the body of the earlier KSRTC buses and the present ones, i feel the major difference lies in the front portion.

Also look at the passenger window line and how low it is in the new buses compared to the old ones. That old bus looks so tight with its small glass areas and well supported structure. I just love those old Govt. buses. There used to be a standard pattern in the body design.

I wonder whether any regulations are in place for safety standards in buses. I hope the Govt. steps in a lays down some strict norms for these coach builders.

Bus travel is becoming more and more risky. Just recently I almost collided head on with a KSRTC bus coming in the wrong direction on NH4. Not only was he coming on the wrong side of the road, he was also happily chatting with someone on the phone. All this to avoid going back about 100 metres and taking a U turn at the break in the median. So this is a daily affair for this guy as its his standard 'route' . Imagine risking the lives of hundreds of people travelling in his bus and others on the road everyday, just to avoid turning that steering wheel a few more times to make that U turn.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by tharian

I'm not surprised at the damage on the bus. Yes, it looks like the KSRTC body builders are lightning the body quite a bit by the looks of it.
More than that, I feel the damage is this bad because of the load on the tipper.

I have seen these trucks on the highway. The load of sand they carry on a double axle dumper is unbelievable. It is way over their axle load limit. These guys increase the height of the tipper deck and the height is much more than the cabin.
Add all this and the speed they gain on a highway is quite high and the momentum they carry is equal to a rail loco.

I agree. I get damn scared when i come near these monsters on highways especially when i am riding my bike. I try to keep as far distance as possible from them !

[pushpender_s]

Got this link of a SUV struggling in flood water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...qc&app=desktop

Couldn't identify the vehicle though.

Don't know whom to appreciate more, vehicle or the driver.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by pushpender_s

Got this link of a SUV struggling in flood water.

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?featur...qc&app=desktop

Couldn't identify the vehicle though.

Don't know whom to appreciate more, vehicle or the driver.

This isnt india, and that is not a Bolero(mentioned as Bolora in youtube vid ).

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by pushpender_s

Got this link of a SUV struggling in flood water.

....
Couldn't identify the vehicle though.

Don't know whom to appreciate more, vehicle or the driver.

Both!
The vehicle is supposedly a Bolero, and the driver needs to be congratulated for not losing his nerve!