[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

my wife and me almost got crushed by a BMTC bus on our way back from a breakfast ride last Sunday. quick evasive maneuver saved the day.

Mate. Thank God it was a narrow escape. I shall suggest you a piece of advice. Whenever you wish to overtake a bus (BMTC/private), first slow down and honk sufficiently thereby ensuring that nothing untoward is likely to happen.
Many a times there is a possibility of the bus driver not noticing the 2 wheeler through the RVM. I am not justifying the actions of the driver but at the same time as you are responsible for your/pillion rider's safety, follow these basic safety rules.
Cheers...

Originally Posted by VeluM

5. Poor parenting - This is going to cause a lot of debate, but parents are the primary cause of accidents. Most parents are road-illiterate themselves, and do little to educate their children. They personify all that is ill with drivers on our roads, and set the worst examples for their children to follow. I have seen in this day and age (in Bangalore no less) a father riding a bike helmetless, with a small (<2 year old) child sitting on the tank in front of him. This is not the 70s, with empty roads and limited exposure/knowledge. Not specifically driving, but I've seen a trend of parents walking on the road (not footpath) with their children walking beside them further on the road rather than between the parents and the footpath. This makes absolutely NO sense to me - such parents really need their brains examined.

As regards this point, I would like to highlight some of the blunders we as parents commit.

1. Speaking over the mobile while driving: Let me tell you I have been guilty on quite a few occasions. Yes sometimes while driving i get urgent call. That being the case I tend to switch on the speaker phone in case I am not able to immediately come to the road side. Some times I disconnect the call especially while driving on the highway, come to the road side and then call the person. I am in the process of improving myself on the former point.
2. Use of seat belts for both driver and co passenger: The moment i get into my car, the first thing I do is to wear seat belt. On the co passenger side, be it my wife or 8.5 yr old son, I keep telling them but the seriousness of the issue has not caught up with them. That being the case, I tend to restrict my speed to around 30-40 in the city limit.
3. Making kids sit on the lap of the driver while driving: I would call this a MORONIC ACT. I wonder how people are able to do so. I am strictly against this.
4. Using high beam in city limits: More than being educated, people lack common sense. In my car I have fitted 100/90 bulbs for better illumination. Never I have used high beam while driving in city. If i have to take a turn or overtake, accordingly I use the indicator/flasher.
5. Restrict speeds in city driving: I follow this point completely. The reason being the pathetic road condition in Bangalore as a result of which you never know where the next pothole is going to appear. That being the case I restrict my driving speed to around 30-40 so that neither some vehicle bangs into the rear of my car nor I ram into someone ahead of me.

Any more points, most welcome to be added.

[binand]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

1. That being the case I tend to switch on the speaker phone in case I am not able to immediately come to the road side.

In my car, my children are tasked to take calls coming for whoever is driving, explain to the caller that daddy or mummy cannot take calls, identify the caller and take a message if any. I have found that actively involving children in anything as opposed to just lecturing them helps a lot.

[FORTified]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

my wife and me almost got crushed by a BMTC bus on our way back from a breakfast ride last Sunday. quick evasive maneuver saved the day.

Oops..... That was scary indeed.

But, Please pay more attention next time. Did you notice that there is an end to the road divider ahead? It must be a junction.

Did you consider the possibility that somebody is coming from the left side of the road, trying to cross the road in front of the bus ?

Now, start counting your stars for how lucky you were to get away with that. IMHO, what you did is suicidal [or murderous, depending on the other party]

[LoneRidder]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

my wife and me almost got crushed by a BMTC bus on our way back from a breakfast ride last Sunday. quick evasive maneuver saved the day.

My friend, I guess you should have been more careful while overtaking the bus.

- you were approaching a junction (possibly a signal over the underpass)
- you are going through a narrow passage, between a bus and the wall
- and more importantly, you are trying to overtake a BMTC Bus

nevertheless, the BMTC driver is equally at fault for not using the indicator!!

[tharian]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

my wife and me almost got crushed by a BMTC bus on our way back from a breakfast ride last Sunday. quick evasive maneuver saved the day.

That was close , however these are usual happenings for a two wheeler with the only variable being how close the encounter was.

What I would suggest and what I practice in these scenarios is to turn on the headlamp, if it is already on, hit the bright switch and leave it on till the overtake is complete.
Most of these buses have big mirrors compared to the old soap box type and it is very hard to miss a bright light in the mirror even during the day.

Normally these guys acknowledge me and it is only the arrogant yellow boards and private cars that deliberately corner me.

Ride Safe.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

my wife and me almost got crushed by a BMTC bus on our way back from a breakfast ride last Sunday. quick evasive maneuver saved the day.

I've stopped counting these "minor" incidents - they've become all too common. The worst that has happened to me was when some protruding body panel ahead of the front wheel of a BMTC bus brushed the top portion of my car's left front fender - I'd already veered right, hence only the bus' paint got lodged - I was in the middle lane and the bus had stopped in the extreme left lane despite having a proper bus-bay. Fortunately, the right lane was empty else I would've ended up with an insurance claim.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

The BMTC bus driver now has every right to knock you down, bruise your car and continue going ahead without any botheration.

Oh, the BMTC will not entertain any demand for compensation nor accept responsibility for side-swipes - they're implicitly the other vehicle's fault. To claim compensation you must be either rear-ended or should've had a head-on, and you should have the muscles, money, and time to take the offending driver head-on.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Blame the narrowness due to the fisheye effect of the camera ... IronHawk would have done his homework of honking (& flashing) to grab the attention of the Bus driver

Adding my 2 bits: speeds appear higher than actuals on dash-cam videos.
We jump into conclusions and pass judgements at the blink of an eye and by merely glancing at pics or videos - we're all experts - what right do you (or H4WK or I) have to explain things? We even have the ability to assess the speed of a vehicle that had crashed, the amount of alcohol in the driver's blood, the air pressure on the tyres and what not - all from the pic of a crash

[raghuram.cg]

Originally Posted by LoneRidder

....nevertheless, the BMTC driver is equally at fault for not using the indicator!!

btw, from the video, this looks like the Prof CNR Rao underpass in front of IISc main gate. For the uninformed, most of the buses which are on the up ramp are bound to take a right U - turn towards Yeshwantpur. They have to be on the left most side of the road to take the right turn for that long chassis.

Please be careful and ride safe!

raghu

[n_naik]

Note from mod: Personal attacks not allowed. Please be civil in your interactions

[FORTified]

Originally Posted by raghuram.cg

btw, from the video, this looks like the Prof CNR Rao underpass in front of IISc main gate. For the uninformed, most of the buses which are on the up ramp are bound to take a right U - turn towards Yeshwantpur.

raghu

I also guessed this to be opposite to IISc entrance. If the bus is intending to take right U turn, our friend is really really lucky to be ahead of the spot by a fraction of a second.
Never expect the BMTC driver to switch on the blinker.
For all you know, it may not be working.
On the other hand, even if the blinker is ON, don't read too much into it. It must be a forgotten signal from previous turn.

Be safe than sorry and never overtake any vehicle near junctions, not to mention on narrow ramp-ups.

[Dieseldunk]

Originally Posted by kiku007

A quick search within T-BHP for Ford Fiesta gives the below,
=========
I'm kind of tired with this Maruti fans trying to cover for the brand saying all cars will end up like this so there's nothing wrong. It's time you understand that cars can have crumple zones; when the entire car is an crumple zone its something else.

Sorry to interupt and slightly OT now(mods kindly excuse)

Well ultimately there is no definite pointer on individual choices since every FMCG and auto manufacturer is spending huge sums to get an insight into the trend of the buyers(prospective and current) mind.

One thing is clear is that there is no such thing as a sturdy car or accident safe car for damages too. Princess Diana died in a car crash whilst travelling in a high end car which even Ford will try to compete remotely.

If you have seen people buying the same brand again it could be due to personal choice and not any scientific logic of rebuying or showing a reinforced belief in the brand itself per se.

Kindly note that whatever be a car crash test safety result it can never ever save the occupant in case of a collision with a tanker or a HTV.
Morever driver's alertness and anticipation should also be made to count.

Let us not generalize by stating maruti fans or ford fans since these kind of statements will definitely provoke a not so comfortable feeling in the forum members.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by kiku007

On what basis are cars weighing 800, 600 Kg are launched in India? A 2000 Kg obviously doesn't immediately qualify to be any safer. But I'd really like to understand how this weight reduction is achieved without compromising safety. Looking at the crushed Baleno, I'd place my bets on little thought has gone.

I suppose we all need a better understanding of what compromises safety and it is upto the future crash test agency in India to provide us with that information. The Baleno sold in the UK is relatively the same weight if not a pinch heavier as is the Swift sold in the UK as well. Yet both of them score top marks just as every other Suzuki product has in recent years. What exactly does Maruti do to offset brilliant Suzuki engineering taking 900 kilo cars that are much safer than old Fiestas and turning them into severely compromised vehicles here in India?

[Aniruddha_Ch]

Originally Posted by Dieseldunk

Sorry to interupt and slightly OT now(mods kindly excuse)

Well said Dieseldunk, exactly what I feel. As a driver or rider, just be sure that, we ourselves are alert and within limits on all occasions, no matter which car we are driving. For that matter, even there are few instances where in people have lost lives even in class leading European cars. Always belt up.

[landcruiser123]

IronH4WK,
I'll be surprised if you've not experienced this before.

This comes as no surprise. Even Wildebeest move in a more disciplined fashion.

Originally Posted by Dieseldunk

One thing is clear is that there is no such thing as a sturdy car or accident safe car for damages too. Princess Diana died in a car crash whilst travelling in a high end car

Princess Diana did not wear seatbelts.

If you have seen people buying the same brand again it could be due to personal choice and not any scientific logic of rebuying or showing a reinforced belief in the brand itself per se.

If somebody likes the cars produce by the brand, is happy with ASS and they've had a very good experience, why not buy car from the same brand?

This is the reason people will go back to the same brand.

If a person is a repeat customer at a certain brand, that's for a good reason.
It shows the faith he has in the brand.

Let us not generalize by stating maruti fans or ford fans since these kind of statements will definitely provoke a not so comfortable feeling in the forum members.

Some people like Maruti, some like Hyundai, some (like me) like Toyota. I couldn't care less. To each his own.

We shouldn't be talking Maruti vs Ford safety aspect as there's no evidence unless we have crash test ratings of the Indian cars.

[carrerastrax]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

my wife and me almost got crushed by a BMTC bus on our way back from a breakfast ride last Sunday. quick evasive maneuver saved the day.

Hi IronH4WK,
Good to know that you're safe and made it through. I have a different view of this video. It looks like the bus driver noticed you and tried to take the turn while keeping his bus on the roll and not coming to a full stop. His reasons could be that if he waited for you, there could would be 10 bikes queuing up for passing. Clearly, you can blame him for not following the rules.

But, while we are the rules, the road seems to be a single laned road and if the bikes also follow lanes, you are supposed to be behind him and not squeeze through. There may have been space on the right, but clearly at your own risk. Second point, one can see that the bus is navigating some craters on the left side of the road and one can anticipate that he's going to swing right.

The framework of our rules are not in sync with the framework of our lives. So the rules are strictly for an argument - in courts, with insurance surveyors etc; assuming we're alive.

To stay safe, we have to calculate and anticipate the wrongs of all drivers on the road and adjust ourselves and cars to use the limited road space.

I drive a car and if I drove based on the existing framework of rules, do you know how many bikes/bikers I can dispose each day on my way to work and back? It just doesn't work that way..! I have to anticipate that every bike is going to jump into my path, every taxi does Houdini acts on the road. Factoring in more journey time and reducing speed are the only two options we have.

You could've slowed down and lined up behind the bus, is my point, when it comes to your safety.

[Aakarsh]

Originally Posted by Aniruddha_Ch

Well said Dieseldunk, exactly what I feel. As a driver or rider, just be sure that, we ourselves are alert and within limits on all occasions, no matter which car we are driving. For that matter, even there are few instances where in people have lost lives even in class leading European cars. Always belt up.

You know what my father always tells me?
He always say that roads are the place where you need to be most disciplined and you should suppose everyone else on the road is dumb and you are the only intelligent person. Your safety is in your own hands. So drive with full alertness and be safe!