[funkykar]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Horrific accident

Eight school children are killed in an accident near Kundapur in Karnataka.


Eight school children killed in bus-van collision in Karnataka's Kundapur

Overheard a conversation in the lift about this accident and I knew good chance it would be in here. So many packed into the OMNI was a disaster waiting to happen anyway. The OMNI is one of the most unsafe car and on top of it overloaded. Only the parents could question and choose not to send their kids under such means of transport. Until they are ferried in such overloaded OMNIs and Autorickshaws, many many such accidents are waiting to happen.

[centaur]

Originally Posted by Samba

Even i would have loved to teach him a hard lesson for his recklessness or rather a crime but i backed off. To be honest even i was being selfish to avoid the legal hassle's. If i put up a case i will have to run to the court for the case and get it settled. In that case i may have to hire a lawyer and had to interact with the police in regular basis to get it solved. I didn't want to take that hassle so i left it.

Now even if i get some compensation from them outside the court, why police didn't book him for drink and drive case that too with out a proper driving license is always a question that's left unanswered even to me!

Actually not necessarily you need to give an FIR and go ahead with the legal proceedings. IIRC the cops have a provision where they can book someone "against the state" or something. I am sorry, am not a lawyer and dont know the exact term but in simplistic terms, they can file a case against someone like this in interest of the society and also go ahead with the legal proceedings.

Given that the driver was drunk and also did not have a valid license is indeed alarming. Even shocking is the fact that the guy in the i10 was with his baby and I shudder to think what would have happened if the vehicle had directly hit them without you being in between. Your car actually in a way cushioned the impact for them

[chandrda]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Horrific accident

Eight school children are killed in an accident near Kundapur in Karnataka.

Started my day early morning with this terrible terrible news. I was shocked and speechless, I just cant think of the state of the Parents who lost their kids.

Brought back the memory from 1993 when my school van collided with an auto rickshaw being driven on the wrong side in a one way road. Resulted in death of 3 kids (age 4-5) and even after 23 years I am unable to get over the scene on that day. I just cant forget the wailing and screaming of the parents and their faces.

Why do these guys drive like this when kids are on board, why cant they just take care of the precious little one..

Regards

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Horrific accident

Eight school children are killed in an accident near Kundapur in Karnataka.

Horrific news to start the day. My heart goes out to the parents. Few things I am still unable to understand:
1) How did the parents permit their children to be driven like cattle to the school?
2) Why the did the school authorities not take any pro active action to ensure that this did not happen in the first place.
3) Why does the RTO/authorities allow the structurally unsafe car to be used as a school van.?

19 occupants in an Omni, what was the driver thinking when he loaded them all? There is no point now to play the blame game, the end result speaks for itself.

[Sathish uk]

Very sad that the little ones had to pay the ultimate price for no fault of their’ s. Something that even more sad is we(Indian, including Me) will not learn in spite of overwhelming events like this. I think first we have to take a stance and protest that we deserve a better life and better infrastructure from our government. Until we are sleeping no one is going to work for us, nor is the situation going to improve.

[TD_GHY]

Originally Posted by Sathish uk

I think first we have to take a stance and protest that we deserve a better life and better infrastructure from our government. .

Not everything has to be taken care by the Govt only. Parents have that responsibility to force the school authorities to provide multiple vehicles on that route and check on rash driving instead of blaming the Govt of lax implementation and flouting of rules and regulations. When one sees that their child is ferried in a van with 15 others (I'm still figuring out how they fit so many in that small van) they should raise that issue to the school authorities and subsequently the Govt authorities. And if they don't know how they go to school, then no use of blaming Govt for their ignorance.

[petrol_power]

Originally Posted by tharian

Saw this car carrier truck on ORR near Kalyan Nagar.

It has rammed into the flyover wall and the front axle was ripped off and it in turn ripped off the under carriage of the truck.
Surprisingly, the trailer was intact and upright.

Today another truck was being craned in the same spot, same direction. I guess again same situation, truck went to median. Sure that nobody was hurt. Is it a poorly designed flyover/underpass, which is much more design disaster than the rest of ORR? Couldn't click pics.

[samaspire]

Got these images yesterday but could not bring myself to post it here. Really horrible. Here's what I could gather from the local newspapers today. The Omni was turning right across the highway to enter the school road, which was less than .5 Km away. It was raining heavily and visibility was low. Speeding bus hit the passenger side.

The passengers in the Omni included the driver's wife (a teacher at the same school) and his 4 kids, 3 of whom died.

The bus driver and conductor have been booked under various sections, but I guess the bus driver may not be at fault here.

[mayankk]

The Omni.
These are the kind of cars our Mahindras and Marutis FIGHT to keep on the roads. Because the confirm to the "Law of the Land". And consecutive shameless governments let it be.
If one of these guys had an iota of an idea what it feels like to lose someone in a car accident, much less a child...........heck, I think they'd still keep doing the same.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Hurts me the most when innocent children who are yet to witness a lot in their lives end up losing their lives instead!

I can't imagine the state of the parents who would have never in their worst dreams expected such tragic news since they happily sent their wards in the School bus/Vans in the morning. Don't even want to imagine what the kids would have gone through when this accident happened, those little minds playing, thinking about their Day in school etc.

Not to blame either of the parties here without knowing what exactly happened but its a fact that School Buses in our Country have a very long way to go in terms of Safety of the children inside it.

Starts with the most basic which is Driver and the Driving. Sorry to say but as of today, it very hard to find a school bus that is not driven rashly, breaking all rules and putting so many lives at stake - You name a School in Bangalore and you will find most of their buses driven rashly with kids' heads literally shaking all around! Forget the fact that those kids inside a Maruti Omni are stacked like cattle and can't even move their Arms.

When we have the authorities come up with a rule that all School buses will need to have speed governors, you have the mafia strike against it. Now let us say that speed limit of 60 kmph is implemented across but the drivers will remain ruffians in their ways and that is exactly where even 60 Kmph can kill Kids inside.

Seat Belts for all the Kids, Kid Friendly Seats - Well, we have a long way there too.

Mate, let me share my experience. My first son too traveled in a private van to school as the school bus did not ply on the route where we lived. This is one of the primary factor as to why people choose private vans. I met the school principal and tried my level best to convince him regarding extending the bus route to the main road where we live and that there are other families too who live close by. I also said we are ready to pay more for the extra distance to be covered. He neither said yes or no.
That being the case, I had no other option but to send my son by private van to school. As usual the van (Omni) was loaded . I recall seeing close to 10 kids in the van along with their school and lunch bags. These private vans stop on the main road close to school and the kids are left to themselves to cross the road and go to school. Everyday was a nightmare for me as to how safely my son will cross the road.
With school bus this problem would not have been there as the buses enter the school premises and then the kids enter their respective classrooms.
Coming to the return trip. If the number of students were less (say 3 or 4) on the account of different school timings, the same driver would bring them (including my son) in his auto
The monthly fees I paid was for the van and not for the auto. My son complained to me about this. I spoke to the driver on numerous occasions as to why he is bringing the kids back in auto. He gave the reply "Sir, no. of kids are less and it is not economical for me to run the van. Dont worry Sir, i will drive safely and slowly"
I gave him the reply that I have paid fees for the van and not auto and that if he was so concerned about economy, he should have gone for a diesel vehicle. I also said coming by auto is not safe on the account of the vehicle stability. I told him that no matter how safe or slow he drives, if somebody rams into the vehicle from behind, it's all over for us.
But the driver was hell bent on coming by auto. Obviously I cannot fight with him for ever on this. My only option was to convince the principal of the school to extend the bus.
Fortunately lady luck smiled on me and other parents in that the principal gave way to his brother to take over the school. Now this person sensed the gravity of the situation. Today we have the school bus plying on the main road where I live.
I do agree that some of the school bus drivers are also rash but any day it is better to send your kids in the school bus rather than the private van.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by petrol_power

Today another truck was being craned in the same spot, same direction. I guess again same situation, truck went to median. Sure that nobody was hurt. Is it a poorly designed flyover/underpass, which is much more design disaster than the rest of ORR? Couldn't click pics.

Most probably.

There are many spots on the ORR which have badly designed curves or flyovers and culverts.

What I have noticed is most of these accidents happen during the dark or early morning hours which means the driver most probably would have been drowsy . Add to that the down gradient approaching this particular spot which will make the truck gain speed and then all of a sudden you see multiple lanes and the driver is confused which one to take and there are no reflectors or signboards either at that point which I noticed. End result is this.

[james]

Originally Posted by samaspire

The passengers in the Omni included the driver's wife (a teacher at the same school) and his 4 kids, 3 of whom died.

Slight correction- We have been given to understand that the Omni owner/driver had 2 kids and they both perished in this accident. His wife was killed in the 2010 plane crash in mlore.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by chandrda

Why do these guys drive like this when kids are on board, why cant they just take care of the precious little one..

Regards

Please see what I posted based on my experience. These private van drivers are running this show as business and not from humanitarian point of view. Their objective is to make as much money as possible. This is done by packing the van more than it's actual carrying capacity. For them 1 adult=2 kids. We, the parents , pay quite a high amount to these people. Also during the months of April and May we have to pay the fees even though schools are closed. According to them the amount paid during these 2 months is for maintenance. Do they really care about their vehicle.

[tanwaramit]

Wheelie on a road collide against other rider, not sure if both were part of the same group.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbnT5t2tppU

[binand]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

I had no other option but to send my son by private van to school. [...] Everyday was a nightmare for me as to how safely my son will cross the road.

And still you continued with the arrangement? Did you not consider moving to a school which had bus service to your home? I wouldn't send my kids to school in an Omni if they paid me. We (my wife and I) went and just parked ourselves at the school - 3 days in a row - until they agreed to extend the bus service from main road to our apartment complex which was 2 km away. I was clear that I'd consider withdrawing my children from the school if they didn't relent.

Here's a hard-hitting cartoon from a famous cartoonist on the topic:

https://twitter.com/satishacharya/st...05147325845504