[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Fortunately its just the same incident, this was discussed a few weeks ago on p1417.

Thanks. Another "senior moment" from me then. Sorry for piling in on the same accident twice.

The poor woman stopped at the security kiosk had every right not to expect being knocked down from behind, but comments about defensive driving are still true. A lesson from Thad's Mum here: When dealing with other others, always allow for the maximum amount of stupidity. I augmented that, by trying to allow for my own stupidity too: it can be far worse than that of others!

For drivers new and old, how many accidents are caused by a moment's inattention? When I look at that Nano incident, I don't think "stupid newbie." I think that could so easily be me. And I have been driving since before many of our members were born.

In fact, I am a stage of life where that becomes very pertinent: the attention and comprehension are not as good; the eyesight is not as sharp, the reaction times are slower. New bee or old bee, we must try to take our limitations into consideration. The only advantage for the old bee is that the new bee does not have the experience to have learnt their limitations. My wish for all: that we may learn them without hurting ourselves or others.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

For drivers new and old, how many accidents are caused by a moment's inattention? When I look at that Nano incident, I don't think "stupid newbie." I think that could so easily be me.

Quite true. Add to that the statistic that a majority of accidents happen near home/the destination. The driver of the Nano had mentally started transitioning out of a driving mentality and looking at other things beyond - her security pass, drinking water, etc. on the assumption that the journey was over and she was in a safe/controlled zone.

Come to think of it, there are times when on the highway I'm approaching the first toll gate, I realize I have to contort to take out my purse. I'm sure that at such a time, I'm definitely not best placed to take any evasive manoeuver (such as reacting to someone who decides the toll lane I'm approaching is his preferred one too).

And that ought to be a key takeaway - "constant vigilance" as Mad-Eye Moody would say

Re. the i20 + scooter accident: no worries, it was reposted again yesterday so its natural it would have reignited discussion.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by motorsan

The floor caving in due to tyre bust: Is it due to some design flaw in the TATA low floor buses or lack of proper maintenance ? I hope the authorities do a proper investigation about the matter.

These buses are not old; less than 2 years is my guess. You can see the polythene covers on some of the seats.

I think the pressure wave from the burst pushed the side wall outside. The Iron sheet side wall may not be screwed/riveted with enough force to resist a tyre burst.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

No doubt it is the fault of the Nano driver but the scooterist should not have stopped in the middle of the road as well. Why did she not pull over to the extreme side of the road AND keep an eye on what is coming from behind? Since people drive crazily, ...

Where is the extreme side of the road in this case? It's a place people are absolutely expected to slow down or even come to a stop. Give the two wheeler driver a break. She had no chance in front of that dumb Nano driver.

[honeybee]

It would be impossible to "see" the lady under the front wheels from a Nano. Though it has a short snout, the seating position does not give a view of the area right in front of the wheels. In fact sometimes I leave a larger than normal gap between my Nano and the vehicle in front to be able to see potholes better.

However in any car it is hard to miss an impact with another vehicle. I feel a shudder from the car even if a bike brushes with it. Knocking someone down and still driving on for a few feet not noticing? Just not done.

The Nano driver should have seen the bike ahead and stopped behind, till the bike moved away or out. The driver should have braked and stopped immediately upon impact with the scooter. This would have prevented further injury to the hapless rider. The speeds were extremely low and slamming the brakes would have halted the car in its tracks.

Two possibilities: the driver is a novice or switched from manual transmission to a Nano AMT.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by motorsan

The floor caving in due to tyre bust: Is it due to some design flaw in the TATA low floor buses or lack of proper maintenance ? I hope the authorities do a proper investigation about the matter.

Originally Posted by arjithin

These buses are not old; less than 2 years is my guess. You can see the polythene covers on some of the seats.

I think the pressure wave from the burst pushed the side wall outside. The Iron sheet side wall may not be screwed/riveted with enough force to resist a tyre burst.

The news mentions that the bus was plying between Chengannur and Sabarimala, so it's more likely to an Ashok Leyland 12M SLF, rather than a Tata Marcopolo. Either way, it could be a quality issue with the fixing and mounting of the particular panel, or, a more plausible reason, the tyre burst could've caused an extremely high force to be applied there, causing the panel to give way and cause injury.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Where is the extreme side of the road in this case? It's a place people are absolutely expected to slow down or even come to a stop. Give the two wheeler driver a break. She had no chance in front of that dumb Nano driver.

I started my post accepting the premise that it is the fault of the Nano driver. However, the sccoterist could have taken better precautions for her own safety as well. I watched the video again and the scooter had stopped almost in the middle of the road. If you look carefully, you will see that there is a white line on the side of the road and one guard is standing behind this line. That is where I would have pulled over as well. Then there was another guard standing next to the first one and he was blocking about 20% of the road. The lady pulled up her scooter further in to the road beyond this second guard and ended up blocking almost half the road. She could have also pulled up a few feet ahead (if allowed) where there is a gate and more space completely off the road. At the very least, she could have positioned herself beyond the guards so that the traffic coming from behind would first see the guards and slow down and go around them. This in no way absolves the responsibility of the car driver to be vigilant and stop when there is an obstruction but the way people drive in India, pedestrians and two wheeler drivers should avoid exposing themselves to situations where their safety depends on others.

[Satishtv]

Originally Posted by A350XWB

As much as bad design of roads, I would put equal blame on the drivers also. I drive out of Bangalore through Hosur-Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri-Salem-Dindigul and Mysore-Nanjangud-Gundlupet-Sulthan Bathery on a regular basis. Have seen lot of people speeding, when they see some good road surface. Many of them are first timers on these routes and don't know what lies ahead. Seen lots of panic braking, veering off the roads etc when they encounter the unexpected. Many people drive to holiday destinations as if the world is going to end. I would advice people to enjoy the drive as well and not only the destination.
I do the following when I drive on the highway.

1. If there is someone trying to raise your Adrenalin (honking, tailgating, trying to pull you into a road race etc), let him pass, smile to yourself and say that you are not a boy racer; I'm mature enough to ignore the taunt.
2. If you are driving on a highway which you have never traveled before, expect the unexpected and drive defensively. On Indian roads, you can expect anything from a blind curve to no road at all.
3. Look out for road signs. Many people don't do that and they are life savers. Many of the highways have good number of sign boards, warning you about the dangers ahead.
4. On long highway journeys, it's better to have a co-driver to keep vigil. Many a times, a second pair of eyes help to spot dangers which you might not see.
5. If you are feeling fatigued, stop immediately at a safe spot. You will be jeopardizing yours and others' life by continuing driving in a semi awake state.
6. And always be within your limits. I know it's subjective, but still.

I have a practice of using the Google maps even though I know the route. This benefits in the following ways -

1. An occasional glance tells me the way the road is ahead
2. Through a plug-in I can see the speed limit and actual speed and compare readily if my speed is in line with the limit (App - Velociraptor)
3. I can see if there is a congestion / town ahead (read areas) and reduce speed according.

Maybe people should do this to prevent such instances. But if you are racing on the road (like many do) then nothing will help!

[heavenlybull]

Regarding the Nano accident, as one poster has already mentioned, the reason the Nano driver didn't stop was because she was leisurely taking a sip of her drink and had zero attention on the road. The scooterist should have pulled more on the side of the road as its very narrow but apparently she wanted to ask the security guards something and stopped right beside him. Well...

[jpcoolguy]

The below accident involves the blood relations of one of my colleague. He was supposed to be part of the group, but an urgent work during the weekend has kept him busy in Chennai.

http://www.dtnext.in/News/City/2016/...oad-mishap.vpf

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/53707701.cms

Apparently, the driver dozed off on the steering wheel only to wake-up to see the bus hitting the tree at high speed. It seems the driver was already over-worked due to driving continuously the 3 previous nights.

3 dead, may their souls RIP and 11 more sustained severe injuries and almost everyone is in a state of shock, not speaking to anyone.

[balenoed_]

Could not find an English version of this report. Here is a regional version for those who can read-
http://www.mathrubhumi.com/thrissur/...news-1.1289974


pic courtesy-www.mathrubhumi.com

Being an ardent fan of this car, it is heart wrenching to see it in such a sad state.

Happened in Thrissur, Kerala. One killed and 4 others seriously injured. All of them in their early 20s. As per report, it happened at 1.30 am, when the car rammed into an electric transformer, and the transformer and the electric posts fell on to the car mangling it.

[RajaTaurus]

This freak accident happened near my home few months ago. Coming down a flyover the Vento hit the median at good speed head on, went for couple of spins, sacrificed both bumpers and turned turtle before coming to stop. The sole driver, under influence of alcohol, escaped in one piece with just one small cut on forehead.
The interiors were in tact, air bags duly deployed. For all the action, the right doors and rear windscreen are still in tact.
Talk about the build of VW.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by RajaTaurus

Coming down a flyover the Vento hit the median at good speed head on, went for couple of spins, sacrificed both bumpers and turned turtle before coming to stop. The interiors were in tact, air bags duly deployed.

Right rear tyre - running a space-saver spare, which is speed limited to 80 km/h. I'd be very surprised if that speed limit was being respected, and wouldn't be surprised if that was a contributory factor to the accident (apart from driver impairment).

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

I started my post accepting the premise that it is the fault of the Nano driver. However, the sccoterist could have taken better precautions for her own safety as well. I watched the video again and the scooter had stopped almost in the middle of the road.

it's at the entrance of the technopark here and everyone has to show their id cards for inspection. so it's a queue policy. one behind the other. accident should not have happened.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Right rear tyre - running a space-saver spare, which is speed limited to 80 km/h. I'd be very surprised if that speed limit was being respected, and wouldn't be surprised if that was a contributory factor to the accident (apart from driver impairment).

Could have been fixed after the crash to tow the car away.