[mahesh_sn]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

That looks like a swift Dzire/ Ciaz.

It did look like a VW as mentioned in the news report. It could be an Ameo but it's not clear.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Why seat belt rule is not enforced for bus and lorry drivers, I cannot understand!!

I hope innocent pedestrians were not injured by the driverless bus.

Agree wholeheartedly on the seat belt part. No other injuries were reported apart from the two drivers involved.

What's frustrating to see was bus and autorikshaws jumping the signal carelessly. The Wagonr driver waiting patiently besides the bus would be thinking, "Am I an idiot here to wait for the green signal?"

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by sudev

All five survived with minor injuries. God works in his own mysterious ways.

I think this is because it was probably a relatively low speed impact.

Though of course it was the momentum of a huge lorry that did that crushing damage.

[lawdgawd]

Originally Posted by aroonanand

1. Drivers from Kerala are used to ripping on 2 lane highways but not used to driving on the 4-6 lane expressways. So lack of familiarity on these roads with an intent to experiment with speeds on these roads is one factor.

Have to agree. Note the number of accidents vehicles from TN, KA and AP get into, during the Sabarimalai season in Kerala. They can't handle the 2-lane, winding roads often. The same way, drivers from Kerala are not familiar with checking both mirrors, maintaining lane discipline etc on 6-lane highways.

Then there is the point that sometimes, when an accident happen, a large number of people gather and some of them are thieves and local thugs who think its perfectly fine to steal stuff from the vehicle or the victims' bodies. This is known to happen across India (Anecdotal evidence).

[hemanth.anand]

While on my way to work yesterday morning, saw this accident on the NICE road in Bangalore just before Purava Highlands apartments after Kanakapura road junction.







An Ashok leyland minitruck and a big RCI logistics Container truck carrying Maruti Suzuki cars were involved in this accident. Although "sleeping-trucks" are common in this road, two trucks together is not so common.
Looking at the vehicles, It was clear that the Large truck hit the small truck from behind, lost control and went and hit the rocky walls on the side. the impact has pushed the small truck also to the side. The large truck driver may have not spotted the smaller truck(most probably stationary on the left most lane)
The passenger cabin of the truck was completely mangled. I just hoped the driver and any other passengers are safe.

[TorqueyTechie]

Today morning on my way to office saw a BMTC bus which had climbed a divider near the siddapura - lakkasandra signal. There were passengers in the bus and it was not looking like a brake failure.He coolly asks the conductor to get down and check when he is reversing the bus. He proceeds to scold the vehicles standing behind the bus for obstructing him! I could not take a pic as by that time the signal had turned green.

[darklord]

http://www.mathrubhumi.com/kasaragod...gode-1.1977843

Ford Ecosport accident near Kasaragod. Apparently, airbags deployed and all four passengers including a woman and a kid walked away with minor injuries.

Of note is that the car was caught on speed cameras 25 times, per the report.

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by darklord

Ford Ecosport ... airbags deployed and all four passengers including a woman and a kid walked away with minor injuries.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Though of course it was the momentum of a huge lorry that did that crushing damage.

Both the above cases indicate that the passenger cell has been designed well by Ford to resist intrusions into the cabin and thereby minimizing injuries to the occupants.
Resisting the crushing forces and maintaining that that survivable space in the passenger cell is absolutely critical.

[adrian]

@Sharc_biker
Nice driving, great reflexes and lots of luck

I felt the biker in white shirt was trying to stall the over take of the other. He had lots of space on his left, but deliberately held his course. We see a lot of identical behavior in roads now a days.

[pixantz]

Originally Posted by esoticoreventon

Yes the airbags were deployed, but do airbags guarantee that one will walk out of a crash alive and unhurt? So many factors decide what happens to the passengers in the event of a crash. Were they belted? What was the speed of the vehicle? It helps to exercise maximum caution on the roads, but sadly no one seems to bother! But yes, I do have my suspicion on the relative safety of the new Baleno.

Agree. I too feel the Baleno engineers have not taken the safety aspect
seriously even remotely. If I'm not mistaken it's about 850 kg. Now unless you're using carbon fiber(which of course is not possible in the price), it's not very serious structural rigidity you're looking at. Skimp Skimp Skimp. Or maybe it's the "kitna deti Hai" style of doing things?

I've not seen or heard of the car holding up acceptably in any mishap regardless of tiny one or serious. That should be a pointer for safety conscious buyers.

Originally Posted by arjithin

This was shared in FAcebook by a friend.

Good to know the passengers all got out in good shape. Lucky people.

Just wondering what the outcome would have been if fate would have swapped the car from being an Aspire to a Baleno. Just saying. Going by records it would have been even more ghastly. Thank God it wasn't so.

Not wanting to be, though I may sound to be bashing the Baleno, but that car is appearing to be a very doubtful character in safety related instances, if I may put it lightly. And no, I'm not talking about the body panels and the way the "thud" sound comes from the door. Those are irrelevant, if you ask me.

[prithm]

Originally Posted by sharc_biker

The importance of strapping the helmet is visible in the picture as the helmet is flung into the air on impact thus rendering it useless.
Attachment 1642068

In addition to it, a good quality (make) is also equally important.

I bore witness to a motorcycle accident where the rider hit the head bang on the road and the skull ruptured with similarity of how coconut ruptures when we fling it on hard surface. The similarity was just unmistakable.

Sorry to say this so graphically, but people should know.

[thedragonreborn]

Originally Posted by Shanksta

Looks like a case of target fixation, he seems to have froze seeing the Innova and hits rear brakes and skids straight into the Innova.

I hope the cabbie was not harassed for no fault of his.

Not necessarily target fixation. If you look closely, he went into the Innova straight without controlling his turn. Very few people ride bikes with the ability to counter-steer. This turns out to be a critical flaw for most people with zippy bikes, when the natural centrifugal force for turns pushes them towards the outer edge of road, without them being able to control the turn.

This video is fairly similar. And scary:

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

This is one of the best explanations I have come across:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1FQOLkcS3E

Most Indians learn to ride on a friend's/cousin's/neighbour's bike, with all the instruction limited to using the clutch/throttle combine. Counter-steering is un-necessary and fancy mumbo-jumbo for most. Like strapping on your helmet.

Cheers!

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by thedragonreborn

Most Indians learn to ride on a friend's/cousin's/neighbour's bike, with all the instruction limited to using the clutch/throttle combine. Counter-steering is un-necessary and fancy mumbo-jumbo for most. Like strapping on your helmet.

I feel like it is just a lack of passion and respect for machines. A sort of inflated ego that most Indian's try to maintain prevents them from ever learning such stuff.

I learnt how to counter-steer within the first week of learning how to ride a motorcycle and the only instructions given to me by my friend right before getting on the bike for the first time were "okay macha, that's the front brake, don't grab it too tight its got a disc, that's the rear brake, that's the clutch and those are the gears, one down, rest up right now you are in neutral between 1 and 2, now go" ofcourse I stalled the first time, but after that I started getting the hang of things on my own, like how much better using the front brake is unless I've got less traction or I'm already in a curve, I began to naturally feel the need to counter-steer once I was above parking lot speeds, began rev-matching before having seen any youtube videos because it simply felt right.

You will observe this behavior amongst many people. For them driving/riding fast is merely a question of having large gonads no sensitivity or skill required. One of my close friends got his car down to Bangalore recently and started showing me how he too can drive fast and it was absolutely scary. I had to sit him down, give him a lecture and teach him a whole bunch of stuff. I made it explicitly clear that he can only become adept at driving at high speeds if he masters the car at low speeds first. Told him to observe on-off throttle transitions in every gear, engine braking, clutch biting point, steering sensitivity at various speeds, weight shift in relation to various inputs etc. when I showed him that I could drive his car at the same speed yet have it feeling a lot more stable and well within its limits, he realized what I meant when I said that he shouldn't just treat everything like an on off switch or engage/disengage button in a video game.

It is just that lack of sensitivity and respect for the machine and the feats it is allowing you to pull off.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by thedragonreborn

Most Indians learn to ride on a friend's/cousin's/neighbour's bike, with all the instruction limited to using the clutch/throttle combine. Counter-steering is un-necessary and fancy mumbo-jumbo for most. Like strapping on your helmet.

Cheers!

Countersteering is real and when riding fast it is the quickest method to steer. Those not used to conscious countersteering should practise it, direction changes can be quick.

[vjjustin]

Originally Posted by binand

He is accusing the denizens of villages all the way from Erode to Tirunelveli of staging accidents of Keralite pilgrims, with not an iota of proof to offer.

He is not, pls read the article again. He mentions the facts and says there is reason to doubt if all these so called accidents are indeed 'accidents'. He clearly states the facts in support of his doubts but doesn't mention anywhere that foulplay is evident in all these cases. If anyone wants to content the facts (thiruttu villages is a known fact, the lack of clarity on the other vehicles involved in the accidents, stolen money/gold/artifacts is widely reported, the abnormally large number of accidents/deaths) please feel free to present here.

Originally Posted by IndieGooner

Read a bit and dismissed as some reporter letting his/her imagination wild. ..

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

That article is foolish.
==========
Good roads + high speeds + fatigue = not at all a good combination.

Originally Posted by aroonanand

Lastly, Fatigue, as someone pointed out, as it does take a few hours to get into TN from Kerala and after encountering narrow roads for a bulk of the distance, one does get motivated to use a heavy right foot to reach the destination fast and then you end up in a bad situation

Far more number of malayalees travel in the Kerala - coimbatore/Bangalore/Chennai route. Do we have any statistics to prove the reported numbers are not abnormal? From what I have seen in news (this is very subjective), far more number of accidents reported in the above route than in bangalore/chennai route. Both routes are 6 lane and straight roads and driving conditions (length/time of travel, tiredeness of driver etc.) are similar. Why don't we see that many accidents? Again do we have any statistics available anywhere?

Originally Posted by aroonanand

1. Drivers from Kerala are used to ripping on 2 lane highways but not used to driving on the 4-6 lane expressways.
2. commercial vehicles, usually private mini buses or TTs, and none on T-BHP needs to be educated on the driving patterns of these morons on yellow boards.

These are again very subjective and generalised opinions (even more than the article itself). I would even say those are contradictory; commercial vehicle drivers probably have more experience in highways.

Someone mentioned about the sabarimala vehicles. Sabarimala see may be 100 or 1000 times more vehicles than what wee see in the Velankanni route. I don't see a comparative increase in number of accidents/deaths reported. If you ask me, those who are used to driving in highways/plains will have hard time adjusting to the windy/hilly roads of kerala than the other way and can cause accidents. I personally have experienced numerous ridiculous driving from out of state cars in sabarimala route.

Another whatsapp message circulated refers to another report that even had quotes from tamilnadu policemen stating this is true (I haven't read that report). Again no one is saying all these accidents are with malicious intentions but many incidents were reported in Kerala where old people or those who stay alone were targeted and even killed in attempted robbery. Not everyone has (or coming from) the same moral/ethical background; better be careful than sorry.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by thedragonreborn

Not necessarily target fixation. If you look closely, he went into the Innova straight without controlling his turn. Very few people ride bikes with the ability to counter-steer. This turns out to be a critical flaw for most people with zippy bikes, when the natural centrifugal force for turns pushes them towards the outer edge of road, without them being able to control the turn.

I have never driven a motorbike. I'm not even stable on a pedal cycle! I have no idea about counterstearing. At first, I found the idea unintuitive to the point of seeming irrational!

Then I paid attention to the explanation. Fascinating. And then I begin to wonder how anyone can drive a bike without knowing and practising this. From the comments, I suppose that most people do.

IshaanIan, Your story of your trip to Bangalore makes me wonder if I should ask you for some lessons!