[Bhargav7]

Originally Posted by asmr

This happens a LOT in Chennai and especially on that specific road. The turning vehicles even keep inching forward, blocking a full lane until flowing traffic is made to stop for them.

As much as this sounds dangerous, this is common in all cities in India. And quite often, it is unavoidable with how our roads are designed.

For me to drive to my daughter's school, there is a four-road junction where I need to take a right turn. There is no traffic signal here and hence people do not slow down - in fact, the drivers generally increase their speed so that they can cross before any vehicle is allowed to go towards the right side lane. So what do I do? I move inch by inch blocking half the lane at which time, people will do horrific lane changes at high speeds so that they can save that 5 seconds of their precious time and pass before I can complete the turn. And by the time I could complete a very simple right turn in a not such a busy junction, I would have successfully blocked traffic on both sides of the road. I do this twice a day and every time I hope that a cab driver is ahead of me to give a 'tow'.

Is this a bad road design - probably. But we could do our part by driving sanely, slowing down at medians, respecting other road users, and allowing them to pass. Just like this instance where the kid should have driven sanely at road legal speeds thereby saving himself and the pillion.

[ImranHyd]

Originally Posted by Bhargav7

Is this a bad road design - probably. But we could do our part by driving sanely, slowing down at medians, respecting other road users, and allowing them to pass. Just like this instance where the kid should have driven sanely at road legal speeds thereby saving himself and the pillion.

The U-turns are mostly same throughout the country. What you say is the 'ideal' scenario. Unfortunately, when you start giving respect to other road users, they will start taking advantage of you. Classic case is stopping at a red light while you have to take left. If you are the first, you will obviously stop at the right most track. But then next person will stop on your left, the next to the further left and the next left will come in front of you. When the signal changes to green, you will be left waiting when everyone on your left just cut out to the right lane. This happens at almost every signal in Hyderabad where you have to take a right or U-turn.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by Arwin07

https://Youtube.com/watch?v=1fcU1Y68vlA

A 19 year old rider and his 17 year old pillion died in an accident in Chennai when they were riding at 114kmph in city roads.

Wow, I wondered why they had 3 police vehicles spaced out in this stretch this morning.

This is a road I take in my commute and even in the busiest time of the day, this road is mostly clear of traffic because most of the traffic takes right in a junction just before where the video begins.

Incidentally, I was in my scooter just this morning when a Dzire taxi cut me off and another car in this exact median opening. The car driver even let out a frustrated long honk. We were doing sane speeds (~50kmph) and could come to a halt. Quite a normal occurence too.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Another dangerous driving video, similar to the one presented above for the motorcycles at 114 km/hr.

https://youtu.be/JxYY6T6oATk

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by Arwin07

https://Youtube.com/watch?v=1fcU1Y68vlA

A 19 year old rider and his 17 year old pillion died in an accident in Chennai when they were riding at 114kmph in city roads. They skid and fell when a load auto took a U-turn in front of them. The load auto driver was arrested. The 19 year old deceased didn't have a driving license.

Two young lives lost because of their recklessness. RIP.

That's a fatal speed for intra city riding. It's India and one doesn't know when some moron/s will cross the road or else some animal too could loiter and come in the way. Here some vehicle comes in the way.

Wonder how many thousands of lives have been lost due to such misjudgment and recklessness.

[asmr]

Originally Posted by Bhargav7

As much as this sounds dangerous... a 'tow'.

I agree that is frustrating when drivers actually speed up or do maniacal lane changes to just cross a busy, uncontrolled intersection.

In principle, the traffic that is driving straight has right of way and turning vehicles can execute their turn only if the oncoming traffic is well ahead of the intersection. The problem on Indian roads - we need new principles given the traffic volume!

The worse thing is that even with signals, many don't obey it. I myself have posted two such clips (watch at 2:37)

here

and another 24 second clip.

here

Both instances are "almost" accidents that would have been bad!

Of course, rules are not followed in most places in India, for lack of awareness, seriousness as well as sheer egoistic stupidity. Moreover, many of the gaps in medians are not marked or even planned. Several gaps are actually ones created by public by removing the barriers, because they wanted to avoid driving half a km more to make a proper U turn.

We can all do our part, by respecting right of way & rules, but bulk of the driver don't even know what that is. My father used to say that it is enough if only we followed road rules, everyone driving along side and opposite to us also have to follow those for smooth driving experience. And our governments, with their infinite inertia and apathy, will get to fixing this all up in a few years at least, I hope.

Unfortunately, the phenomenon we are discussing exists not only in places without signals but even in major junctions with signals, where those who are waiting to turn keep inching on, blocking a lane so that they can be the first to zoom as soon as they see the light turn orange for the moving traffic. The chaos that ensues would be funny, if it was not as dangerous.

Originally Posted by ImranHyd

Classic case is stopping at a red light while you have to take left. If you are the first... to take a right or U-turn.

Stopping at a red light while you had to turn right, you meant I guess. Rule of Indian roads is "Thou shall leave half a lane empty to your right when waiting at a turn signal" to allow autos and 2 wheelers making even an illegal U turn to do so. I have lost count on the number of times I have been yelled, honked, cursed at, all because I was just waiting for my signal in my lane properly.

[gharika]

In recent years you would have seen two new reasons for incidents, vloggers/content creators focusing more on recording rather than driving/riding or driving extreme. In both cases, the commute is not for the purpose of commute and in trying to go one up, they cross the limits.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by asmr

... Stopping at a red light while you had to turn right, you meant I guess. Rule of Indian roads is "Thou shall leave half a lane empty to your right when waiting at a turn signal" to allow autos and 2 wheelers making even an illegal U turn to do so. I have lost count on the number of times I have been yelled, honked, cursed at, all because I was just waiting for my signal in my lane properly.

I don't and won't! I do not want them squeezing past me and then getting in my way. Mind you, thinking about it, the ones that come from left and cut across are worse.

[epiccross]

Originally Posted by Bhargav7

[..]- in fact, the drivers generally increase their speed so that they can cross before any vehicle is allowed to go towards the right side lane. So what do I do? I move inch by inch blocking half the lane at which time, people will do horrific lane changes at high speeds so that they can save that 5 seconds of their precious time and pass before I can complete the turn. And by the time I could complete a very simple right turn in a not such a busy junction, I would have successfully blocked traffic on both sides of the road. I do this twice a day and every time I hope that a cab driver is ahead of me to give a 'tow'.

This. I'm a relatively new driver and I try to practice defensive driving as much as possible. In the tier 3 town I live in, the city roads are relatively small with moderate to heavy traffic. Nobody lets you take a turn, bikers overtake you from the left, people keep on passing left, right and center, and everyone honks at you because you're waiting up for the traffic to ease to take the U turn. The only way is to slowly, inch by inch, block traffic when you see some vehicles come at relatively sane speeds and are somewhat behind. Even then they'll try to go around you. Drives me insane, makes me wonder what on earth is to be done to take a safe U turn.

[shauryadabas]

Saw this on Instagram:
A Kodiaq got into flames after ramming into an unmarked divider and an electric pole in Mumbai!

[old_cayuse]

There is no effort by the authorities in the country to stop the indiscriminate and unnecessary loss of a large number of lives caused by the total lack of enforcement of laws on road usage! The vast majority of drivers and riders of four and two-wheelers have no education plus proper training in the rules/laws of the road. Until the standards for licensing drivers and riders are set high and a heavy price for violations of the rules of the road there's going to be no let up in the tragically high loss of lives and limbs. This apathy and lackadaisical attitude of the authorities allow even unlicensed users of vehicles onto the roads to cause injury and death not only to themselves but to other innocents. In my opinion I get the feeling that the value of a human lif is very low in our country.

[boohooper]

Originally Posted by AttyBhai

Patience - Patience Patience...

The reason most accidents happen - a complete lack of patience. The blokes who met Mother Earth in this video are the typical young and reckless lot - who have no formal training, no knowledge of road rules, no driving license.

You can even hear the guard shout...

I was just lucky!

https://Youtu.be/KscpRWdzYss

That was a blind corner cause by that Excavator. If those boys had seen your car they would have slowed down for sure. Those bunch of guards should have been near that Machine directing traffic. With that abrupt 'ROKO' the hapless fella hit the brakes, front wheel locked, skidded left and from then on it was..... all fall down. The rider should have anticipated. Bottom line: the fault was not just the bikers, but every one else's who were there.

[jkrishnakj]

If there is one thread that I would never went to see my car pictures, it’s this one.

On the 28th of November, a lovely evening time at Bangalore shook my wife and I out from a gentle drive back home.

Very close to home, there is a road around a tank bund, with lake on one side and barren ground on the other. It’s a very lovely curvy road and I’m about 1 minute to home. It’s an undivided two lane stretch on Kanakapura Main Road.

My wife suddenly screams that ‘he’s going to the lake’ and that’s when I noticed a high speed Innova that lost control, hit the guard rails beyond the road shoulder, spun 360 degree twice and came over to the other side only to find my A6’s front right. When my wife noticed, he must be about 50 feet away and it took less than a second before I heard a loud thud and a shake.

Thankfully, my wife and I had no injuries. We were belted. The air bag didn’t deploy because the first impact was to the front right lamp assembly.

There were a lot of liquid spills that I saw on the road and I was still gathering myself. My engine was still running. A BMTC bus behind me stopped on time, thankfully. I somehow was hoping the Innova will cross me in the front and jump off to the barren side of the road, but that was not meant to be.

Managing the local crowd was a pain. 100’s gathered in no time. Some wanted to go and trash the Innova guy. Thankfully, people know me there and we got all the help. I called an ASI from the station that’s just about a 500 metre from there and he came in no time with his team.

The driver of the Innova is a 5th semester engineering college student at a college near by. He was shaken and shivering and didn’t know what to do. I took help of the locals to push his car to the side, took my A6 slowly to the side and parked. The tyre was fouling with the bent fender but the car was moving.

The ASI dispersed the crowd and got some calmness. Audi RSA was super fast to respond. A tow truck came within an hour. The ASI told me that for an FIR, my car has to be left at the station for a week, I had to politely rule out.

Insurance survey is done. Thankfully, it’s only the external parts. The structure and engine is super intact. Parts ordered and I should get my A6 back in 3-4 weeks.

24890 km with out a scratch in my A6, that I was treating like a baby had to go through this.

Thankfully no harm to anyone. No injuries. The car should be back soon and I should be enjoying it soonest.

The Innova doesn’t have a Fitness certificate (2007 model) and no insurance either. The owner, who is the father of the boy who drove the Innova reached the spot and the police station after 90 minutes of the accident. Breaking down after hearing about my intent to file an FIR for keeping an illegal car on the roads, he broke down and pleaded, given his sons education, passport, visa etc.. I finally took the choice to let go.

The incident keeps playing in repeat mode inside the head. I guess it’ll take a long time before I move on and make peace with it.

[Capri89]

Feel sorry for the damage to your car. But relieved that no bodily harm to any of you.

Well, can't say whether it was a right call for you to let the guilty go unpunished. Without any penalty such wrong doings are likely to be repeated. And one cannot always be lucky to escape with minor damages.

Take care.

[MT_Hyderabad]

A minor accident that took place today.
Everyone was safe; however, eager for fist fights, which were stopped by bystanders. The bus braked in time too.

https://youtu.be/VscTkjeX8oc