[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Couple of years back I remember yelling at a KPN Driver when he was trying to get on the wrong side of the road while coming from Coimbatore.

The worst part is the passengers were egging the driver on against me.

So when the passengers in these buses do get killed by their stupid drivers. Some of them do deserve it.

Its alarming to note that passengers do not complain at all. What sort of cowards travel on these routes?

Absolutely no use sir of yelling at them. These people will not realise their mistake till they die. Even if it they get involved in an accident due to this and survive, the chaps will get back on the road and drive in the same manner. Unfortunately the sad part is they will take out the driver coming in the right direction.

Strict enforcement is the only way out for this. There has be some will from the authorities to find a solution. And solutions are available. They just have to look at the systems adopted by other countries. We as a nation have always been lax about safety, more so when it comes to safety on the road. We got away with it , till say 10-15 years back when the traffic density was less, roads were not good and vehicles in general were slow. But we can't have the same attitude today. Vehicles are getting faster and faster. Buses are capable of crossing 100 kph, small hatches are capable to crossing 140 kph.


My cousins in the US are so scared of getting booked for a traffic violation. Why? Because it goes on their record. More than a minimum no. of offenses and their license is cancelled. Also their insurance premium goes up if they have traffic violations on their record. Though I don't know how they link the driver with the vehicle for this.

[speedsatya]

If you go to this Volvo B9R - Page 162 - India Travel Forum, BCMTouring ,you will see morons who call themselves B7R and B9R lovers and get very happy when Volvo operators overatake each other like crazy and do distances in times that would put even car drivers to shame.
You should read the discussions and cant help laughing at these idiots .
I have also been in situations where the drivers have threatened me for reprimanding them .There have been instances where passengers have shouted at me for pissing off the driver by telling him to drive slowly !! And there have been times where I have waited for the bus to reach Mangalore and then have taught the driver a lesson or two in being polite and in driving sanely .

At present ,drivers arent scared of anyone- Passengers dont care,bus owners dont have much control ,RTO doesnt bother ,other road users dont bother as well as long as its not they who is in danger! People here are just selfish .

I have posted this in some thread ,but on a recent KSRTC journey from Bang-Mang the driver was driving very slow and unlike other drivers ,was very careful in giving way to oncoming traffic and overtaking on blind corners.As I was sitting on the LHS first row ,i managed to hear the other driver mocking this "slow" driver of driving so slow .To which he replied that he was bashed up a few days back by a car driver who he almost crashed into .And he also said ,the fault was of a truck that he was overtaking on a blind corner ,the driver of which waved his hand indicating an all -clear inspite of having a car ahead of him .

It seems the car driver turned back and blocked this bus and just bashed the driver and the conductor .

Its time passengers and other road users start doing this if they care for their lives.

BTW ,call this road rage or whatever ,I dont hesitate to do what this particular car driver did whenever i come across such drivers .

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

How and why does this tyre burst happens?

One of the main and frequent reasons for a Tyre Burst is because of driving with Under Inflated tyres at high speeds on the highway.

Driving with Under Inflated tyres (Having lesser than the recommended tyre pressure) causes repeated flexing of the Tyre side walls which builds up heat and pressure in the tyres resulting in the tyre burst.

So one must *Never* drive with under-inflated tyres.

It is always advisable to check and ensure that tyre pressure is at the recommended levels before setting off on a long drive.
Even 2 or 3 PSI above the recommended level is also OK but the ride can become bumpy.

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

My cousins in the US are so scared of getting booked for a traffic violation. Why? Because it goes on their record. More than a minimum no. of offenses and their license is cancelled. Also their insurance premium goes up if they have traffic violations on their record. Though I don't know how they link the driver with the vehicle for this.

This is because in the US, insurance premium is dependent on driver history as well as car value. And insurance is person specific and not car specific. For eg. if you own two cars, you dont need to pay insurance twice. You can get the second car added to the first insurance policy. Majority is premium is charged for Third Party damage and not Own damage unlike India. Reason being a small accident might leave you liable for millions of dollars in medical/legal bills towards the person you hit.

[Zed]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Even if it they get involved in an accident due to this and survive, the chaps will get back on the road and drive in the same manner. Unfortunately the sad part is they will take out the driver coming in the right direction.

Absolutely. Bad driving habits have become ingrained to a point where most road users consider this madness as 'normal'. Its only when someone does something really crazy like standing on a motorbike seat while riding (I remember seeing a clip on youtube) or a car passenger has half his body outside his windows do people take notice that something dangerous is being attempted.

Driving in the wrong lane, on the wrong side, not following right of way protocols, abusing the horn (perhaps molesting is a better expression), intimidating driving techniques, dangerous overtaking manoeuvres etc - fall under the 'we are like this only' category. And as long as this is the case and there isn't sufficient awareness, on the part of the authorities and the public, that these are not acceptable practises, no amount of enforcement will help.

[alstonlobo]

A KSRTC Airavat bus plying from Bangalore to Udupi collided with another private bus and barged into a small hut located by the side of the highway, killing its occupant on the spot, and injuring three others.

Udupi: Bus Collides with Another, Barges into Hut - One Killed

Pics and article courtesy: www.daijiworld.com

[Thad E Ginathom]

Driving on the wrong side of the road?

This is the way to stop it. Nine months in prison!

True, the woman was drunk, and drove no less than twenty-three miles, at up to sixty MPH in the wrong carriageway of a UK motorway, but it is an example of law with teeth.

[ashwin_m0]

After seeing the photographs, my full sympathies for the Victims.
As motorists we are in our own way contributing / causing such accidents by our actions.
Some of them I am listing below.
1. Driving while Drunk.
2. Accepting foolish dares / challenges.
3. Driving with full headlights on and not using the dipper switch at nights.
4. Carelessness
5. Non qualified raw drivers let loose on the road.
5. Breaking traffic rules.
6. Breaking traffic signals for thrills and not for emergencies

Request other readers to add to the list.

[gurudutt]

Saw this i10 being towed away near commercial street, no clue as to what happened.

[nkg77]

Saw this on the way to Wayanad.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by alstonlobo

A KSRTC Airavat bus plying from Bangalore to Udupi collided with another private bus and barged into a small hut located by the side of the highway, killing its occupant on the spot, and injuring three others.

Udupi: Bus Collides with Another, Barges into Hut - One Killed

Pics and article courtesy: www.daijiworld.com

Attachment 606533

Thats sad ! What a tragic way to die !!
Looks like one more overtaking gone wrong .The buses have brushed each other on the RHS .As the B7R is on the correct side of the road,it could be evasive action by its driver to avoid the other bus which was probably overtaking some other vehicles or swerved right to avoid a pothole !! Or,it could be the B7R driver dozing off on the wheel after a full night of driving.

The Udyavar bridge area is anyways a very dangerous stretch of road.

[nkg77]

A badly mangled Alto on the way to Wayanad. The road from Calicut to Wayanad is very bad.

[torquecurve]

Saw a Maruti Van (2009 + Model) which had caught fire just near the Agriculture College crossroad below the Flyover today. It was a pretty clean van (not beat up) and had just caught fire with people trying to put wet sand on it to try and stop it.

I was driving and in the middle of the crossroad when I realised what happened so couldnt snap any pics.

[clevermax]

I have no idea how he managed this in such a crowded road - NH47 near Karunagappally, Kerala.

[ch.nathan]

Originally Posted by clevermax

how he managed this in such a crowded road

Absolutely! Looks like it was dropped from an airplane.

BTW, what vehicle is that?