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Old 1st November 2013, 01:43   #14341
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Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr View Post
I have one question! Just how tough are the volvo glasses? I am not talking about emergency exit but the regular glass windows.
The regular glasses which are not emergency exits are not tougher, they are laminated glasses. Meaning, they wont shatter after they break and will hold together due to lamination film. They can be broken too, but it would be more time consuming to get rid of them.
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Old 1st November 2013, 06:25   #14342
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Originally Posted by Soumyajit9 View Post
What I understand is Volvo designs a basic infrastructure for a particular model of bus (B7R, B9R, 9700, 9800, etc etc). This includes the design of the bus + engine configuration.

An operator buys a bus from Volvo and then customizes it as per his/her requirement. The interior is completely designed by the operator. Correct me if I am wrong, but Volvo does not do interiors, atleast not of the private buses in India (may be they do for the JNNURM Local buses).

So if the fire spreads rapidly due to the usage of flammable seat covers or other materials, how would Volvo be responsible for that ?


Quote:
Originally Posted by mpksuhas View Post
In the initial days of Volvo's (~10 years back), bus body was made by Azad coach builders. I guess the configuration and interiors were selected by operator. Not sure if this is still followed.
However, no matter who builds it I guess fire retardant materials should have been used. The down side of this is higher cost, which is a huge factor in this industry.
.
Yes, the chassis and engine were sent to AZAD for the body which was stopped years back becuase of quality issues. Volvo then built their own body building facility in their Hoskote factory and builds according to Operator request and configuration.
This facility was built on international standards and on the model of their Swedish factory .
They build any type of bus for both private and Govt use. Which is why KSRTC asked them to include the emergency exit door on the right side of the bus which no other Operators requested.

I don't think blaming Volvo is the right thing to do. Any vehicle pushed over their limit will cause catastrophic results, be it Volvo or a M800.

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Last edited by tharian : 1st November 2013 at 06:30. Reason: added info
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Old 1st November 2013, 07:48   #14343
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Originally Posted by john doe View Post
I spoke to a friend who makes Fuel tanks for trucks. He mentioned that the VOlvo tanks are made of plastic!
I was just shocked when I heard this.
There is nothing to be shocked in this.
Plastic high-density polyethylene (HDPE) fuel tanks are used in most of the vehicles now a days. These are considered more safe during crashes too.
Excerpts from the link.
http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom...rado-9607.html

"One critical part of the performance criteria of the tank is its ability to meet crash requirements. Generally, plastic tanks are considered safer in crashes because they are seamless and, thus, not prone to failures in the vulnerable seam areas. They are not a source of sparks. Also, plastic tanks deform and have some ability to rebound back to shape. When steel tanks absorb energy and deform, the pressure within the tank increases as the volume decreases. This makes them vulnerable at welded or clamped areas where failure can potentially occur."

But as usual accident reporting was full of errors. One reputed newspaper saying neon from the air conditioning system caught fire.Are they not aware of some thing called inert gas?
It is beyond doubt that the bus was carrying some highly combustible material.
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Old 1st November 2013, 09:41   #14344
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Quote:
Originally Posted by john doe View Post
I spoke to a friend who makes Fuel tanks for trucks. He mentioned that the VOlvo tanks are made of plastic!
I was just shocked when I heard this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by poloman View Post
There is nothing to be shocked in this.
Plastic high-density polyethylene (HDPE) fuel tanks are used in most of the vehicles now a days. These are considered more safe during crashes too.


It is beyond doubt that the bus was carrying some highly combustible material.
IIRC, the new Swift i.e. the current generation of Swift also has plastic fuel tank for which some noticeable investment was required for supplier set up ( may be tooling ). Again, IIRC, it was the firm "Plastic Omnium".

Plastic tanks will not lead to sparks which is biggest advantage, and also as mentioned by Poloman, can rebound back to shape in case the impact is not very high energy. To the best of my knowledge, the LPG tank in Wagon Duo LPG is also of plastic.
The fact that diesel is less combustible than petrol just makes the choice of plastic tank better and smarter.

However, I disagree that the bus was carrying some combustible material. In one of my earlier posts, I had mentioned that a crash of Volvo bus lead to instant fire in Gujarat also. Another vehicle hit Volvo bus fuel tank from side and there was instant large fire which engulfed the bus and driver also died, he could not even open the doors.

Last edited by aaggoswami : 1st November 2013 at 09:43.
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Old 1st November 2013, 10:21   #14345
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The few major bus accidents where passengers died due to fire in recent memory, seem to have been Volvos or some other air-conditioned sleepers. Not your ordinary omnibus. Is it mere coincidence?
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Old 1st November 2013, 11:11   #14346
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And now Karnataka govt wants to ban commercial passenger vehicles between midnight and 5AM. They are going to send a proposal on this ,this was mentioned in today's TOI. What next? Ban all vehicles on road since accidents are happening. These people never go to the root of the problem instead take some knee jerk reaction.
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Old 1st November 2013, 11:45   #14347
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My wife always tells me that I am the world's most clueless guy in the first couple of minutes after I wake up. I am rarely the one to pop out of deep sleep, change my costume and jump off the balcony like Superman-to-the-rescue, all in less than 60 seconds.

How about all of you?

I guess you can all figure out the point I am trying to make here. For a 6ft guy like me, Volvos (and other long distance bus seats) are never the place for a cozy night, and I stay half-awake most of the night. But, I almost always find the rest of bus, barring one or two other passengers occasionally, in deep slumber during the early morning hours (1 am - 5 am).

So, what about the passengers in this ill-fated bus? Most of them would've been in deep sleep, woken up by sounds which they were yet to make sense of, clueless about where they are (Is this a dream? Why is there smoke? Gosh, everybody is in the pathway, my family, my kids, I can't jump over these tall seats, I can't breathe, My skin is on fire, Emergency exit... oh my family..)

Isn't it sad?

I don't think those poor souls got enough time to do some logical reasoning or make the best laid plans. And I don't think Jason Bourne and James Bond types are very common among us. If anyone of us is caught in such a situation, quick thinking that saves your life is nothing short of a miracle. Some of the ones who escaped were already awake - the driver, the cleaner, the man who woke up for his 4.30 AM namaz.

This brings us to the question - How soon did the tragedy unfold? See N Naik's post here:
Quote:
Originally Posted by n_naik View Post
The bus hit the divider and stopped within just 70-100 meters ...
What defies logic is the fact that within those 30-40 seconds of hitting the divider, the was entire bus was up in flames and the smoke was so dense !! This leads to suspicion that the bus was already burning, before it hit the divider. And the interesting part is that there were no diesel leakage marks from the point where it hit the divider till it finally stopped. If the diesel tank had got burst due to the impact, then we should have seen the diesel leakage mark all over the road.
…The volvo buses which start from Kalasipalya area of Bangalore are known for transporting chemicals (sometimes highly inflammable ones too) illegally to earn that extra revenue.
Also, what Soumyajit says below is true. I take that HSR road everyday and have seen this umpteen number of times. So the chances of a small LPG cylinder or two in the cargo hold (luggage compartment) cannot be ruled out in a long distance Volvo.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Soumyajit9 View Post
Who knows if the bus was carrying flammable substance in the lower luggage compartment !! The luggage compartment is bang near to the fuel tank.

Note: If one notices the petrol bunk near HSR Layout (before Mantri apartment) in Bangalore, one can see a long line of "Bose is Boss" Volvos parked. And guess what I have seen while refueling my car - The drivers / conductors cooking in the luggage compartment. Yes, I have seen cooking stove and gas cylinder being placed in the luggage compartment and people sitting inside the luggage compartment and cooking.
Hey guys, in India do we have any specialized or qualified crash analysis and investigation teams in the local police units or elsewhere who are assigned to such incidents? Or is the analysis and investigation done by the same officer who spends most of his days standing at a busy dusty traffic intersection tearing out challans or running behind paper work?

Also, correct me if my understanding is wrong. The tanks maybe plastic, but the bus body around it is metal, right? And in the event of a severe hit, isn't that enough to produce sparks?
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Old 1st November 2013, 12:01   #14348
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Quote:
Originally Posted by arun_josie View Post
And now Karnataka govt wants to ban commercial passenger vehicles between midnight and 5AM. They are going to send a proposal on this ,this was mentioned in today's TOI. What next? Ban all vehicles on road since accidents are happening. These people never go to the root of the problem instead take some knee jerk reaction.
Banning in KA alone might cause more harm than good, since all the Hyderabad-Bangalore overnight buses would line up at the state border and wait till 5AM. When the clock strikes 5, they'll start a race from there to Bangalore with a target of reaching the city by 6 or 7AM, possibly driving faster than now to make up for lost time. For the Bangalore-Hyderabad sector, these buses would most likely cross the state border by midnight and hence the rule would not matter at all. So what is the whole point with this ban?

Knowing them, they'll give the exception for KSRTC from this ban too.

Last edited by zenren : 1st November 2013 at 12:02.
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Old 1st November 2013, 13:00   #14349
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Just found this over Facebook.
Can't guarantee the authenticity though. Can anyone confirm this ?

Accidents in India | Pics & Videos-img_13566178395750.jpeg

Last edited by Soumyajit9 : 1st November 2013 at 13:02.
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Old 1st November 2013, 13:06   #14350
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Quote:
Originally Posted by arun_josie View Post
And now Karnataka govt wants to ban commercial passenger vehicles between midnight and 5AM. They are going to send a proposal on this ,this was mentioned in today's TOI. What next? Ban all vehicles on road since accidents are happening. These people never go to the root of the problem instead take some knee jerk reaction.
Haha what a joke. The next time there is an air crash , these smarties will send a proposal to put a speed limiter in the aircraft and put a ban on flying. All aircrafts should take the NH's

They might now blame the 6 lane highways for encouraging drivers to drive fast. The next level of safety suggestions would be to reduce one lane on all NHs , build huge speedbreakers and reduce engine size.

Last edited by speedsatya : 1st November 2013 at 13:24.
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Old 1st November 2013, 13:12   #14351
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soumyajit9 View Post
Just found this over Facebook.
Can't guarantee the authenticity though. Can anyone confirm this ?

Attachment 1160797
I am not surprised. None of the buses are authorized to carry passengers. They ply as "contract carriages" for a tour, and the passengers are only "tourists".
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Old 1st November 2013, 14:32   #14352
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Saw this morning at madiwala lake corner in Bangalore on my return from meetup - not sure how it happened but seems like pretty badly damaged. As seems no fatal casualty.

Accidents in India | Pics & Videos-image1954658425.jpg
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Old 1st November 2013, 14:41   #14353
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Originally Posted by speedsatya View Post
Once lemme say , no point in blaming the driver for overspeeding , when most of us just keep quiet and leave it to fate to decide whether we live or die. I just go and try talking sense to a driver , if I am in the bus and if the feel the driver is driving rash.
+1. This reminds me of an incident that happened to me when I was posted in Indore. I had a traveling job and had to shuttle Indore-Bhopal often. Thos aware of the route know that there are Innova/Indica shuttles plying regularly between the two cities.

Once I had boarded an Innova shuttle. The driver was driving like crazy. Rash and fast driving to the hilt. I immediately asked the driver to slow down and told him not to drive in such a rash manner. To this the driver told me that this is the way shuttles ply, no one traveling in this shuttle has time. To his reply I retaliated and gave him a piece of my mind.

What was shocking & disappointing was the attitude of the fellow travelers. They were arguing with me giving reasons that I would make them late as well.

Regards
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Old 1st November 2013, 22:40   #14354
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Originally Posted by PapaBravo View Post
+1. This reminds me of an incident that happened to me when I was posted in Indore. I had a traveling job and had to shuttle Indore-Bhopal often. Thos aware of the route know that there are Innova/Indica shuttles plying regularly between the two cities. Once I had boarded an Innova shuttle. The driver was driving like crazy. Rash and fast driving to the hilt. I immediately asked the driver to slow down and told him not to drive in such a rash manner. To this the driver told me that this is the way shuttles ply, no one traveling in this shuttle has time. To his reply I retaliated and gave him a piece of my mind. What was shocking & disappointing was the attitude of the fellow travelers. They were arguing with me giving reasons that I would make them late as well. Regards
Have mentioned this elsewhere also. I was shouted at by fellow passengers in a KSRTC B7R for asking the driver to drive carefully. I was threatened by the driver and a few other passengers and was told they would throw me out on the Shiradi Ghat at 2 am in the night. I still didn't give up , and stood right behind the driver. He was driving more rash , but he gave up after some time after he realised my camera was on. I showed him the video of his " superb " driving and promised him that I would show it to KSRTC officials at Mangalore. But at mangalore , I let him go with a warning. About my fellow passengers , I initially tried talking sense to them , but I ignored them when they threatened to get physical. But the welcome that they received at Mangalore when they alighted from the bus will ensure that they wouldn't repeat their actions again. They will also remember the experience at mangalore and I am sure they would think 100 times before being unnecessarily rude to anyone.

Last edited by speedsatya : 1st November 2013 at 22:42.
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Old 1st November 2013, 23:21   #14355
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soumyajit9 View Post
Just found this over Facebook.
Can't guarantee the authenticity though. Can anyone confirm this ?

Attachment 1160797
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gansan View Post
I am not surprised. None of the buses are authorized to carry passengers. They ply as "contract carriages" for a tour, and the passengers are only "tourists".
Here's the full info about the bus from the AP Transport Dept. website. Looks like it has a huge political backing

Accidents in India | Pics & Videos-capture.png
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