[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Based on family and friends' suggestions, I decided that I didn't want to go to the police authorities.

Refresh my memory : has this been shared to the BTP facebook page? Maybe they could at least forward it along to the right jurisdiction? (Long shot, i know)

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Based on one of the suggestions here, I went to Bangaloreone, paid 18rupees and obtained the details of the car as in the below picture.

I had a long weekend last weekend due to some local holidays. So, I was free at home and so I drove to that address.
Unfortunately i didn't find anyone by that name in that address. I didn't pursue it any further.

really glad you took the initiative to do that. However, bummer that you didn't have any luck finding anyone linked to the car.


Question for BHPians : Would it be possible to get a phone number by using the insurance details? Perhaps someone who works in the insurance industry could attain it?

EDIT: If someone can PM me the number, I'd be happy to call the Indicab owner myself. (Will of course discuss with hemanth.anand first).

[GreaseMonk]

I didn't realize there was a thread for this. This is from an accident I witnessed a few years ago.

More than the crash itself, the lightning reflexes of the Apache rider behind him was shocking. I tip my hat to him!

https://youtu.be/A4qyUaugZvg

Disclaimer: The motorcyclist was riding with friends who were assisting him after the crash. We went on ahead to locate his other friends to notify them of the incident.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by GreaseMonk

This is from an accident I witnessed a few years ago. More than the crash itself, the lightning reflexes of the Apache rider behind him was shocking.

Thanks for the nice and clear video, good to see a video where we can take away lessons, without the people involved suffering serious injuries or worse.

For me, the key point here is a mistake that two-wheelers often make - they assume that just because their two-wheelers have superior acceleration and manoeuvrability compared to four-wheelers, they are able to handle all situations. What they fail to realize is that four wheelers have far superior braking, and far greater stability under braking. So a two-wheeler tailgating a larger vehicle is a recipe for disaster (setting aside the fact that any tailgating is risky!)

A smart driver/rider does so within the capabilities and limitations of his/her vehicle, be it a unicycle or an 18-wheeler!

From a defensive driving standpoint, four wheelers can - when possible - be aware of two wheelers behind them, and change their braking appropriately (again, when possible). For instance, during rainy weather, its often very prudent to brake early and smoothly in a four wheeler, because abrupt braking might not cause us a problem, but can result in rear endings, particularly by two-wheelers who've overestimated their grip. I say "when possible" because I'd say there's little the car could have done in this video to avoid the biker hitting him.

[Ramon]

And the unbroken white line and yellow line is there for a reason.

It's not because the painters favourite colour was yellow.

All are bad drivers / riders including the Indigo guy.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Problem 1, and the thing that left no room for error, the tailgaiting.

Problem 2, following another guy's overtake. As in not assessing and checking for one's own self.

Problem 3, not seeing beyond own nose --- which is hard when there is a car immediately in front of it. The overtake was risky. The car driver must have seen the truck coming and the biker should have seen it too. The world does not finish three inches in front of one's own face.

[Acharya]

Realistically speaking, how many people know the difference between a dashed white line and yellow line? In fact, I learned this difference only when I had to take the written test in UK for license, long long time ago.

Why does one expects drivers/riders to know such difference in India, since it is never informed to them before handing over the license.
There is no proper test to check if you understand the road markings and basic traffic rules.

Problem lies in lack of information among drivers, IMHO Government is solely responsible for this mass ignorance

Originally Posted by Ramon

And the unbroken white line and yellow line is there for a reason.

[vamsi2390]

Originally Posted by GreaseMonk

More than the crash itself, the lightning reflexes of the Apache rider behind him was shocking.

That guy must be a secret ninja or something.

Originally Posted by GreaseMonk

The motorcyclist was riding with friends

These days in the name of riding groups people are riding way too close to be safe in case of panic breaking.
Dont get me wrong. i do go on drives with some fellow riders but, the number of instances where in people ride too close are numerous.

Indian roads always invite for panic breaking and people need to stop tail gating even when they are part of a group. probably keep 50m behind the one before you than trying to make a freaking train.

[Ramanjit]

Greasemonk, these kinds of accidents are a norm these days. The reason is very simple, majority of road users do not know about the rules of use of the road,coupled with increase in traffic it is a sure recipe of an accident.

I would like to know the details of the equipment you were using to record, if you dont mind sharing. Thanks.

[GreaseMonk]

That video was taken with an old Chinese action camera called the SJ1000. The same company makes much better products these days like the SJ4000 which is a good budget alternative to the gopro.

These days I use a Drift Ghost S on my rides.

[alphadog]

Originally Posted by haria

+1 to this GTO.
When I was convincing my dad to get me a bike, he told me to spend two days in the casualty department of the govt. medical college. I had to give him a report of what I had seen to him. I was pretty much shocked/horrified by some sights and the screams and groans of the injured person when being treated made a damn strong impression on me.

Rather than giving kids advice, more effective way would be a mandatory session to visit the casualty dept of a govt hospital. The sights one will see of various accident cases, will ensure that they get a better appreciation of safety first, et. all. In the online world, I have told couple of my colleagues' kids to go thru this thread in team-bhp - about accidents in India, before even going for a DL test.

Hi sorry about the late response, i read this comment only now.
I totally agree with you!. Something similar to this should be made mandatory for all license seekers. If not a visit to Medical college hospital, at least videos of horrific accidents, the effects of accidents on victims and their family and the legal ramifications of it all.
I am sure that will go a long way in reducing some amount of reckless driving and riding. If these gory videos can serve as a gentle reminder when a person sits behind the wheels or starts riding, it will surely temper the need for speed and careless driving.
There will always be outliers, so these morons need to be taken care of with no nonsense, no leniency policing alongside.

Cheerio!

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Not sure if this is the best thread for this, but I thought this was a pretty good initiative to help prevent accidents at night, as well as injuries to the animals:
Attachment 1547177

Source

Thanks for sharing!.
It seems a bit funny at first, but I think its a good idea.
In addition, to this, all cycles, cycle with trailers, autos, auto-pick-ups, smaller tempos etc should have mandatory reflector strips installed.
Makes a world of difference in spotting these 'items' on the roads at night!.

On another note, wonder if pedestrians should be advised to wear light coloured clothes when using the roads at night. I am sure that will go down well with the public

Cheerio

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by alphadog

... wonder if pedestrians should be advised to wear light coloured clothes when using the roads at night. ...

Of course! Walking down a dark street in dark clothes is stupid. Hmmm... Almost as stupid as riding an unlit bicycle down a dark street wearing dark clothes!






.

[paragsachania]

I have been following this simple practice. Whenever I change my lane when driving, I expect a biker to sneak next to me in under a split second from nowhere even if everything looked clean all around on all my 3 mirrors! Off late, the bikes are faster than cars in typical tarffic (Highway or city) and they can gain momentum and accelerate and approach you faster than the cars.

And yes, there is every possibility that if you see one bike zoom super fast from one side of your car, pause a while as there will be at least one or two more that will pass you from the other sides. So wait before you make your move to another lane for whatever valid reason. I follow this especially when I have KTMs, Hayabusas, Ninjas or HDs overtake me. I always anticipate that there will be more than just one. In our country where these group rides are now a weekend affair in almost all major cities, this is a good defensive technique to save yourself and a biker or two.

Again, the moment they overtake is exactly when I ease the pressure on the A Pedal as I know that they can cut you from one side to another leaving a gap of 1 inch from your front bumper/fender. A simple nudge and you can manage the biker fly right onto your bonnet!!

Also, a car's brake lights and indicators when a biker is tailing closely are not at their best of visibility to make the biker aware due to his limited (& narrowed) vision when he is closer to you. So a car driver's argument that he indicated before making that turn becomes baseless too - Always move gradually than abruptly.

The above accident is a case of tailgating a vehicle gone too wrong. Easily the Indigo driver was also at fault. If he was keeping an eye on his mirrors and noticed these bikers, he would have been more careful to not attempt such a moronic overtaking move and then suddenly brake and get back in lane.

If that biker was any defensive, he should have waited for the car to move ahead, get a clear vision to assess and then attempt overtaking than simply follow that.

I have mentioned this in one of the simple but effective etiquette on how even when driving in convoy of known people, you cannot simply follow what someone ahead of you does. You are responsible for your next move and the car/bike ahead is not your aide there to help.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

[b]The rules for a group drive:
[*]You are the decision maker - More often than not, we notice how drivers blindly follow you to overtake a slower vehicle on single carriageways. A wrong practice that can lead to disasters. The rule here is simple – If I overtake, you don’t till you have a clear view and the right momentum. If I turn at the median to get onto the other side, you assess and then take that turn than blindly follow

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by GreaseMonk

I didn't realize there was a thread for this. This is from an accident I witnessed a few years ago.

More than the crash itself, the lightning reflexes of the Apache rider behind him was shocking. I tip my hat to him!

Disclaimer: The motorcyclist was riding with friends who were assisting him after the crash. We went on ahead to locate his other friends to notify them of the incident.

That Apache rider !! Great reflexes and reaction time. He surely lived upto the reputation of TVS Apache's then tag line of their ad - "Thinking is such a waste of time "

Thanks for sharing such a clear video. I need to show it to one of my friends. He too has a very bad habit of tailgating on a bike and an extremely horrible practice of overtaking cars from left side on 2 lane highways / ghat roads !!

Pardon me for going off topic a bit. I have tried telling him so many times the stupidity and danger involved in overtaking from left side that too on a 2 lane road but he doesn't seem to understand the gravity of it. In a slow moving city traffic, it is understood and acceptable but not on highways. And the 2 lane roads where he pulls off this left overtaking manoeuvre is not the one where we have broad and properly marked shoulder lane but a typical 2 lane highway which has steep shoulders or no shoulders at all. He is so impatient to slow down and overtake from right side that, at the drop of hat he sneaks into the left side of a fast moving car/truck/bus and whizzes past them. He did that recently on a tight hair pin bend on a ghat while a car was carefully taking a turn Just sheer luck that he has come out unscathed all these years in his life, but I keep pestering/shouting at him to give up that rubbish practice lest he ends up with a horrible accident some day. He asks why would a car suddenly swerve to left while it's moving fast in a "straight line" and further tries to justify that before veering off to left they ( 4 wheeler drivers ) should see in the rear view mirrors and confirm the field is clear. This incorrect logic baffles me. He otherwise follows some basic traffic rules like not jumping red lights, wearing helmets, using signals, using low beam lights etc. but surely hasn't still understood the proper and safe ettiquettes of riding/driving on a highway be it 2 laned or 4 laned.

I have solo ridden bikes ranging from 250cc to 97cc on long overnight 500-600 km routes umpteen times and have clocked timings as much as a typical normal car or a Volvo bus does but I always believe that one should not compete in speed with the cars or mess around with any 4 wheelers while overtaking or riding around them. Safe manoeuvres should be executed at all times and try as much as possible to give the priority and benefit of doubt to a 4 wheeler. A human eye has 85 degrees temporal field of vision on either sides but it's only pedestrians/cyclists/bikers who fully enjoy this vast field of vision while on a road. A 4 wheeler driver due to the inherent pattern of vehicle will obviously have all 4 fields of his vision blocked to some extent. Mere RVMs will not be of much help to him. No matter how much a car fella has tried looking into the RVMs , there are still some blind spots left around him. Bigger the vehicle, more number of blind spots. My friend who overtakes from left side doesn't keep this in mind. And when overtaking from left side is itself wrong in first place on a 2 lane road, what is to do with questioning the car swerving left. Especially on a 2 lane highway, a car/truck/bus mostly has a right to swerve left without a second thought and any biker brushing/ramming their sides will be mainly his fault. On a 4 / 6 lane highway, they say the lane to the extreme left marked away from the continuous white line is where two wheelers have right of their way. But how stupid is to sneak into the narrow left space like a mouse on an undivided 2 lane highway. Just a slight nudge from a car/truck/bus will throw off the biker badly. This is in line with what Parag has said in his above post.

Agree with Arun there above that a car has far superior braking and many other contingencies than a motorcycle. However, in the video it is clear that Indigo too is at fault as pointed out by everyone.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Mere RVMs will not be of much help to him. No matter how much a car fella has tried looking into the RVMs , there are still some blind spots left around him.

And this is exactly why one should wait. The biker in all probabilities will start appearing on at least one of the Mirrors. That pause if very important. These days, it is 100% dangerous to make a quick move. It can turn really fatal.

In fact, at times even your A-Pillars (Both sides) and B-Pillars (left side) can be very good blind spots and that biker can safely hide behind these pillars till you notice them in the last moment.

Whenever you are making a right turn on a cross road or a biker merging along with your car from the right side, the A pillar can become that blind spot in most of the car. As a driver, bending your back front once and check whats behind the pillar helps too.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

pause a while as there will be at least one or two more that will pass you from the other sides. So wait before you make your move to another lane for whatever valid reason.

[honeybee]

That tailgating rider not only crashed himself, but also put the life of the Apache rider in jeopardy. The Apache rider has been forced to brake and swerve around the fallen rider in the oncoming lane. Had it not been for the generally slow speeds of the tempo and the truck behind, the Apache rider would be the one to end in the casualty ward, for no reason than having had to follow an idiot.