[pixantz]

Originally Posted by govigov

Actually, it is the pedestrian who always has the right of the way. Even if it is a green light for you, and the pedestrian crosses in front of you, it is still the pedestrian who has the right of the way.

Technically correct, but even whenever I am a pedestrian myself I exercise my right to think more than my right of way as I think that's more effective in keeping me safer. At least in India.

I personally think that in today's world of chaos and bad on-board conditions, it's more important to do that than to argue and/or win court battles after losing a couple of bones or worse. No winning that back...

[lawdgawd]

Originally Posted by govigov

Actually, it is the pedestrian who always has the right of the way. Even if it is a green light for you, and the pedestrian crosses in front of you, it is still the pedestrian who has the right of the way.

Even on a closed highway? I doubt that. On a normal road, right at a signal, perhaps. Hope someone can clarify...

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by d3mon

Usually, you're programmed to drive with enough margin of safety to avoid running into careless people oblivious of their surroundings.

As I came closer and closer to her, she finally realized that she was really in trouble by then, and that it was no time to be playing chicken. She froze for a second before deciding to jump back, just as I swerved to the left at the last minute to avoid her.

She carried on with her life as if nothing had happened. I tried to do the same, but this incident really did shake me up.

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

That's scary! 95% of the people in this country including people who drive and ride can't judge speeds and have no spatial awareness. Either she is poor sighted or just another one of those surprisingly common people who have the attitude that a 1.5 ton vehicle has to stop for them at 120Kmph, physics be damned.

- The gaddi wallah has to stop and has a magic button to do so
- The highway is an impediment that has cut through my village and common grounds. It belongs to us. Who are these intruders who whizz by in 15 seconds to demand right of way

- Lack of spatial awareness +1 to that. It is a national malady.
- Poor eye sight - that is almost a surety given that she has probably spent her life cooking on smoky choolas.
- The thing Indian pedestrians respond to are screeching brakes (always) and loud honking (occasionally).

All's well that end's well. Thank you for sharing.

[binand]

Originally Posted by d3mon

I recently had a narrow escape when I was driving down from Bangalore to Hyderabad.

Originally Posted by govigov

Actually, it is the pedestrian who always has the right of the way.

Originally Posted by lawdgawd

Even on a closed highway? I doubt that.

I can only talk about the UK Highway Code. I don't think there is anything codified in India to that level of detail.

The pedestrian has the right of way pretty much everywhere (their near-absolute right to life trumps everything else you want to try) except on motorways and their access ramps. The reason is that motorways are access-controlled so pedestrians have no business being there. You are not even allowed to let a passenger alight on a motorway or leave the vehicle yourself.

The key point is "access-controlled". I don't think any road in India is truly access-controlled. For example, if there is a bus stop on the main carriageway then it is not access-controlled. If there is a signalled junction, a store frontage or the ingress/egress point to a property then it is not access controlled. Does the HYD-BLR NH 7 qualify? I know that the stretch till KIAL doesn't.

[shubhodeepdas@g]

Originally Posted by d3mon

Usually, you're programmed to drive with enough margin of safety to avoid running into careless people oblivious of their surroundings.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

- The gaddi wallah has to stop and has a magic button to do so

A pedestrian has the right of way regardless of the situation or surrounding, even if it is a flyover where pedestrians are not allowed. You can report them but not run them over. And yes, it is true that most people are unable to judge speed vs distance on the highway and just expect the car to stop or slow down enough to let them pass.

In case of the video, keeping a lane and slowing down a little bit would have avoided the situation. In other words, not to try and overtake the person crossing the road.

Originally Posted by Sarvodaya

Another NICE Road accident. 3 young souls gone. 2 souls in hospital

This road is a mess, not due to high speeds, but just bad driving, lack of lane discipline, indicator usage, and severe lack of common sense.

Yesterday evening I was on NICE, Mysore road till Kanakapura road and spotted at least 2 - 3 near misses that could have easily resulted in a mishap like this for the car. Even while exiting NICE at Mysore road, a company bus, aptly numbered "CO2" overtook me at the exit itself turning in from the middle lane instead of the exit lane, leaving me little or no choice but to brake hard, and people behind me brake even harder. I wanted to really stop and ask the driver when I got ahead of him again on Mysore road as to what his hurry in life is. He has to anyway stop at the merge with Mysore Road to drop off people.

[d3mon]

Originally Posted by shubhodeepdas@g

In case of the video, keeping a lane and slowing down a little bit would have avoided the situation. In other words, not to try and overtake the person crossing the road.

Driving exactly in the center of the left / right lanes exposes you to the risk of somebody (or something) jumping out like that. Had I been in the rightmost lane, I'd have spotted her later than I actually did.

Also, it's not clear from the video, but as I mentioned in my previous comment, I started slowing down gradually as soon as I saw her. Pedestrians often cross half of the road, leaving enough room for an oncoming vehicle to cross them safely without any harm. This is the reality of how a pedestrian and an oncoming vehicle negotiate the right of way in India, especially after making eye contact. I'm quite sure that all of us have been a part of a negotiation like this, both as a pedestrian, and as a driver. What she did on the other hand was to assume that all the lanes belonged to her, leaving absolutely no room for me to go anywhere.

At what point does it stop being about the right of way and start being about reckless disregard for personal safety? I'm sure if she was astride on a cycle and crossing the road in the same manner, the right of way argument would not have been brought up. Are pedestrians absolved from their duty to try and prevent accidents, in order to exercise their right of way? I think not.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by d3mon

At what point does it stop being about the right of way and start being about reckless disregard for personal safety? I'm sure if she was astride on a cycle and crossing the road in the same manner, the right of way argument would not have been brought up. Are pedestrians absolved from their duty to try and prevent accidents, in order to exercise their right of way? I think not.

I think you are right. But (maybe not, thanks to your cam footage), if this idiot woman had walked under your car, you might now be enjoying the hospitality of a place without internet. It didn't look as if there were any witnesses around, and even if there were, how reliable might they be.

The pedestrian may be an idiot (or even literally suicidal, as per recent posts), but the driver ends up getting the blame anyway.



I tend to overreact to possible pedestrian hazards. I hit the brake if I see someone jump onto a city median! The people behind me hate it, but do I know that the person is not going to jump all the way? Nope.

In this instance, it occurs to me that heavy braking might have been even more dangerous. The woman might have taken it as a sign that she should cross in front of you. No answers; just ideas.

[honeybee]

Give the peds a wide berth, I say!

Houses near the roadside, or any signs of habitation are warnings that you should drop your speeds to the 60s or even 40s if there are intersections etc. I don't really think the barricades and railings are effective - people find a way around it and will take the shortest or the most convenient route to their destination.

Also most people, including a majority of the motorists, are unaware of the road etiquettes or safety laws, or have their own notions of who has the right of way or how to avoid an incident.

It's best to assume the worst and just be in control at all times. A fifteen to twenty minute delay to your destination is anytime better than a trip to the court, police station, hospital all put together.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by honeybee

...

It's best to assume the worst and just be in control at all times.

There was a recent post in which a member collided with a cow (apologies to the poster, I didn't answer at the the time, and time is past, but the thought has resurfaced), thinking it would not move in his direction. My view, which I try to implement when driving, is that it is better to think about what could happen, rather than to think something might not happen.

As I said before, people hate driving behind me!

[shubhodeepdas@g]

Originally Posted by d3mon

Driving exactly in the center of the left / right lanes exposes you to the risk of somebody (or something) jumping out like that. Had I been in the rightmost lane, I'd have spotted her later than I actually did.

I guess we can all agree that its not really correct in technical terms, but I do understand the logic and reality behind it.

All I am saying is that a defensive stance of backing away completely and letting the pedestrian do what they want to do works better in the driver's favour in most cases of an unfortunate eventuality.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The pedestrian may be an idiot (or even literally suicidal, as per recent posts), but the driver ends up getting the blame anyway.

Exactly. Or drunk, disoriented, could be anything. The driver will get the blame.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

There was a recent post in which a member collided with a cow...

You mean his car, and not him - I hope. :-p

I say just assume the worst and react accordingly. You will find scores of these animals along the highways in Rajasthan or Haryana, and the best way to deal with this is to assume any one of them could just get up and stroll across.

Same for peds. Just assume they will make the wrong decision and react accordingly.

Because both, unfortunately, do not possess the resources to predict how you will react.

[VinodDevil81]

Defensive driving is the only option to avoid such near-miss situations or accidents.
There are certain entities on the road whose next movement is totally unpredictable.
It is always better to be prepared for the worst and most unexpected movement from them once you spot them ahead of you, especially on such open highways where most drivers maintain triple digit speeds.

I know it is not possible to be 100% defensive every time, but as a general rule, I usually go easy on the throttle whenever I see Kids, elderly people, village folks of rural highways, Auto-rickshaws, two-wheelers and cattle/dogs standing by the side of the highway or on the divider waiting to cross the road.
Each one from the above mentioned list is notoriously unpredictable in their movements, and each one has given me a panic braking/ near miss situation or a minor accident at some point of time or the other during the past 18 years of driving.
So may be from my own mistakes or accidents, I started being defensive and extra careful whenever I spot any of these on any road where I am at above average speeds.

It is always better to be safe than sorry.
This I learned after being sorry so many times.

[get2bid]

Originally Posted by d3mon

..I did have the right of way, after all..

A pedestrian always, I repeat, always has the right of way. Under no circumstance, you are allowed to run over a pedestrian.
However stupid, idiotic, no brains, a pedestrian might be and the temptation might be just too great to run him over to reduce some burden on the road, you are not allowed to run him over.
I know and have sometimes felt the same myself on who lets these idiots lose on the roads. They should be locked up in mental asylums for harassing the motorists.
The best you can do is just curse, thank your lucky stars and move on.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by Sarvodaya

Another NICE Road accident. 3 young souls gone. 2 souls in hospital.

Why cannot they drive sensibly. Looks like a rental car. Judging by the car skid marks the car must have been doing some high speeds.

As per some reports based on the injured passengers statement, the driver was trying to fiddle with the phone that was kept for charging and also did not heed to the repeated pleas by them to slow down. How stupid can he be and ultimately killed 3 people and going to live a life with horrifying thoughts. Can't imagine his fate.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by shubhodeepdas@g

In case of the video, keeping a lane and slowing down a little bit would have avoided the situation.
...
This road is a mess, not due to high speeds, but just bad driving, lack of lane discipline, indicator usage, and severe lack of common sense.

+100

Originally Posted by d3mon

Usually, you're programmed to drive with enough margin of safety to avoid running into careless people oblivious of their surroundings.

As pointed out by @shubhodeepdas, lane management is a critical safety (& a rule) aspect that we need to follow. The video gives the view that you were weaving across both lanes much before she came into view.

Originally Posted by d3mon

Driving exactly in the center of the left / right lanes exposes you to the risk of somebody (or something) jumping out like that. Had I been in the rightmost lane, I'd have spotted her later than I actually did.

Technically we also have a guideline (not sure if a rule) to be on the slower (=left) lane.

All said and done, maintaining a single lane might or might not have saved you from the above incident. But it sure would give you a ticket in any developed nation (with stringent laws enforced). While in India, we are quite far away from getting to that state; let's do our part in doing the right thing on our side.