[adisan]

There were also cases of wrong side driving, on a six lane highway.

Even on the fast lane, I no longer overtake other vehicles until I have a clear view, because of this. Some people drive on the opposite direction on our fast lane at times.

[railfanwithk750]

Just received these over whatsapp.









Related News: https://news.bharattimes.co.in/six-k...aluru-highway/

These killer tippers have become a major menace in Bangalore. Every few days, there's a news of a tipper overturning and crushing a car or few. Can't there be a regulation on their movement?

[manim]

These discussions about cows on roads made me remember this Tintin comic (Mods please remove this post if it is inappropriate or is violating any copyright).

This takes place in 'New-Delhi' in the year 1958. Welcome to India!

[Miyata]

Originally Posted by sridhu

TL;DR: Hit a cow. No injuries/ fatalities

Glad everyone, including the cow, is doing well!

There is just something about a drive to Tirupati that doesn't agree with few people! I drove there twice and both occasions I've had minor mishaps - Once a rolling stone gathered enough momentum to chip my windscreen and the second time a private bush brushed my car.

All the same, I still savored and cherished the chiily-bhajji and ginger chutney of Tirupati.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by sridhu

I think I slowed down enough - the cow walked and even the airbags did not deploy even though the bonnet was crushed. Either that or the air bags did not trigger.

Its hard to say why they did not trigger. Could be rate of deceleration, your speed at the time of impact, that you were buckled up and not a full frontal impact. Your bumper appears to be mostly intact, with the bonnet and surrounding plastics bits taking most of the damage.

Glad you are safe.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by sridhu

A cow herd was grazing 2-3 cows on the median. They suddenly decided to make a run for it and ran in front of me. I slammed the brakes but still hit the cow on the offside

Feel extremely sorry for you, @sridhu. First it was an engine replacement, then the steering and dashboard cracks, now this. It was a bad day for you and it is good you got away without more harassment or assaults by the crowd.

Originally Posted by tazmaan

had a similar close shave at Ahmedabad

Originally Posted by mav2000

• same person on the median along with his cows
• cases of wrong side driving - autos and bikes, there was even a bus on the wrong side.

Originally Posted by adisan

Even on the fast lane, I no longer overtake other vehicles until I have a clear view. Some people drive on the opposite direction on our fast lane at times.

I remember reading somewhere in the early 2000s that National Highways had barriers set up to prevent entry of animals onto them. Looks like locals have created breaches in those barriers to crossover.

For starters, I've begun treating national highways as regular roads assuming the worst to happen. I keep my speeds low, and look out for
• lane switchers
• crossing species (on two and four legs)
• crossing motorcyclists
• vehicles on the wrong side, and what not

Like I've said before, I have learnt a lot from defensive driving practiced by some state transport corporation drivers. However, on one's bad day, even all this won't save the day for the "beneficiary".

Originally Posted by msdivy

It is the job of highway maintenance to ensure safe roads.

Agreed; the least that @sridhu should do is to report such incidents to the Ministry of Roads, and NHAI.

Originally Posted by Miyata

There is just something about a drive to Tirupati that doesn't agree with few people

Although unscientific, I've heard from many many people that Tirupati trips come with some jinxes, especially in the first few trips.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by sridhu

...

TL;DR: Hit a cow. No injuries/ fatalities...

Cow rolls & stands up. No blood (thankfully!) and walked off in a bit

The car, afterwards
Attachment 2257812

Holy cow !! Glad you are safe (& the cow too). You seem to have a dashcam, mind sharing the video?

I had a narrow escape once when a woman hit her cow and it dashed straight into the road - I sometimes wonder few of them do it intentionally.

In December, there was another instance where the 'cowherd' decided to walk his cows across the road inspite of seeing my car and took his own sweet time to cross the road blocking me - stopped the car next to him, abused him to my heart's content and moved on.

[Rohan265]

Originally Posted by sridhu

TL;DR: Hit a cow. No injuries/ fatalities

even the airbags did not deploy even though the bonnet was crushed. Either that or the air bags did not trigger.

Glad to know that you did not sustain injuries. I believe that is down to the longer overhang and height of the Innova. I have investigated crashes involving hatchbacks and sedans in which the cows just fall through the windshield, causing a minor impact leading to severe injuries.

The primary reason for the airbag non-deployment may be down to the low intensity of the initial impact with the cow's legs. As the legs are not as stiff, the airbag sensors won't detect a deceleration severe enough to deploy the airbags. Unfortunately, the more severe impact in such crashes is when the animal's body falls on top of the vehicle. Such impacts are similar to the car impacting a two-wheeler or the rear underrun protection of trucks. The initial impact in such crashes is not considered severe by the sensors. The car usually deploys the airbags during a high deceleration event e.g. when the A-pillar contacts the trucks in underrides.

If you remember, could you let me know if the pre-tensioners were fired i.e. the belt was hanging loosely and won't retract?

Originally Posted by railfanwithk750

Just received these over whatsapp.


These killer tippers have become a major menace in Bangalore. Every few days, there's a news of a tipper overturning and crushing a car or few. Can't there be a regulation on their movement?

Many cities have tried regulating truck movement by restricting the movement only to nights. Doesn't help much as you will have tippers rolling over cars at night instead of the day. If there is considerable data available for frequent such instances in Bangalore (which I doubt), the cause of the rollover should be determined. From my experience, such crashes are mainly down to smaller vehicles (Cars, two-wheelers, bicycles) encroaching the tipper's path. Consider the nature of the load, even a small sharp steer can lead to a loadshift. Another solution might be to have ESCs in trucks. But, again there is neither any data nor tests to tell their effectiveness.

[saikarthik]

Originally Posted by sridhu

TL;DR: Hit a cow. No injuries/ fatalities

Glad that you are ok. The car seems to have taken a considerable damage, surprised that the cow managed to walk away - can't say it's not in pain.

Sorry, couldn't help to put this point out now, but noticed that the date on your dash seems to be in future. Am not sure if this will cause any trouble, if it's used as an evidence in some case.

[impala]

Originally Posted by tazmaan

I had a similar close shave at Ahmedabad.

Good reflex there and luckily the left lane was clear!

This reminded me of an incident where a guy who was standing at the left side of the road suddenly stepped into front of my vehicle while having his entire senses focused on his phone. I was going slow, probably around 40kmph, and I could veer to the right to avoid him; it was too close to brake. In my ORVM, I could see him looking up at the vehicle, stepping back with his focus immediately back at the phone and staying put at the side of the road again!

Yet another road safety incident on my drive during this year end to Kerala. Private bus drivers are notorious for rash driving especially in the norther districts of Kerala. I was driving my brand new XUV700 on a road with no median and just enough width for two lanes of traffic. This stretch of the road has multiple speed breakers, the type with multiple bumps put together. One private bus had started tailing very close to me and kept honking. Obviously there was no space for him to overtake with oncoming traffic and no extra space on the left of the road. At the first speed breaker, I accelerated away to avoid him rear ending, and probably it hurted his ego. At the 4th speed breaker, he caught up with me and I gave him way immediately after the speed breaker as there was space on the left of the road. He partially overtakes me and swerve left with the front of the bus partially blocking me from going forward, and stops the bus. I swerve left to avoid the bus and breaks; a few inches away from the bus. The bus takes off after a few seconds. I call 112, raise a complaint with the bus number. I got a couple of follow ups from the control room and from the local police station. The local police station called the bus guys to the station but left them after a warning as I said I do not want to press charges. Unfortunately, I realized that my new 70mai dashcam was faulty and didn't capture the video. I was planning to send it to MVD who usually takes strict action against buses. Later I learnt that this particular bus is notorious there for rash driving.

[sameer sultan]

Originally Posted by sridhu

What happened:

A cow herd was grazing 2-3 cows on the median. They suddenly decided to make a run for it and ran in front of me. I slammed the brakes but still hit the cow on the offside. I think I slowed down enough - the cow walked and even the airbags did not deploy even though the bonnet was crushed. Either that or the air bags did not trigger.

Glad no man/animal was hurt. This is a such a nuisance on Indian roads. I had a close call last Monday near Ranipet. My chauffeur was behind the wheel of my Skoda Rapid. 2-3 cows suddenly jumped on the road from the median. We had to brake hard and just missed the cows by a whisker. We were also lucky as there were no vehicles behind or besides.

Whenever I am behind the wheel I make it a point to cruise on the left lane and only come to the right lane for overtaking. This helps in averting the sudden popping of man/animal/mobike/cycle from the medians. When there are thick bushes/trees on the median it becomes really difficult to spot these un welcome surprises before hand hence its safer to drive on the left lane.(Though my chauffeur was not doing that). Also its advisable to slow down whenever something is spotted on the median or on the left road shoulder as you never know when these creatures would decide to take a stroll on the "highway".

In your case the view was clear as there were no trees/bushes on the median if you were on the left lane or slowed down when the cow came in sight even the damage to the car could have been averted.

[Akshay6988]

Originally Posted by sridhu

Like everyone else, I never wanted to be a part of this thread personally!

But, as fate would have it, I have an entry.

TL;DR: Hit a cow. No injuries/ fatalities

Oh God, as soon as I read you hit a cow, I got this uneasy feeling, you know for obvious reasons ! So glad you are okay Sorry for your Innovas loss, I'm sure it can be repaired. Also the luck was on your side as the crowd didn't turn into cow worshippers suddenly and you were able to get out of that unfortunate incident unscathed. I read somewhere that if you see any animal crossing the road, always go from behind it, as animals don't turn back suddenly as humans do. I watch out for stray cows far more than any other idiots on the roads. Call me paranoid but it is what it is. I'd rather be safe and extra vigilant than get thrashed by a mob !

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by sridhu

Hit a cow. No injuries/ fatalities

This cow herding and unattended cows squatting and running on highways is a big menace. Heck these exist even in suburban roads.

I had my own incident in early December. Mine was a front driver side hit even though I was taking evasive action on the left lane. It was pitch dark on a new moon day and wasn't on high beams to detect on time, even though my speed was 40-60 kph types.

Since this is a side hit (fortunately) there wouldn't be an airbag inflation.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by sridhu

This being India (and Andhra), there was an immediate crowd and people started talking about compensating the "poor cowherd". This, despite him accepting it was completely his fault.

Attachment 2257812

Luck and providence appeared to be by your side with the very unfortunate incident that can happen with anyone of us who regularly drive.

A few points :-

(1) You were doing a controllable speed and had surely braked well. This was the reason perhaps for the cow not getting seriously injured.

(2) Its surprising to read that the airbags did not deploy. They recalled so many hundreds of thousands of Toyotas manufactured recently, whose airbags were defective.

From the company telling about recalls of Takata airbag fitted Toyotas in Europe :-

The link:-

https://www.toyota-europe.com/world-...ll-information

At Toyota, the safety of our customers is our number one priority, which is why we continually monitor the performance of our vehicles through a number of sources. If we become aware of a certain component or aspect of our vehicles that no longer meets our strict standards we will take appropriate action.

Wish they also had concern for their Indian customers perennially. They fear sharp toothed consumer laws of the west.

(3) Luckily, the incident waned from the high decibels created by crowds, who dissipated soon after. Else some loud mouthed fellows get instant recognitions and receive appointments as " Hon'ble Justice X, Hon'ble Justice Y and/or Hon'ble Justice Z (Single/Division /Full Bench) to dispense with the incident and deliver their valued judgments on the spot.

[adisan]

Originally Posted by impala

This reminded me of an incident where a guy who was standing at the left side of the road suddenly stepped into front of my vehicle while having his entire senses focused on his phone.

A young man exiting from a college, engrossed with a call on his mobile, just continued walking across the road totally oblivious to traffic. Since the roads of a school or college entrance are speed breakers on both sides,vehicle speeds were low. It took a long horn from one of the vehicles to make him alert as to where he was.