[Sheel]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

They should reserve such drives for the BIC.

What about driving SUV's, cross-overs? And even a RR needs to be driven on public roads to see if it can cut the mustard at the gigantic speed-breaker right outside your home.

It needs to be driven over various surface & conditions to form an opinion & gauge better.

Maybe they need to scrutinize the invitees better?

Originally Posted by Guite

The emergency call went out but who responded? The Ford team? Local police / ambulance?

Reading elsewhere, I believe the system calls 108

As per a reviewer, there was no response.

[anachronix]

It calls the emergency services number 108. As much as I know, the response from 108 has been really great. I had couple of accidents recently and the 108 ambulance reached the spot in less than 5 to 10 minutes which is brilliant. In the state of TN, they are very active and now we have proof that they are equally active in Goa as well and I am hoping they are in other states!

Originally Posted by Guite

The emergency call went out but who responded? The Ford team? Local police / ambulance?

Reading elsewhere, I believe the system calls 108 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/108_(em...lephone_number)). Please excuse my skepticism, does this number actually work, not only in Goa but other states also?

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by Sheel

What about driving SUV's, cross-overs? And even a RR needs to be driven on public roads to see if it can cut the mustard at the gigantic speed-breaker right outside your home.

It needs to be driven over various surface & conditions to form an opinion & gauge better.

I agree. The intention of these media drives should be assess the cars in their natural habitat. For a regular road car like the Ecosport, the venue was quite appropriate IMO.
BIC makes sense if the car in question has track capabilities.

Originally Posted by Sheel

Maybe they need to scrutinize the invitees better?

Yes, infact it would have been a bigger disaster if the same person was driving on the BIC track.

[vsathyap]

In our IT World, we group such incidents under the "PEBKAC" Category - Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Chair; i.e., the user.

I guess a similar abbreviation can be used in this case as "PEBSAS" - Problem exists between Steering and Seat! I know how enthusiastic one may feel to get their hands on a brand new (in terms of market entry) vehicle and push it to the edge. I mean - you;re not paying for fuel, the car, or anything in between, so the added bonus of "oasi" or "bitti" (as we call it in Kannada) which roughly translates to free...as in free beer.

At some point of time, common sense should take over the enthusiasm for normal folk like you and me, but for others, that never does happen until its too late. I know a few people who get so excited to ride / drive someone else's vehicle that common sense or a sense of general safety is instantly thrown out of the window. They drive like they have decided to visit the hospital (or some other place in worse case). This attitude is mainly because people don't realize the complications or costs involved in medical care these days.

Nowadays, the attitude has more or less come down to "I know how to balance the 2 wheeler - hence I know driving" and "I can take the car forward and change gears - hence I know how to drive". It is this callousness that is the root cause of all driving (and resultant) woes.

May be going off topic here but I'd like to add this - I saw a WagonR from a driving school today with both its left and right ORVMs broken off. I mean, how does one teach someone else to drive without using the ORVMs? It is such drivers that are the cause of today;s traffic woes.

However, on the other hand, the EcoSport looks unfazed by the fall - good strong body I feel. I would really be interested to know about the body roll of this vehicle. Also, the bottom of the vehicle looks pretty nicely guarded to prevent bumps and scrapes. I'd have liked to see a little more protection in the front part between the wheels - the bottom looks a little too "open" - way too easy to damage the sump when one hits a big rock/stone/divider.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by vsathyap

. I mean - you;re not paying for fuel, the car, or anything in between, so the added bonus of "oasi" or "bitti" (as we call it in Kannada) which roughly translates to free...as in free beer.

May be going off topic here but I'd like to add this - I saw a WagonR from a driving school today with both its left and right ORVMs broken off. I mean, how does one teach someone else to drive without using the ORVMs? It is such drivers that are the cause of today;s traffic woes.

Completely agree with you, a perfect example of a free loader with no thought about consequences. The driving school example is not off topic at all, a lot of cars will have both mirrors folded to prevent any unwanted distractions .

I just went through drivespark, the editor should spend more time on editing, driving is certainly not his cup of tea.

[asr245]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I think we are jumping to conclusions. As far as I know, all drivers are asked to sign a declaration before the test car is allotted to them. In the declaration there would be verbiage to take care of Ford's 'vicarious liabiltiy', as it is defined in law.

The roads look free and I don't blame the driver for 'experimenting', else how would we readers get to know about body roll, handling, etc? Should we blindly believe the manufacturer?

An accident is an accident, so let us leave it as that. At least we got to know that the emergency assist call feature works.

I bet you wouldn't be so forgiving had it been your near & dear one instead of a concrete pole. We would have a lot less accidents if we weren't so forgiving.

The road looked "free" but it wasn't. To get a feel about handling and body roll, one doesn't need to push it to the limit especially on public roads!!


PS: I have reported this at Goa Traffic Police's FB page. I hope they do something.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by asr245

I bet you wouldn't be so forgiving had it been your near & dear one instead of a concrete pole. We would have a lot less accidents if we weren't so forgiving.

The road looked "free" but it wasn't. To get a feel about handling and body roll, one doesn't need to push it to the limit especially on public roads!!

Point noted and agreed to. My post was in reaction to the posts above it, when information was limited. Only after later posts, when people who partook in the TD commented that it was not a free road, and that the accident was caused by avoiding a bus in the opposite direction, I realized that it was the driver's negligence.

Even the act of toppling due to hitting a pole was not known at that time. My post was in relation to several SUVs like the CRV getting toppled in the US, when they are driven by persons used to sedans. Most of such accidents took place when taking corners at speeds that were not safe for an SUV, but safe enough for a sedan. There were numerous posts of the EcoSports 'car-like handling' which could have misled the driver into speeding more than what was safe. But later posts revealed the reckless identity of the driver.

[anurag.somani]

Dear Reporter/Driver;

I do not need the redline/fishtailing statistics on public-roads for the car.
Unlike the car; people walking on the road are not equipped with airbags to save themselves from your reckless driving.

Stats for performance under "responsible" driving conditions would be enough.
For the rest, please use your test-tracks.

Thanks!

[manolin]

Without giving an opportunity to the specific driver, we are being too judgmental here. Accidents happen to everyone; maybe it was a simple error of judgement (which can happen to anyone). No one here knows what actual speed he was going at and lots of other things which are required to come to such a determination (especially when people are going ahead and calling them 'idiots').

[tectrac]

Originally Posted by manolin

Without giving an opportunity to the specific driver, we are being too judgmental here. Accidents happen to everyone; maybe it was a simple error of judgement (which can happen to anyone). No one here knows what actual speed he was going at and lots of other things which are required to come to such a determination (especially when people are going ahead and calling them 'idiots').

Spot on Manolin !

This proves the safety was OK.

My Fusion has more road grip than I ever imagined before buying her.

Either the lamppost or the offside wheels digging into the soft road shoulder could have tipped the car over.

[Wireless]

Sorry to veer a bit off track: From a long time this thought was stuck in my head..

we all tend to blame the root cause on the driver. I actually believe that the problem is not with driver alone. It is in the mindset. If I as a pedestrian do not respect the road, how will I learn to respect when I am riding a bike or car. It today as a pedestrian I rush to cross a busy road at any opportunity, How & why will I refrain do to do when I am riding on bike or car.

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by manolin

Without giving an opportunity to the specific driver, we are being too judgmental here. Accidents happen to everyone; maybe it was a simple error of judgement (which can happen to anyone). No one here knows what actual speed he was going at and lots of other things which are required to come to such a determination (especially when people are going ahead and calling them 'idiots').

From the horses mouth - The Guy behind the wheels was pushing hard on a S shaped curve

The reason we are being judgmental as you call it is because of the above statement which is there in the very first post of this thread. This accident was a not an error of judgment. This accident was the result of a stupid driver trying to push the car to it's limits on public roads and that too most probably on a set of unfamiliar 'S' curves.

[carmayogi]

This seems to be an unfortunate accident that either Ford or some poor insurance company will end up paying for.

What gets my goat is that most reviewers think that us readers (and buyers) want to know the performance figures and the 'g' readings of a car. No. We want to know what the car is like to live with. In the real world. Like a normal driver would drive. I'm personally more interested in if the car pulls at 15 km/h in 3rd gear than if it can do 120 km/h around a hairpin bend. Sure, driving fast is fun and thrilling, but 99% drivers buy cars that they will never test to such limits.

Whether it's the driver, the opposing bus, the edge of the road or anything to blame, the reality is that the car would not topple at a sane speed that one would normally drive on such a road. I've driven extensively in Goa and on the twisty single laned roads, 40-70 km/h is the real world limit. Closer to 40 on twisty blind-curved roads. The driver ought to be prosecuted and (this would really teach him) banned from upcoming TD's. Nothing quite like a wound to the ego.

[shinuak]

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

I have a divergent opinion if you will. Isn't it unsafe to do such tests which involves pushing the limits of the car on real roads where there can be traffic unconnected to the testing? From my point of view, such a style of driving resulting in accidents can also endanger other fellow road users resulting in fatalities. I understand the need for testing cars thoroughly testing out their limits but isn't it better to do those in closed test tracks?

I second that view, there must be a sensible limit to which any automobile should be pushed to on a public road where the fellow road users are unaware of your intentions. Beyond that for any real time testing or circus, you should opt for a test track facility under a controlled environment with enough support. I have seen many folks doing the same with TD cars from showrooms, making use of such opportunities like trying to drift and all, assuming that they can/need do anything since it is not their own.

[pugram]

Originally Posted by anachronix

In the state of TN, they are very active

Every time we had done a fire drill at office, we were asked to call up 108 and check the response.

Every time it was picked up in the first ring.

Maybe all that the person at the other end of the call got was a lot of noise and decided it was a prank. Don't know if the Govt. / organisation manning the 108 services have the capability to zero in on the location of the distress call

Glad that everyone is safe.