[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by Nalin1

It is always a thin line between having control and losing control. How do we know if we have crossed it or not (that is, knowing before a mishap)?

Isn't that one of the problems on public roads. One should only push far enough to 50% of the combined capability of the car and the driver. Leave enough room for surprises in road conditions, and other road users. The thin line to losing control applies to a race track.

[roby_dk]

Perfect example of very famous quote you all might have heard, "SPEED THRILLS BUT KILLS".

I recently took a test drive of RR Evoque and the way it picks speed is insane. Although I didn't crossed even 100 mark but it can easily do 180 and at such speeds in a test drive vehicle it is very difficult to manage such incidents. Drive slow n Safe is the only key to avoid such loss.

[Hayek]

Sorry to hear about the death of this guy. Hope his wife and daughter recover.

The fault here lies on multiple fronts:
1) The Driver - for driving too fast in a new car - it’s always better to be conservative.
2) The Sales Agent - for letting such fast driving take place, and for not insisting that everyone wears a seat belt
3) The Deceased - for not having worn a seat belt
4) The NICE Road Authorities - for having such a poorly designed entrance to the toll booth.

At one level, the road authorities are highly culpable - but at another, anyone who lives in India knows how our roads are designed - and can’t drive as if he is on an Autobahn

[condor]

Originally Posted by Hayek

4) The NICE Road Authorities - for having such a poorly designed entrance to the toll booth.

There is nothing wrong with that entrance.

1. It is a straight stretch with clear visibility and boards leading to the toll booths.
2. There is nothing obstructing the view to the booths.
3. Many have said that there is a downward slope before the booth. There is also a slight upward incline as we approach the booth. Yes, but this is not like being on the other side of the hill that you can not see it.
4. This gradient is after some leveling - so we cannot say that the company did not plan it well. If they had used the native contours/elevation, it would have been worse.

Even many booths on highways are around turns.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by condor

There is nothing wrong with that entrance.

+1 I totally agree with you. The overall design of NICE road, Bangalore may not be scientific as many of them have pointed out, but by and large, any motorvehicle crash that happens right at the toll plazas could be due to only two possibilities --

1. High speed reckless driving and not slowing down in time.

2. Brake fail

Period.

[BenjiRoss]

Don't toll booths have cctv cameras? If they did, it may have captured the accident and added some clarity to the theories being floated around.
Till then we will have to depend on theories and extrapolations from what the SA, driver and family finally say.

[svsantosh]

Meanwhile, Oblivious to the fact that 4km before this spot a high speed crash had taken place... This happens

I was at 100kmph, my usual right lane speed, I had no time to react to this Merc. I am guessing this guy was 150+...?

https://youtu.be/QwQ_Zhy18V0

[VaidhiR]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

There is no way that the sales person can stop the driver slamming his foot down.

It's like the opposite of what a driving instructor told me about teaching in a dual-control car: "I can stop the car, but I can't stop you stopping it." He said that that is why most driving-school accidents involve being rear-ended. Learner panics and slams on the brake. In this instance we're talking about wildly slamming on the accelerator.

So, I think that speed limiters on demo cars can be effective. They can prevent the driver trying out the top speed. Of course, people will find ways to have accidents at slower speeds, but with very little effort a step can be taken to prevent these more extreme accidents.

The idea is to create awareness in the society that there is no requirement for a sales person tagging along for a test drive. Or a speed limiter for that matter.

Why should a sales person be available during a test drive? Why should there be a speed limiter?

Doesnt the onus lie on the driver to act responsibly, with or without anyone else being present? Doesnt the driver need to be aware of what he is capable of and what the car is capable of?

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by BenjiRoss

Don't toll booths have cctv cameras? If they did, it may have captured the accident and added some clarity to the theories being floated around.
Till then we will have to depend on theories and extrapolations from what the SA, driver and family finally say.

If there were cameras installed at the toll booth and if they were functioning too (a BIG if, atleast in India), then that will definitely aid the investigators as to the faulty approach/potential speed of the (now crashed) car, if there was a tyre burst, or if something else (say another car/person on the road) caused the driver to take an evasive manoeuvre at that speed etc.

And talking of speed, it is going to be very difficult to ascertain the correct range of the car speed (whether 100+, 120+, 150+ etc.) unless there are speed cameras installed on that road stretch.
Not that it matters, unfortunately for the deceased's family but atleast it will hopefully help the authorities to enforce stricter measures in the future.

[MaheshY1]

Originally Posted by msdivy

The potential Range Rover customer qualifies for the Darwin Award.

I echo the same opinion. It seems the dealerships too can't afford to risk losing a sale. They should ask potential customers to stick with the legal speed limits.

[vennarbank]

This brings to me the saying of my previous company's CEO. "No process can anticipate and stop the stupid people doing what they will". And lot of times i realized that is correct. It also fits in this case.

[Satishtv]

Is it possible the Range Rover masked the speed and the speed appeared to be 100 - 120 whereas the actual speed was 150+?

A person driving a new car may not have realized the speed it is at. Tragic Accident.

Who will pay for the car damages? Will the dealer be liable to pay to compensate for the life lost?

More importantly, it is cruel that a small child will grow up without her father...

[grevvity]

Originally Posted by Hayek

.....
4) The NICE Road Authorities - for having such a poorly designed entrance to the toll booth.

At one level, the road authorities are highly culpable - but at another, anyone who lives in India knows how our roads are designed - and can’t drive as if he is on an Autobahn

If the design is faulty at such level then I would expect every second car to end up in a crash which is not the case. We are not talking about the autobahn but our Indian highways where everybody knows what to expect. Despite the fact, if one is driving or rather flying the vehicle at such insane speed is complete ignorance and the outcome is evident. Speed Kills, Period!

[laser2707]

A Range Rover - even the Evoque is a crossover. By design it will have high ground clearance & correspondingly a higher centre of gravity. Such cars are not meant to be driven at high speed or corners taken at high speed. Modern cars are extensively tested, but when drivers push the limits of the car such accidents happen.

[gkveda]

Originally Posted by Satishtv

Is it possible the Range Rover masked the speed and the speed appeared to be 100 - 120 whereas the actual speed was 150+?

A person driving a new car may not have realized the speed it is at. Tragic Accident.

Who will pay for the car damages? Will the dealer be liable to pay to compensate for the life lost?

More importantly, it is cruel that a small child will grow up without her father...

Why would anyone mask the speed of the car and make it appear low speed? If someone has motivation to kill the driver/passenger, yes, I agree but otherwise, I don't find any reason.

Why will the dealer be liable to pay for car damages and compensate for life lost? Leaving aside the emotions, I would rather think the people who were inside the car are liable to pay for the car damages and lives lost. They are the ones who drove the car so fast or kept silent when the car was driven at illegal speeds