[anjan_c2007]

Investigation reports by Mercedes Benz and by the RTO are out.

Mercedes Benz says that the car was doing 100 kmph just five seconds before the accident and brakes were applied instantly that reduced the speed to 89 kmph. Hence the SUV crashed at 89 kmph it can be concluded. The car will be taken by Mercedes-Benz to their showroom by September 12th and a team from Hong Kong is expected for carrying out detailed examination.

The RTO report says that only four airbags had deployed in the front passenger compartment where Ms Anahita and Darius were seated. Hence the three other airbags did not deploy. The car had seven airbags in all.

Details here:

Cyrus Mistry's car was going at 100 kmph, brakes hit 5 secs before crash, finds Mercedes probe https://www.indiatoday.in/india/stor...areurltracking

[Risky4327]

Speed reduced by 11 KMPH only after pressing the brake pedal, means the driver was slightly slowing down to judge the conditions ahead and was anticipating the need to further accelerate.
In dire situations, we tend to press the break hard to kill most of the speed.

[LokiPilaniya]

Originally Posted by theabstractmind

Also, I see many arguing in legal terms, like 120 is legal speed limit (figuratively), 133 kmph is achievable, etc. What nobody seems to understand is that the speed limit is just an indication. The judgment must come from the driver considering the traffic conditions. The speed limit is not an entitlement. As someone else posted, mindfulness is the best brake.

Exactly! Not sure how hard it is for someone to understand this simple thing.

Originally Posted by rajivr1612

There is one thing that beats me.

Attachment 2356136

This beats me too, most likely the graphic designer and editor were drunk while making and posting this on internet!
This is how it looks in reality. Looks like the road is missing their so called "L"


Adding some more, this might be helpful for some for further understanding.

See this screenshot from the Google Earth for reference. I've tried to add some pointers to it. How many of you think that speed limit on this section is above 60 km/h (I've seen speed limit of 40-60 km/h with similar sections on other NH.


Road view towards the accident spot. Notice how it goes.




There are total 10 bridges with similar design on this NH within 200km (Including the accident one) other 9 are shown in the photo below.


The forensic team clearly said that car was over-speeding and yet not a single news/media house mentioned the same in their headlines!

Edit: So I was right, car was over-speeding! This accident could've been avoided easily if only the driver followed the rules and other signs on of road!

Link to news:
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/stor...areurltracking

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Risky4327

Speed reduced by 11 KMPH only after pressing the brake pedal, means the driver was slightly slowing down to judge the conditions ahead and was anticipating the need to further accelerate.
In dire situations, we tend to press the break hard to kill most of the speed.

It may have happened that the brakes were applied @100 KMPH but it crashed by the time it had retarded to just 89KMPH.

[shankar999bhp]

Hello Fellow BHPians. I am new to this community, with a recent approval of membership. Appreciate and respect the knowledge of all the members here! This is my first few lines on TeamBHP.

At the outset, this is an extremely unfortunate incident and I feel very sorry about it. May the departed souls rest in peace and their families be blessed with the strength to face the bitter facts. May the injured get well soon.

Irrespective of the kind of car we travel in, safety comes first. The driver can either make it or break it!

I think what could have happened (again this is just my guess with the experience that I have had on highways) on that unfortunate day is: It was a 3 lane road and the bridge was approaching - the driver of the Merc could be on the right fast lane trying to overtake a truck - the truck driver must have veered to the right suddenly (in an attempt to overtake another truck) from the the middle lane - the Merc driver (without slowing down) must have steered to the left to try and overtake from the left - suddenly the Merc driver noticed the truck in the middle lane (which the first truck overtook) - then tries to overtake that truck from the extreme 3rd lane - the bridge was here and the road narrowed to 2 lanes - without any space to overtake and any chance to slowdown - the car must have hit the culvert. As reported by media, since the rear occupants were not belted, they must have been thrown inside leading to grave injuries that claimed their lives instantly!

I mostly drive on the HYD-Bengaluru highway and one thing that really irritates is the truck drivers driving all over the place. Its very common to see 2 huge multi-axle trucks trying to overtake each other blocking the road for other users. One truck is at 20kmph and the other is 21kmph

In our country, if certain laws are to be implemented, it has to be tied to money. It appears, money is more valuable than life here (Sorry, no offence please). Reckless truck drivers and transport operators must be heavily fined and pulled off the road at subsequent toll booth.

Also, we need to understand that our families are waiting for us at home. One such accident will jeopardize an entire family, not just the victims involved. Certain things cannot change, like our roads (for example) are unpredictable, so pushing our machines to the limits makes absolutely no sense.

Thank you all for reading my thoughts. Drive safe be safe!

[GeeTee TSI]

All the engineering in the Mercedes was offset by the lack of engineering in the approach to the bridge.

Hitting a stationary structure head-on on a highway just reeks of insufficient thought behind the design and execution, with no avenue for energy dissipation. If left as is, this will continue to invite many a knee jerk reaction from drivers (which may not lead to a fatality at lower speeds) not familiar with the anomaly

More and more it seems an avoidable than an inevitable mishap

[harshaguduru]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Investigation reports by Mercedes Benz and by the RTO are out.

Mercedes Benz says that the car was doing 100 kmph just five seconds before the accident and brakes were applied
[/url]

Hi
I am the only one for whom this isn't making much sense. 100kmph 5 seconds prior to crash isn't supporting the case of the over speeding and rash driving that has been built up. And even if the brakes were activated in only the last second the speeds would have scrubbed much faster.
The lack of seatbelting obviously is responsible for the fatality but something isn't making much sense here about the impact or the speed. It's almost like the driver wasn't looking at at the road ahead at all. Because even panic braking would result in impact speeds of around 60-70 if indeed they were at 100.
Does anyone have any insight into the braking aspects considering the weight of the vehicle, the boxy aerodynamics ? Even in the hazy video shared the vehicle was moving at similar speeds to their neighbours on the road.
-Harsha

[MT_Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by theabstractmind

However, overspeeding has not been ruled out and is being investigated. So let us not conclude either way - that there was or wasn't overspeeding.

I had said from the beginning, that the crash looked like a 90km/hr crash. I missed the target by 1 km/hr and Mercedes found out the crash happened at 89 km/hr.

Having seen so many accident videos and photographs over the years, I am proud that I have learned something. Something, that can counter a thousand allegations and shady assumptions that the car crossed toll plaza at this time and it may be doing 133 km/hr or even 190km/hr.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post5395659

[anjan_c2007]

Another news pouring in says that the Electronic Control Module (ECM) of the Mercedes Benz GLC 220d 4Matic will be sent to Germany. Earlier in the day the vehicle's data was collected that will be decrypted.

The company's initiatives are expected to reveal more details of the mechanical faults and driver error. The report will be submitted in a few days the company says.

Details on this link

https://www.news18.com/amp/news/indi...ource=inshorts

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by harshaguduru

It's almost like the driver wasn't looking at at the road ahead at all. Because even panic braking would result in impact speeds of around 60-70 if indeed they were at 100.
Does anyone have any insight into the braking aspects considering the weight of the vehicle, the boxy aerodynamics ? Even in the hazy video shared the vehicle was moving at similar speeds to their neighbours on the road.
-Harsha

For all you know, the driver must've fallen asleep. Or the driver must not have known about the bridge being 2 lane which implies the co passenger was sleeping to warn the driver of the danger on the left.

100 kmph is well within the global legal operating speeds and such cars are equipped with more than enough braking power to slow down hard, if not stop.

Let's wait for the full report from MB, which can be trusted as 89kmph is most certainly a believable impact speed. The cops confirmed my suspicion that they'll do anything and everything to push the blame on the driver by making huge claims about speeding to save the authorities responsible for signing off such a road design apart from the possible lack of insufficiency of signage of the impending danger, both of which are the responsibility of govt/contractor in charge of collecting the tolls.

Does anyone know whether there are sufficient warnings in advance of the reduction of number of lanes?

[MT_Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by LokiPilaniya

The forensic team clearly said that car was over-speeding and yet not a single news/media house mentioned the same in their headlines!

Edit: So I was right, car was over-speeding! This accident could've been avoided easily if only the driver followed the rules and other signs on of road!

I respect the efforts you are putting to understand what could have happened.

However, the speed limit on national highways is 100km/hr and on expressways it is 120 km/hr.

I remember when the speed limits were increased, it was on the basis of better technology in cars and better road infrastructure.

This car can easily handle 120 km/hr and if it was doing 100 km/hr, it was not overspeeding (as per govt allowed limits)

Forensic team was assuming; Mercedez has confirmed that the car was at 89 km/hr at the time of impact and 100 km/hr before it.

Overspeeding was not only your assumption, but the whole world was saying that the car was over speeding. Thank God! we have Mercedez data, otherwise responsible citizens would have been labelled law breakers etc. They were no 20 year old, novice drivers/ occupants in the car.

Responsible journalism has taken a huge toll in the last few decades, especially in the last few years.

[Durango Dude]

https://www.autocarindia.com/industr...-notice-425655

You don't need this; all you have to do is buckle up the seat belt with no one seated I have seen this being done in B towns in TN where the seat belt is all buckled up behind the seat even before you sit: so the seat belt alarm doesn't come on...

[LokiPilaniya]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

However, the speed limit on national highways is 100km/hr and on expressways it is 120 km/hr.

Having a certain speed limit does not mean one has to drive at that speed, also speed limit changes according to area/section on NH.
So if you have looked at the screenshot of the road map in my post you can easily understand that this section is a slow speed zone!

Rumble Strips, Zebra crossing and Break in the median and also Rumble strips on the shoulder which is dividing the lanes are a proof of that.
So with so many warnings/indications if someone is still moving at 100 km/h then they are the one who should be held responsible for any mishap.

This car can easily handle 120 km/hr and if it was doing 100 km/hr, it was not overspeeding (as per govt allowed limits)

So if we go by this logic then there will be someone with Ferrari saying, "my car can handle 200km/h"
But the actual question is if the person behind the wheel can handle the car/situation or not, regardless the price and category of the car.


As per my understanding this is how it went;
First mistake: Rear passengers not wearing seat belts. (Yes, very common on our roads but this was a mistake)

Second mistake: Driver ignored all the signs which were clearly telling her to slow down and I assume even the passengers didn't care for the same! Maintained the speed at 100km/h

Third mistake: Tried to overtake a truck from left without proper vision of what's ahead instead of slowing down.

Yes, It was over speeding which caused the accident and death!

[theabstractmind]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

I respect the efforts you are putting to understand what could have happened.

However, the speed limit on national highways is 100km/hr and on expressways it is 120 km/hr.

I remember when the speed limits were increased, it was on the basis of better technology in cars and better road infrastructure.

This car can easily handle 120 km/hr and if it was doing 100 km/hr, it was not overspeeding (as per govt allowed limits)

Forensic team was assuming; Mercedez has confirmed that the car was at 89 km/hr at the time of impact and 100 km/hr before it.

Overspeeding was not only your assumption, but the whole world was saying that the car was over speeding. Thank God! we have Mercedez data, otherwise responsible citizens would have been labelled law breakers etc. They were no 20 year old, novice drivers/ occupants in the car.

Responsible journalism has taken a huge toll in the last few decades, especially in the last few years.

Dear friend. The world is not black and white as you are trying to put it. The term overspeeding doesn't mean exceeding legal limits always. It doesn't matter whether the car could technically handle the speed. It doesn't matter whether the driver is aged 20 or 50. What really matters is whether the speed was appropriate in a given condition and the driver's ability at that point of time to anticipate and avoid mishaps. These factors cannot be hardcoded.

And as a few other members also have highlighted, a legal speed limit is not an entitlement. Many city roads have a legal limit of 50kmph. And most don't display one. One can't argue that driving at 50 kmph is not overspeeding when the traffic conditions and the road design demands a lower speed. I rest my case here.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I learned it the hard way: the official speed limit is absolutely not necessarily the safe speed.