[rnb34]

Originally Posted by no1lives4ever

My take is a bit different on this. A lot of highways in india can become fairly boring. If you are driving thru the day at a sedate speed, then I end up getting relaxed and not focusing as much on the road as I should when driving on the highway. This is more the case near the end of the day in case of long drives.

OTOH, when i am driving fast, looking for overtake opportunities and in general trying to avoid all possible obstacles to go faster, i end up being a lot more attentive to the road and am fully focused.

For me relaxed driving is more dangerous than when i am fully focused and actively looking out for danger. That does not mean doing reckless speeds or breaking the speed limit, but instead it is more about trying to maintain speed limit and trying to look out for overtaking opportunities and performing those overtakes.



In India, except for a few highways, you are mostly in the middle of moderate to heavy traffic and very difficult to achieve average speeds that are anywhere close to the speed limit of 90 or 100kmph. Besides other reasons, you will have to slow down for the slow trucks overtaking each other, for the cow that decides to cross the highway in front of you, for the guy dangerously driving in the wrong direction or because on a single carriageway there is someone overtaking a vehicle in the opposite direction and blocking you.

-- no1lives4ever

Been driving for the last 44 years. Done more than 3 lakh KMs on highways alone. Have never found a single dull moment on Indian highways. And driving at speeds between 80-100 kms, allows the driver to feel relaxed without having to be totally focused on the road, enjoy a chat with the co-passengers and listen to some good music.At the end of the day, one is not competing in a car rally. So, enjoy the drive at reasonably safe speeds. Have seen that the difference between driving at 80-90 kms per hour and 120 kms per hour enables one to reach the destination, may be 30 minutes faster. But, does it really matter?

[nickatnite]

Unfortunate passing of the two rear occupants of the Mercedes driven by an Indian woman Dr.A Pandole and i see many comments questioning the design of the road and bridge as a main cause of this accident. I want to know how many such accidents have occurred at this site since inception?. How many casualties have occurred here in the past?. Drivers must focus on the road and set their pace accordingly. Otherwise, they should not be driving.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

The site where it happened is shown in this video...

In all these pages, this is the first driver's-eye view of the road that I've seen. I can hardly believe there were not others that I missed, but thank you anyway.

Sure, others have been there, and I have only seen a video. My insight is very limited. But from what I saw there, I cannot believe that anyone would think it safe to drive at 80, 90, 100kph

[theabstractmind]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

This report does not talk about the vehicle speed data that was shared by Mercedes. These guys were completely oblivious to the fact that speed data exists.

This guy constructed the highway and is responsible for its upkeep, he cannot say that there is a flaw in the design of the road. Otherwise, he will lose his job.

The site where it happened is shown in this video. It is clearly a design flaw; rumble strips do not exist and these guys are waking up to put them across after this accident.

https://Youtube.com/watch?v=EwamYUmmNHo?feature=share

On top of that, permissible limit of 80 km/hr is in his dreams. I have driven on many highways where policeman welcome you with speed guns. They do not challan you below 100 km/hr.

A simple Google search will help.

Thank you for the link. The video only increases chances of human error being involved. Firstly, in the left most lane, you can see the tunneling which is an indicator of narrowing lane. Any average driver should have been able to foresee the merging and drop the speed. Secondly, from the photos of the accident, the impact wasn't perpendicular to the obstacle. It was diagonal from the opposite side to the extent I recollect. So all the more my belief that road design had a lesser part to play. Anyone regularly driving on highways should have been able to identify the narrowing lane.

[MartinVirage]

I am really sorry to hear about the demise of the 2 occupants.

We live in 2022, I am sure I will get backlash for my opinions - But, I am Sorry - These are really true facts

1) It is a design flaw by all means - If you say a road is 6 lane upgraded stretch and you are charging me toll/road tax for the same, it needs to be 6 lane all the way. Please 'Stop' bottlenecks

2) While many people are to the opinion that 'EVERYONE' is over speeding, remember our government charges us extra money for these Infrastructural changes. Why call it a National Highway if its a City Road all along. Why charge us the extra money?

3) Definitely, it can be a driver error. But, can you imagine having potholes on a National Highways. Yes, I am sure people will defend saying, you have to anticipate potholes - you stay in India... Blah! Blah!. But, I mean aren't highways supposed to be fast-smooth roads? I don't get the point of people moaning? What needs to be done, needs to be done!

4) Its time road contractors, engineers and politicians are held accountable. There were no 'Proper' signs that the road gets narrow, the road quality is pathetic. Lets admit it, it is definitely a design flaw in the road construction.

There should be a Forum which can actually question these authorities.

A few more thoughts :

Yes, it is wrong not to wear rear seat belts. Yes, the driver might have lost control. Yes, the driver might be doing 100kmph. Yes, the car should have a million airbags. Yes the should have a 6 star rating. But, the accident shouldn't have happened in the first place

BUT - The fact remains. May it be this isolated incident or the million accidents that take place. When, NH48 charges me for 6 lane infrastructure - I need/should have 6 lane all along or at least decent, legible, well lit signage of the road getting narrow. This is the only solution - And people at least in Pune would agree the NH 48 has numerous such bottlenecks.

What's the Solution - Expect a Speed Breaker near this turn in honor of the person who lost his precious life. In India, what's the solution to making roads safer is add a speed breaker. So we can have million more pile-ons.

[Kln]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Sure, others have been there, and I have only seen a video. My insight is very limited. But from what I saw there, I cannot believe that anyone would think it safe to drive at 80, 90, 100kph

On the other hand, my first reaction is - i cannot believe the highway authorities have let this kind of unsafe construction be built.

It's funny -- first the "sources said" industry said the car was running at 139-140 kmph, outraging every member of this community who didn't think it was a bit fishy that no govt official would go on record and prefer to stay anonymous. Then the whole media campaign of 'personal responsibility' and the classical self loathing 'we Indians are like this only'. Then Merc said no, the car was within LEGAL SPEED LIMITS. Now the narrative is 'oh even 80 is not safe in this scenario!'. Poor Mr Mistry - cannot catch a break even when dead.

Where do we draw the line on self loathing and start wondering - if an interstate Highway with one of the highest througfare is maintained like this, who is responsible?

PS - No personal offence intended, this is just discussion - sorry if I sound abrasive

[novice]

Originally Posted by MartinVirage

BUT - The fact remains. May it be this isolated incident or the million accidents that take place. When, NH48 charges me for 6 lane infrastructure - I need/should have 6 lane all along or at least decent, legible, well lit signage of the road getting narrow. This is the only solution - And people at least in Pune would agree the NH 48 has numerous such bottlenecks.

What's the Solution - Expect a Speed Breaker near this turn in honor of the person who lost his precious life. In India, what's the solution to making roads safer is add a speed breaker. So we can have million more pile-ons.

Originally Posted by Kln

On the other hand, my first reaction is - i cannot believe the highway authorities have let this kind of unsafe construction be built.

What else can you expect when a project director of NHAI entrusted with building highways talks like an illiterate (assuming that TOI article is factually correct).

[4wheeldrive]

Drove this stretch 2 days back and passed this spot in twilight heading back to Mumbai. The spot seems unremarkable - there are far worse blind turns, non-illuminated stretches, sudden potholed patches, one insane chicane created with concrete barriers at the MH-GJ state border where the car (Camry) actually had to reverse to complete the course.

For most of the 250+ km from Surat to Mumbai, we battled indifferent truckers driving in the right lane at 50kph, mini-trucks with oversized bodies (near urban clusters) that are unable to exceed 50 kph and overspeeding buses (volvo, scania, benz) that sneak up on you. To say nothing of cars that dart in and out without using turn indicators.

We are currently a left hand drive country using right hand drive vehicles.

IMO a large part of the problem is large, often overloaded trucks are unable to speed up or slow down quickly so to avoid tangling with bikes and traffic, they just hug the right lane and everyone else be damned. Sadly, many of these truckers now also using have phones in one hand while they drive.

We can design all the roads we want, throw in as much safety signage and stipulate even helmets for vehicle occupants. As long as driver education remains non-existent, even the fear of the law will not change things.

[Nalin1]

Only after having seen an illustration, I assumed it is some serious change in road design and she maybe missed it (benefit of doubt). After seeing the spot, pass the blame on to her 100%, unless the Merc had a mechanical failure. It is just a typical Indian road challenge that we encounter every other second all over the country.

Cant handle those or cant ride/drive with utmost concentration and alertness required on Indian roads anticipating surprises all the time? Please don't ever occupy the driver's seat. No point in crying now.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by theabstractmind

Thank you for the link. The video only increases chances of human error being involved. Firstly, in the left most lane, you can see the tunneling which is an indicator of narrowing lane. Any average driver should have been able to foresee the merging and drop the speed.

Imagine three cars running in parallel side by side and they enter this tunnel (extremely rare situation).
One has to give way such that all can merge into 2 lanes safely. If none gives way, one has to end up hitting the protrusion.

While we wait for Dr. Anahita’s statement, I could assume this may have happened.

Three vehicles driving at 100 km/hr speed, forced to slow down as traffic ahead was slower. Data from Mercedes (brakes applied 5 sec before accident) confirms.

She is in the right most lane and sudden braking from the vehicle in front forces her to move towards left. There is another slow vehicle in that lane and she ends up hitting the middle portion of her car on the edge of this protrusion.

Her statement will read that to avoid collision with the vehicle in front, she collided with the culvert instead. This is my best assumption from the available info. A team from Hong Kong is also on its way to find any vehicle defect, which may have led to this accident.

[umairalvi]

Not sure if anybody has mentioned it yet but could it be that Ms. Pandole fell asleep at the steering wheel? The road stretch looks unremarkable and doesn't look too accident prone. As one of our friends has pointed out, there are far worse road designs in our country. This one, in comparison, looks relatively safer. Again, I may be missing something but from what I saw in the shared video, the stretch doesn't look like it could throw a lot of surprises.
Also, the reduction in speed isn't drastic. It's only 10 km/h. It looks like she could have been coasting while she lost attention and slipped into sleep.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

Imagine three cars running in parallel side by side and they enter this tunnel (extremely rare situation).
One has to give way such that all can merge into 2 lanes safely. If none gives way, one has to end up hitting the protrusion. Three vehicles driving at 100 km/hr speed, forced to slow down as traffic ahead was slower. Data from Mercedes (brakes applied 5 sec before accident) confirms.

She is in the right most lane and sudden braking from the vehicle in front forces her to move towards left. There is another slow vehicle in that lane and she ends up hitting the middle portion of her car on the edge of this protrusion..

If you see congestion ahead, should you slow down or continue at high speed? Hitting the ‘protrusion’ (it doesn’t actually protrude) instead of the vehicle in front means the driver was not keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front. One should always keep sufficient distance from the vehicle in front to enable you to safely stop. If another vehicle suddenly pulls in front of you, you should immediately let go of the accelerator and even brake a little to regain this distance.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by MartinVirage

What's the Solution - Expect a Speed Breaker near this turn in honor of the person who lost his precious life. In India, what's the solution to making roads safer is add a speed breaker. So we can have million more pile-ons.

National highways with speed breakers are not new, there are some in BLR-Hosur stretch and for added fun, they are nearly unmarked, really high and unlit too.

Imagine the poor mini truck carrying a load of eggs. The whole trip is lost right there even without having an accident.

[Bhargav7]

Originally Posted by LokiPilaniya

NHAI Project Director Speaks on the Cyrus Mistry Accident:
- Speeding was the main reason for this accident
- Maybe, the driver could not manoeuvre the turn where the 3-lane road merged into a 2-lane bridge
- If one drives at 80 kmph, the maximum permissible limit, then one can easily manoeuvre the turn
- Police have asked for rumble strips at 12 places on the NH48 (even though there are rumble strips but adding more may push drivers to further slow down)
- Rumblers reduce the speed of any vehicle by 10%
- Road designed for a maximum speed of 100 kmph, Speed Limit is 80 kmph
- Not a design fault

https://indianexpress.com/article/ci...ector-8143639/

While there was quite a lot of criticism of the NHAI for this response, I sort of feel that most of it is factually correct. Moreover, looking at the recent video of the road, there does not seem to be an abrupt protrusion on the road. The third lane seems to be tapered off rather well. Now, I really don't know if highways can be made into two lanes near bridges - but I have seen quite a few of them over the years. And most of them are far worse than this.

Or, is it just that I am used to horrible infrastructure and find this normal?

[Kln]

Originally Posted by Bhargav7

Or, is it just that I am used to horrible infrastructure and find this normal?

The road is incredibly busy. Imagine driving in 70-80s speed zone. Imagine lane changing, maneuvering, honking, having your attention split in 10 different directions because of piss poor infrastructure. Now imagine a big vehicle in front of you suddenly merges to your right, leaving you right on the path to the bunker (everyone has seen this happen at least once in their lives). The way the strip of road is, it is highly unlikely that ONLY seat belts would've saved Mr. Mistry. It indeed is bad design, and it is shocking that noone is challenging the lackadaisical attitude of the NHAI babus. But I guess that's we are as a country - if anything goes wrong in your life, it is you who is to blame. Don't question the authorities.