[theabstractmind]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

I am waiting for her statement. Her husband's statement is straight forward - She could not merge back into the two lanes; implying that the road design was at fault and three lanes became two!

Basic driving lessons teach two things - don't follow vehicles too close, don't overtake from the left most lane / left lane is for slow vehicles. Technically, you may be right that the road design was at fault - only because there weren't enough warning signs or whatever was there was faded. I recollect a video of the stretch where any sensible driver can realise the lanes are merging. There were faded paint marks. If such paint marks were visible and a signboard was visible, possibly drivers would be more careful. I wouldn't disagree. However, the design fault does not absolve the driver error on both the counts I mentioned before - as the basic driving sense precedes the technicalities involved.

There are enough statistics to show multiple accidents occurring due to overtaking from the left most lane. And, there is enough information available - every major highway displays the lane discipline - for a fairly educated driver to be aware of the risks involved in undertaking such overtaking from left. Either it is arrogance and pure disregard, or over confidence that nothing will happen to them, which causes these specific types of accidents. And if the husband's statement is true, then it leaves no doubt that the vehicle was being driven in a manner which is not considered safe or sensible.

[aaggoswami]

Lets assume that this is due to driver fault who was driving at high speeds and
braked 5 second before the impact. Its correct step to book the driver for reckless driving. But can we expect similar steps for :
1. Poor road design
2. Poor quality roads
3. Wrong side driving on highways

To be fair, I wouldn't blame the driver much (partial blame on driver, not full accountability) considering that speeds were brought down to a level where the car's cabin was pretty much intact and it was fault of rear passenger not to have buckled in. This stunt of booking driver of the car is face saving step and root cause, which I believe is driver plus road design, is not fully attended to.

The average speeds on Indian highways is poor which needs to be addressed as this increases the urge to do higher speeds when there is space. Its absolutely wrong, but done by many. My 130 km trip from Point A to Point B, this includes city driving, is 2.5 hours and its via NE1. Educating drivers, enforcing discipline and quality road infrastructure are needed for safer traveling. No amount of large road infrastructure will help if there is no discipline and awareness; and things stand true other way round too. On NE1 people are forced to use service lane as overtaking lane due to lack of traffic discipline.

Unfortunate loss of life, but it did bring forward the importance of rear occupants wearing seat belts and that road infrastructure is rather pathetic. Once again, corrective actions are taken, not preventive ones.

[Hayek]

Just incredible how people are criticising Dr Anahita for overtaking from the left. It is as if they have never ever driven on an Indian highway. The fact is that the right lane (or lanes) even on 3 lane highways are usually hogged by trucks, traveling at ridiculous low speeds (40-50 kmph at best). So car owners have no choice but to overtake from the left. Driving at 89 kmph on a highway with a limit of 80 kmph is by no means negligent - and just because she applied the brakes 5 seconds before the crash, it does not mean she was maximum rate braking. Seems to be a clear case of a combination of bad road design, and being squeezed by slow moving heavy vehicle traffic on the right. Yes, a defensive driver may not have crashed, but not everyone drives defensively all the time. And making a mistake while driving is NOT a criminal offence.

The deaths of Mr. Mistry and her brother in law were because they did not wear seat belts in the rear seat - else all that would have happened is at best a minor note in the back pages and perhaps a couple of posts in the accidents thread.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Driving at 89 kmph on a highway with a limit of 80 kmph is by no means negligent - and just because she applied the brakes 5 seconds before the crash, it does not mean she was maximum rate braking.

She was not driving at 89 kph - the car slowed to 89 kph after 5 seconds of braking. The speed would have been significantly higher before the braking. It is extremely unlikely that she didn't apply maximum braking and/or that the car's brake assist didn't kick in.

I'm sure the car's black box has additional details but prima facie, this is reckless driving, which is corroborated by the average speed recorded by the highway cameras.

[theabstractmind]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Just incredible how people are criticising Dr Anahita for overtaking from the left. It is as if they have never ever driven on an Indian highway. The fact is that the right lane (or lanes) even on 3 lane highways are usually hogged by trucks, traveling at ridiculous low speeds (40-50 kmph at best). So car owners have no choice but to overtake from the left. Driving at 89 kmph on a highway with a limit of 80 kmph is by no means negligent - and just because she applied the brakes 5 seconds before the crash, it does not mean she was maximum rate braking. Seems to be a clear case of a combination of bad road design, and being squeezed by slow moving heavy vehicle traffic on the right. Yes, a defensive driver may not have crashed, but not everyone drives defensively all the time. And making a mistake while driving is NOT a criminal offence.

The deaths of Mr. Mistry and her brother in law were because they did not wear seat belts in the rear seat - else all that would have happened is at best a minor note in the back pages and perhaps a couple of posts in the accidents thread.

Sir. This is exactly why I visit and post mainly on posts related to accidents. With a hope to influence a driver's behaviour.

1. Until we blame the conditions and continue to pull off dangerous maneuvers without taking accountability, things will remain same or get worse. We so often read about how disciplined people are in other countries. Such behavior doesn't come only via enforcement. It comes via education, enforcement, and accountability.

2. Mistakes when driving is not a criminal offence. Well..you get fined for a mistake as well when rules are applied with due consideration to circumstances. And, while the mistake itself is not criminal, the end result of one often is.

3. It is possible to drive without resorting to dangerous overtaking maneuvers, especially overtaking from the left most lane. It needs two things - self awareness, and respect. If people keep doing it over and again and justifying it, especially on a forum like this where there is enough information available on both common driving sensibilities and about accidents (with many of those taking place on the left most lane at high speeds), then it can only mean that the person doesn't take accountability. It is hard to do, not impossible.

[StopUnderrides]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Just incredible how people are criticising Dr Anahita for overtaking from the left. It is as if they have never ever driven on an Indian highway.

Exactly this! If you are climbing on Mt. Everest you don’t blame the weather or an avalanche. Similarly if you are driving in India you have to drive to conditions rather than expecting conditions to be ideal

[Nalin1]

Originally Posted by StopUnderrides

Exactly this! If you are climbing on Mt. Everest you don’t blame the weather or an avalanche. Similarly if you are driving in India you have to drive to conditions rather than expecting conditions to be ideal

By all means overtake from the left. Monster trucks crawling don't give us any other option.
Use your brains when you do so. Take a long, hard look at the full view ahead and proceed ONLY if you can complete the move without any drama!.

The moment you ever feel that there is even a 1% chance of a risk- ABORT.

A blunder is by no means a criminal offence, and that is exactly why criminal cases are not booked against errant drivers. But unfortunately the consequences are as worse as any criminal act.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Just incredible how people are criticising Dr Anahita for overtaking from the left.

I do agree that overtaking on the left is a fact of life and will continue to be. But it is subject to all the usual rules, caveats and advices with regard to overtaking, plus some.

When overtaking on left it is absolutely vital to make the vehicles we are overtaking know that we are there. It is vital to understand that they may be looking to right, not necessarily their left. And we must take responsibility for anything that happens. And we should not assume right of way.

This applies to all, from a bike slipping through on the left on a city street to a car on a highway.

And making a mistake while driving is NOT a criminal offence.

Of course it is!

Excuse the bold, but this is important. Nobody has accidents on purpose --- although many risk them on purpose.

Driving is a dangerous business, not only because of others but because we must take responsibility for the results of what we do. Mistakes? Consequences. Big time. Moral and potentially criminal.

Not a crime? I don't know what Indian law calls it, but British law has this catchall: Driving without due care and attention. Making mistakes: criminal.

The deaths of Mr. Mistry and her brother in law were because they did not wear seat belts in the rear seat - else all that would have happened is at best a minor note in the back pages and perhaps a couple of posts in the accidents thread.

Even this is the responsibility of the driver. And, even if they had been, I suspect that you underestimate the consequences of hitting concrete at that speed. As the saying says, It's not the speed that kills you; it's the stopping.

Yes, not wearing seat belts was stupid, and contributory. It might have made the difference between death and serious injury. It did not cause the accident.

The reason that this accident hitting the headlines, and remaining in the spotlights, is not the unbelted deaths, but that it happened to a famous person in an expensive car. That's all.

This is not such a bad thing. We can all learn the lessons, and apply them to driving in our lesser vehicles, which can all also easily do >90kph (albeit without the same acceleration) too.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Just incredible how people are criticising Dr Anahita for overtaking from the left. It is as if they have never ever driven on an Indian highway.

And making a mistake while driving is NOT a criminal offence.

The deaths of Mr. Mistry and her brother in law were because they did not wear seat belts in the rear seat

Agree on all counts. Reactions are hypocritical at best and prissy at their worst.

On an aside. don't blame you for taking a sabbatical last few months. Blunt speaking has its cons.

[ajmat]

The golden rule for overtaking rightly, leftly or wrongly is

1: You have visibility well ahead of what you are overtaking

2: You have an escape route if you need to abort - I.e. ability to brake or fall back in line

3: A reserve of power to accelerate out of a situation or a reserve of braking power/ distance to abort/ prevent a situation

4: You need the ability to respond to the situation, not react.

[sunilch]

Can we all agree that this accident was a result of:

1) Unsafe driving by the driver - high speed and overtaking maneuver without proper thought on safety.
2) Unsafe roads - lane merging without proper signs and a very abrupt end of the lane instead of a gradual/slow merge.

It is all in media and under discussion here because the person who lost his life at the rear seat was a rich person and a known face in the media.

Otherwise, we can end this discussion with a simple note that we need to be double careful when driving in India due to multiple reasons already known and listed here. Better to be late in reaching home than sorry for not being able to make it safe.

May be pause this thread for a while.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Hayek

And making a mistake while driving is NOT a criminal offence.

It is when the mistake causes death.

Every single time, irrespective of who / how important the dying person is.

The deaths of Mr. Mistry and her brother in law were because they did not wear seat belts in the rear seat - else all that would have happened is at best a minor note in the back pages and perhaps a couple of posts in the accidents thread.

Well the driver is the only one liable on the legal front. In any country in the world. Even in any criminal offense of any severity, you don't get the punishment divided across the passengers of the car, do you?

Irrespective of the non-controllable conditions (road situation, weather conditions, other vehicles on the road, etc.), the driver is liable for everything. Yes, in this case, she'll appeal and get some reprieve for sure. But whatever she pays, it'll be lesser than what the rear passengers paid for.

- - - - - - - - -

Looks like they have gone the whole length against the driver, after police recorded her husband Darius Pandole's statement.

Pandole has been booked under Sections 304A (death due to negligence), 279 (rash driving), 336 (endangering lives), 337 (causing hurt) and 338 (grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 112 (limits of speed), 183 (driving at excessive speed) and 184 (dangerous driving) of the Motor Vehicles Act, besides Sections 14 (overtaking), 5 (duties of drivers/riders), and 6 (lane traffic) of the Motor Vehicle Driving Regulation.

Source: India TV News

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

"Darius Pandole, who survived the car accident in which industrialist Cyrus Mistry died, has told the police that his wife Dr Anahita was driving the Mercedes-Benz car in the third lane and could not merge.........

Just saw that the news was already shared a post above.

Her husband should have kept his mouth shut at this stage. His wife Dr Anahita is hospitalised and only after her recovery should any statement to the police needed to have been made. The hubby-wife survivors could have better discussed amongst themselves, post her full recovery as to what sort of statement is to be made to the police.

As a co passenger Darius Pandole doesn't have full first hand knowledge of what exactly went wrong.

It has now news that Darius Pandole has said "bla bla bla" and that the police has registered a FIR against Dr Anahita.

Dr Anahita has the right to challenge these statements in her deposition to the police and also has the right to challenge proceedings against her if any, in the appropriate court of law under the Criminal Procedure Code.

The police after taking the RTO officials findings on record about the Mercedes Benz GLC SUV, have absolved the German carmaker from any manufacturing deformities. That's quite OK as the SUV proved that it's a safe car.

However, no FIR has been registered against the concerned authorities who were responsible for the freak and defective road design, wherein three lanes suddenly and magically became two. There was no road sign too at the spot displaying the "three become two" as a cautionary note to drivers.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Her husband should have kept his mouth shut at this stage. His wife Dr Anahita is hospitalised and only after her recovery should any statement to the police needed to have been made. The hubby-wife survivors could have better discussed amongst themselves, post her full recovery as to what sort of statement is to be made to the police.

They both would have discussed amongst themselves and with top advocates they can hire before this statement was made.

Anahita Pandole had a surgery but isn’t mute. They must be having daily conversations one to one in the hospital on this matter.

Police knows this and is trying to book her somehow. I haven’t seen such elaborate sections being used against anyone. The intention of the police is clear. Also, there is frustration of the police involved as both of them seems to be not cooperating.

[theabstractmind]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Dr Anahita has the right to challenge these statements in her deposition to the police

however, no FIR has been registered against the concerned authorities who were responsible for the freak and defective road design, wherein three lanes suddenly and magically became two. There was no road sign too at the spot displaying the "three become two" as a cautionary note to drivers.

It's possibly why the statement has been made in a way that on the premIse of a technical flaw, they can get a landmark judgment (money can give the power to fight) and absolve themselves of criminal proceedings. Anyway, they have paid their price with the lives of their kith and kin. No other punishment can be bigger. I'm no sadist. Merely stating the situation.

Anyway, my purpose of posting here has solely been to create awareness. I often come across these idiotic drivers who literally use the shoulder or barge in from left and cut in front of the nose of my car (or somebody else's) despite me doing my job of driving at a legal and reasonable speed based on the traffic conditions either in the left or middle lane; and I give way wherever possible. It takes only one mistake from me or that idiot to have a crash and then I won't know with whose lives it will be paid for. It's just not worth it.