[SuperSlick]

@mmxlorider, in some genuine cases (emergency) like you have mentioned it's fine to overtake from left in rains. But those 3 guys were in a way 'rash' and splashing water high and far as if they were in some amusement park on a 'flume ride', which is absolutely not acceptable!

Agree that water will splash, but one should drive slowly in water logged roads (for your own safety) and make sure not to splash too much like how those 3 idiots did that day!

[sunishsamuel]

While viewing the "accidents in india" thread, I have a serious question:

Let's say ideal situation that eye sight of driver is fair enough and that he is doing a reasonable speed (60-80) at a stretch with good visibility and legal to do such speeds. At a distance he can see vehicle or obstacle either not moving or moving slow (especially in buses and trucks when visibility is high compared to a sedan). Why is it that the driver still goes really close to the vehicle or obstacle and try to steer to left or right at last moment ? Most accidents caused like this, isn't it ? Why can't people slow down or brake beforehand - judgement is very slow/poor ? Or the cultural problem that we are so used to doing things at the last moment ?

Let's say driver is not worried about passenger safety but for his safety at least he should slow down, isn't it ? And i have seen this a problem very particular to indian drivers vs us/uk.

Forget 80kmph ! I have seen people driving at 10kmph steering left or right when they see a small pothole, though going over the pothole at 10kmph would do no harm to anyone !

I am seriously looking for some answers. Please share your thoughts.

[enygma]

Our cultural problem is that an attempt will be made to bully through. The steps being

- Honk from some distance behind and flash the lights
- Loom large in his rear view mirror and attempt to bully him off
- Honk, flash and repeat
- Still not giving way? Brake and then steer left or right

I have seen people flash their lights at cattle crossing the road at daytime, because they are wired to go for the horn and flash at the same time !

The day is not far away when you will see someone honk at the pothole and then stare at it and cuss for coming in their way. Brakes are the last resort and not the first ...

Originally Posted by sunishsamuel

At a distance he can see vehicle or obstacle either not moving or moving slow (especially in buses and trucks when visibility is high compared to a sedan). Why is it that the driver still goes really close to the vehicle or obstacle and try to steer to left or right at last moment ?

[Thad E Ginathom]

The day is not far away when you will see someone honk at the pothole

I've done that!

Seriously embarrassing

sunishsamuel, My view is that a driver slows down at any doubt whatsoever. The general view is not to slow down, ever, for anything.

I'll slow if I see someone running towards the road, even though they may not have reached it, especially if they are not looking at the traffic. I'll brake hard if I see someone waving a leg off a median they are climbing --- which is one reason why I so loathe the tailgaters.

Good driving is computing all the things that might happen.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

My view is that a driver slows down at any doubt whatsoever. The general view is not to slow down, ever, for anything.

I'll slow if I see someone running towards the road, even though they may not have reached it, especially if they are not looking at the traffic. I'll brake hard if I see someone waving a leg off a median they are climbing --- which is one reason why I so loathe the tailgaters.

Good driving is computing all the things that might happen.

Well said. You are resorting to kind of 'defensive driving' and earnestly hoping that no harm whatsoever happens to fellow road users. Good that there are good drivers around.
I too follow the defensive driving my dear friend.
Anticipate wrong moves by other road users.
I too hate guys following closely behind and honk (with Hi beam too at night)

[Thad E Ginathom]

Of course, it is mush more easily said than actually done.

At any one one time, there are an infinite number of things that might happen, but we can, at least look for the more obviously likely.

There are a handful of things that I begin with, some taught, some read, some learnt by experience. Just two or three examples...

Just because the car in front of you starts moving, doesn't mean it will go on moving (the guy who ran into me a couple of weeks back didn't know this: he would have preferred me to kill a pedestrian)

Green Traffic signal --- might be a bout to change.

Junction --- vehicle may come from any angle

Stationery bus --- look for people running to catch it, or running across the road from in front of it (which nearly killed me as a teenager)

One child running --- is probably being chased by another.

All that kind of stuff. The list is endless

[rajeev k]

People alighting and coming from behind the stopped bus to cross the road,

Vehicles entering a road from byroads, without Stop, Look and Proceed regimen,

Parked vehicles abruptly taking off,

Wanton lane changers,

As Thad said the list is endless and goes on. True, it is tough to be a disciplined driver.

[noopster]

Yesterday on Sus Road I needed to take a U-turn to get home after dropping off my friend. There was a driving school car trying to take the U as well. I waited patiently- there was a middle-aged man at the wheel and he was haaving a tough time judging when to make the turn. Traffic wasn't heavy at all but the occasional bike or car was zooming in from the opposite direction and he was getting really nervous.

The last thng I wated to do was to make him even more nervous so I just waited behind him- no flashing, no honking, no gesturing. But I could sense he was getting increasingly frustrated. Finally he just went for it and- typical rookie mistake- timed it all wrong. There was a 6-seater (Pune speciality vehicle: halfway between an autorickshaw and a tempo) that was coming just then, followed by a couple of bikes.

Picture this: all three of these vehicles tried to squeeze in between the U-turning learner car and the sidewalk! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. By then most of the turn had been completed and the learner didn't even see these vehicles trying to squeeze in on his left in the barely-there space. The bikes made it, the 6-seater didn't. A squeal of brakes and some name-calling followed.

But why? It was so easily avoidable. You see a guy struggling to take a turn, obviously a learner, in light traffic in a residential area- give him way, please! There is no ego at stake here. We were all learners once, right? And we've made our share of mistakes. At least I remember with fondness the fact that a couple of drivers had patiently waited as I completed an ill-conceived U-turn on Versova Road back in '93 when I just started driving. If nothing else, I think that act of kindness made me realise the importance of being a good, considerate driver.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by noopster

But why? It was so easily avoidable. You see a guy struggling to take a turn, obviously a learner, in light traffic in a residential area- give him way, please! There is no ego at stake here. We were all learners once, right? And we've made our share of mistakes. At least I remember with fondness the fact that a couple of drivers had patiently waited as I completed an ill-conceived U-turn on Versova Road back in '93 when I just started driving. If nothing else, I think that act of kindness made me realise the importance of being a good, considerate driver.

I couldnt agree with you more. Apart from the genuinely bad & rash drivers, we seem to have many more inconsiderate drivers. There are many I know (unfortunately even in the family) who drive very well but are totally inconsiderate to other drivers on the road and especially towards pedestrians. I think all the patience in people has been depreciating over the last 20 years till today when it is almost a 'write off'

There are very few on the road today who allow others to pass. In fact there are many who honk/ holler at me when I do it

[mmxylorider]

^^^A similar case few days ago on Paud Road (bifurcated stretch) but with a refreshing change. I was stopped at the signal, lead position with about 3-4 cars parallel to me. An Indica (Guy in the front and lady in the back - looked like husband wife) with L sign was crossing but stalled in the middle. He tried 3-4 times with same result before he could continue. All this time, there was no honking or anything.

[SuperSlick]

The above cases remind of a small instances which left me 'feel-good' at least.

Me and my brother were returning home from work on bike and I was the pillion rider while my brother rode the bike. At an intersection a lady on an Activa was with her children waiting to cross the junction. We were ahead of all the traffic that was behind us and my brother stopped the bike to let her cross. She was kind enough to say 'Thank you' to which both of us nodded back in appreciation. I feel that's how all the drivers should be - patient, calm and courteous like the lady. I'd say to all - "kar ke dekho accha lagta hai" (Translated - Do it and see, you will feel good about it)

[tsk1979]

I almost hit the divider.

I am on a city main road, with divider on center, and 3 lanes on each side.
There is a maroon wagon R in the center lane, going at around 30-35kmph.
I am doing around 50-55kmph.

Its late evening, and I am in the rightmost lane, planning to overtake. His driver side ORVM is open, but I do not want to take chances, so I honk once and flash my lights.

I start overtaking him, and I see that the driver is talking to co-passenger by looking in his direction!!

Just as I am abreast of him, he suddenly starts a lane change maneuver, into the right lane. I honk, but he does not stop, and then I am almost touching the driver as I slam the brakes.

The skid is loud, and even then he does not stop, thankfully his bumper narrowly misses mine as I fall back.

Slowly he ambles back to center lane. He is basically taking to his passenger, and doing left right on the road.

I am totally annoyed with him now, I overtake him, and then then get in front, and slam the brakes.
In my RWM I see his shock as he sits on the brakes, but before he can come close enough to hit the white elephants rear I speed away.

I know its road rage, but this idiot almost made me climb on the divider.

I see his breed every day. They sit like monkeys hugging the steering wheel, with their eyesight like mules and donkeys, guided by those black patches.

They see only straight. Everything to the sides and rear does not exist.

They change lanes without indicator.

Normally, when I am in my battered indica, I just do not slam the brakes, metal on metal usually wakes them up.

But the safari is still relatively blemish free, except for bumpers and some cladding, and every day I struggle to keep her clean.

One observation I have made though, all these creatures drive a Wagon R.

Somebody once asked what the scariest vehicle for you on road. Most say killer trucks or buses. I say wagon R. Its terrifies me. Every time I have to overtake one, I wonder, will I end up on the divider?

[download2live]

^^ Hopefully his co-passenger was a beautiful woman.

This breed of drivers is increasing day by day.

Yesterday was a bad traffic day for me. My BP was touching the roof.

Picture this.

In front a Tata Ace. Behind it a Indica Taxi. And behind it my car. All on a narrow road.

Tata Ace is stationary and hence the indica goes slow to overtake him. Tata Ace starts off and without any indicators to indicate that he was getting into middle of road he merges into traffic.

Makes me lose my cool. And if that was not enough, suddenly the Indica take a left and parks itself on the left. Again without any indicators.

I am left clenching the steering and astounded at stupidity of these morons.

[anilisanil]

I was joining the Pashan NDA road from the road that connects to Bangalore highway. This road meets the NDA road as a T junction and I have to turn right. So this is a very tircky one as there is misplaced traffic circle at this junction probably due to road widening.

The other day, I was negotiating the turn and managed to cross one side of the road and was waiting for the other car which is approaching. After he asks me to go ahead and before I could even release my clutch a two wheeler overtakes me into the direction of curve I am turning into. result- a big scratch on my bumper.

I think this is THE biggest sign of a bad driver- overtaking a turning vehicle in the direction of turn. And if I were not too see him in time, I would have knocked him down! IDIOT!

[suhaas307]

A couple of days back, I was buried into my text-books on my study table, when I'd heard a loud crash and a bang followed by plenty of screaming and howling. It sounded like it happened right in front of my house, and I was a bit worried since my mother was preparing to leave the house to run a couple of errands.

I'd gotten even more scared when she barged into the house just when I found myself on the ground floor of our house. The only thing she said was, "Dial an emergency number, quick!"

I grabbed the cordless and ran to the gate to see what had happened, only to find this:



For a minute, I was taken aback. The crowd had swelled up and I decided to fall back and watch while I dialed 108. Apparently, a cyclist was knocked down in the process and was hurt, but not grievously. He was taken away in an auto-rickshaw, while the driver of the Omni wriggled his way out of the car.

After asking a couple of witnesses, it turns out that the Omni was trying to turn into the road at a speed that he shouldn't have been doing. The cyclist was coming from the opposite direction, and in the middle of the road. While the Omni guy tried to avoid the collision by going into the right side of the road, mid-corner, the cyclist was following the rules of the road by sticking to his left, and WHAM!









The Omni guy was very very lucky, I'd say. He found himself parked on the pavement right in between a transformer and a tree. Had he dialed in too much or too little steering, it would have been quite serious.

Sometimes, I wonder what people think when they go fast, especially in residential areas, where the element of risk looms large. Some people just don't seem to get it. I would consider people like these as bad drivers.