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Old 7th January 2015, 11:27   #7141
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Originally Posted by Secretariat View Post
[*]He never crossed 80 kmph, even on open stretches of NH2. His theory was that on an Indian road, anything could come from anywhere at anytime and therefore speeds over 80 kmph was suicidal
80kmph seems to be the favorite of full time drivers. I've met at least a couple of them limiting themselves to this figure, even where the legal limit is 100.

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[*]He drove bang in the middle of the two lane side of the dual carriageway.
A lot of guys do that. And they irritate the hell out of other road users. Imagine this guy doing 80 kmph, bang in the middle of two lanes; a vehicle doing much higher speeds coming from behind can't figure out which lane he will change to, has to slow down, honk, wait for this guy take his sweet time to pick and change his lane, and then proceed, phew! They get to my nerves every time!:banghead:

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He watched his mirrors all the time
+1. One should always do that so long as not to become paranoid about it.

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[*]He never wore his seatbelt despite my entreaties.
Seat belts and helmets(for bikers); nah, they are not for us immortals. When do we learn?

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[*]He never got irritated at the idiots and morons on the road. Nothing disturbed his composure which was Buddha like
"I'm surrounded by my ilk, I'm in THE ZONE!" Or he actually is composed. Seriously, the art of Zen is difficult to practice than to preach!
+1

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[*]He honked all the time; never overtaking without a vigorous honk, much to my irritation
+1. "Better be louder than sorry!"

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"Indian highway mode"
This is so cynically humorous! Every thing that is wrong with our highways is branded "Indian highway mode". 'nuf said.

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[*]He would not eat anything on the way on the logic that he was minimising his chances of drowsiness.
+1.

Why am I dissecting this? May be I'm thinking out loud.

IMO, all the positives about him are what experience has taught him; the rest, he is not trained or educated about!
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Old 7th January 2015, 11:27   #7142
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Re: Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em

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I tend to lose concentration when I have someone to engage in conversation with - miss turnoffs and such. I prefer not to multitask.

And I generally play soothing carnatic music or "road anthems" (nat king cole's get your kicks on route 66) - saves my blood pressure from the subject of this thread. I have to be careful when driving with my 3 year old lest he pick up obscenities I mutter under my breath when I run into a more than usually dumb motorist.
Having someone to talk to always helps, the downside is if he starts sleeping, you may also feel sleepy.
Good music also helps to keep me calm.
One thing I do is to stop the car and take a break every 1 to 1.5 hours. I never drive more than 2 hours without a break (unless the whole drive is less than 3 hours). Just small small breaks - 5 to 10 min maximum. Have a coffee, wash face with cold water, walk and stretch a bit during the break. It gives the car also time to cool down.
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Old 7th January 2015, 11:55   #7143
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Having someone to talk to always helps, the downside is if he starts sleeping, you may also feel sleepy.
Well, that's a personal preference. I don't like anyone chatting away on my left. Surprisingly I am not affected by all the folks sleeping around. I find the peaceful atmosphere better. On all my highway drives so far my better half and son would be asleep ( she is more interested in the destination than the journey while I am opposite) on the back seat while I would be happily munching miles and enjoying the drive.
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Old 7th January 2015, 12:03   #7144
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Re: Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em

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Well, that's a personal preference. I don't like anyone chatting away on my left. Surprisingly I am not affected by all the folks sleeping around. I find the peaceful atmosphere better. On all my highway drives so far my better half and son would be asleep ( she is more interested in the destination than the journey while I am opposite) on the back seat while I would be happily munching miles and enjoying the drive.
I second your thoughts. In my case while driving i don't worry whether my co passenger is sleeping, awake, listening to music etc.. As long as he/she does not fall on me while sleeping (snoring is very much allowed. I turn a deaf ear to that), i am fine driving.
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Old 7th January 2015, 12:03   #7145
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Re: Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em

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80kmph seems to be the favorite of full time drivers. I've met at least a couple of them limiting themselves to this figure, even where the legal limit is 100.
40..45 for city driving and 80 for highways is a personal rule that I don't break. And I have seen plenty of idiots who scream past you at much faster speeds, anyway to slow down and stop a bit ahead at a traffic signal, where I end up the very next car in line.

And this way I may arrive half an hour or so later but will most likely arrive in with me and my car in one piece.
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Old 7th January 2015, 12:35   #7146
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Re: Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em

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.......I may arrive half an hour or so later but will most likely arrive in with me and my car in one piece.
Over longer distances, I've often found myself arriving at par or even before the reckless maniacs. My average speeds will probably be close to or better than theirs due to sedate constant cruising compared to their stop-start high-speed antics, plus I (and my car) will be less fatigued and need fewer rest stops than them and of course always have a better chance of arriving in one piece. Win-win whichever way I look at it!
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Old 7th January 2015, 13:41   #7147
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Re: Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em

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Over longer distances, I've often found myself arriving at par or even before the reckless maniacs. My average speeds will probably be close to or better than theirs due to sedate constant cruising compared to their stop-start high-speed antics, plus I (and my car) will be less fatigued and need fewer rest stops than them and of course always have a better chance of arriving in one piece. Win-win whichever way I look at it!
Agreed completely, I have similar experiences. On a long drive my friend was doing what it looks like a fast drive (not reckless though) and the average speed he clocked was 68 kmph with a FE of 16.8 kmpl. On my return journey on the same car I was doing 40 kmph lesser than him, achieved a FE of 21 kmpl and an average speed of 73 kmph! It was a 600 km journey.
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Old 7th January 2015, 16:54   #7148
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Originally Posted by hserus View Post
40..45 for city driving and 80 for highways is a personal rule that I don't break. And I have seen plenty of idiots who scream past you at much faster speeds, anyway to slow down and stop a bit ahead at a traffic signal, where I end up the very next car in line.

And this way I may arrive half an hour or so later but will most likely arrive in with me and my car in one piece.
In city, I see no point in gunning down only to stop at the next Red. But, on four lane highways, 100 is my "personal limit". Having said that, the man, the machine and the road: these three are the variables in this equation.
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Old 7th January 2015, 17:35   #7149
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Re: Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em

Sure, some people prefer their coffee strong and others prefer it milder

For me, 4 lane highways do have their share of hazards (like I was driving down NH45 the other day - fairly close to chennai) and half a dozen cows were happily sitting close to the median, in the late evening.

If I wasn't going at around 70, I wouldn't have had time to move my car over to the shoulder of the road and pass them without converting my bonnet to scrap and one or more (doubtless expensive) cows into steak.
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Old 7th January 2015, 19:25   #7150
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Re: Accidents in India - PICS

What do you do when your indicators dont work? You hang a body out of the car.

This guy was hanging out for much longer duration on this expressway, that portion was not filmed.


Last edited by aerohit : 7th January 2015 at 19:30.
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Old 8th January 2015, 00:34   #7151
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Re: Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em

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80kmph seems to be the favorite of full time drivers. ...
It's decades ago now, and I have no idea if it is still true of today's engines, but people used to say that 50MPH is the most economical on petrol speed. That's 80kph.
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Old 8th January 2015, 01:00   #7152
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Re: Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em

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It's decades ago now, and I have no idea if it is still true of today's engines, but people used to say that 50MPH is the most economical on petrol speed. That's 80kph.
+1 From my experience on my Camry (Petrol) 80 - 90 Kmph seems to yield the best economy
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Old 8th January 2015, 07:03   #7153
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Re: Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em

It doesnt matter what car you drive, road rage is a custom here (Russia).



Source - YouTube
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Old 8th January 2015, 10:20   #7154
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Re: Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em

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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom View Post
...
but people used to say that 50MPH is the most economical on petrol speed. That's 80kph.
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Originally Posted by balajird View Post
+1 From my experience on my Camry (Petrol) 80 - 90 Kmph seems to yield the best economy
Make that +2. Steady speeds 80-100 km/h gives best mileage, experienced that on both carbureted (80's-90's generation) and the latest MPFi engines.

Last edited by KiloAlpha : 8th January 2015 at 10:20. Reason: Grammar
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Old 8th January 2015, 12:25   #7155
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Re: Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em

Beat that Guys. This gentlemen was driving with his bonnet open in Jammu few days back. This has resulted in a one km long jam behind him. I don't know how to comprehend the logic behind his adventure. May be an overheated engine in chilly Jammu.
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