[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

A villager randomly changed direction from fast lane to a cut in the median, intending to join the service road.

Oh man. That was close. It looks like he was about to swing a baton of sorts. Its good you did not wait or stop. You never know what these chaps are capable of. They will try and make a situation out of nothing.

I had an identical incident several years ago when I was out doing a run in ride on my KTM Duke 390. This was between Penukonda and Bangalore. In this case, it was the exact opposite to yours. Villager and his dear wife on a TVS50 decided to dart across the 4 lane Hyderabad highway from far left to right. It was not intentional. They were just trying to get across to the other side of the road or lane and there was a cut in the median too. Was doing similar speeds to yours. My lack of confidence in ABS systems and coming from an old Enfield did not give the confidence to apply 100% brakes, thinking I'd skid and fall, so I applied just the required amount that would prevent a skid. I got lucky and stopped with the front tire just a few inches away from the moped. In my head, I was about to have a bad crash. The couple of the TVS knew I was heading for them and did not show any sign of fear. They looked at me casually and kept going. This is their area and they rule the road so I just moved on. Shook me up though.

[SN88]

Remember this ad by Ceat? Its exactly how our roads are.

https://youtu.be/PFPns4-z29Y

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=yzbqcxuE0y8

Did anyone notice he had a stick in his hand? I felt like he intentionally crossed lane and was about to hit the windshield with the stick. Probable action to loot?

[shrk_18]

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=yzbqcxuE0y8

Phew, that was a close one !!! What an idiot

One rule I follow when I spot a 2 or 3 wheeler in the high speed lane is, to honk the shit out. I keep the horn pressed or keep honking continuously from say half a km to make sure these guys know what's coming.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Did anyone notice he had a stick in his hand? I felt like he intentionally crossed lane and was about to hit the windshield with the stick. Probable action to loot?

I think you are applying too much imagination here. He keeps the stick in front of himself, and even a complete idiot might guess that taking a stick to a fast moving car might indeed damage the car, but will probably damage him more.

Keep it simple: he is doing a last-minute cut for the exit without looking.

My hint for this situation: biker is in right lane, and driver is wondering, "is this guy going to do something stupid?" Overtake on left, not middle, lane. One clear lane of extra safety margin.

[Neversaygbye]

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

A villager randomly changed direction from fast lane to a cut in the median, intending to join the service road.

Close shave indeed and your anticipation and reflexes saved you from a horrible accident.

Our highways are full of idiots - and their tribe seems to be expanding by the day. Hence if I see people standing on the divider, or on the road side, or a cyclist or motorcyclist poking his nose out from a cut in the median or from the roadside, I move to the farthest lane from them and start honking like crazy. The number of idiots also vary with the hour of the day - afternoon drives are typically more comfortable.

I know that a lot of people prefer to drive on highways at night as that reduces the number of idiots on the road drastically, but then it brings its own set of challenges what with road conditions even on the best highways being highly unpredictable.

One just can't win! So defensive driving and hoping for the best is probably the only way to go.

[NovemberKing_91]

The video is a clear advertisement for why Dashcams are absolute necessity. Had there been a contact and no dashcam, there would have been no way the car driver would be able to convince anyone, that it was not his fault that the bike guy cut across the lanes and came in the path.
I just installed my dashcam a couple of days back, and it does feel like having an insurance in place.
I wish the car manufacturers would start adding a dashcam as a part of factory fitted safety accessory.

[AZT]

What's more scary is even though you had the dashcam footage you'd probably still be screwed if you hit him. Thank god this was day time and not pitch dark where visibility is worse.

[sam_machine]

This is not only bad driving and putting life in danger ,but an classic case of bad parenting. Kids sitting on the bonnet ,while the dad drives on necklace road Hyderabad.
Not able to upload the whole video.

[Bsimhan]

Originally Posted by shrk_18

One rule I follow when I spot a 2 or 3 wheeler in the high speed lane is, to honk the shit out. I keep the horn pressed or keep honking continuously from say half a km to make sure these guys know what's coming.

Yes, I agree. I was initially not doing this and had some close calls. I have now taken to honking just so that the person knows that I'm close. The lane system doesn't seem to work.

[tiagoatrix]

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=yzbqcxuE0y8.

Just came across a forum where there was so much positive response for increasing speed limit to 140kmph in National highways.

If Mr.Divya Sharan had been driving at 140,that idiot of an biker would have bleed to death on the tarmac.

That biker came from an illegal passing across the divider. There are thousands of such "Squid passes" across highways

If the bus infront of the car had slowed down, he would've rear ended the bus or if he was driving in right most lane, then it might've resulted in a Collison.

Being alert every single second saved you.

[Beta_Blocker]

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=yzbqcxuE0y8


I guess that awareness, not too fast speeds, great brakes, ABS, Michelins all combined together and saved us!

One more thing I noticed is that, you didn’t decide on which lane you should shift to immediately, and kept the option of shifting into both right and left lanes till the last possible moment.

Had you started shifting to the left most lane early on and had the bike been a bit faster in shifting lanes, the outcome wouldn’t be as favourable.

[Divya Sharan]

It is bedlam, on our highways!

I always start a little early so that I have an hour or two of extra time to cover a planned distance in a day, without having to rush. Risk to reward proportions are skewed against drivers in India sadly, hence defensive driving is the only way to save everyone.

I do not think that he planned to loot or swing the stick at us. I believe he may have had a herd of animals he would (have taken or) take to graze in a nearby field. He simply changed lanes without looking. This is where proper training helps.

"Look before you change directions." With such basics missing, the other party's grey cells have to do all the heavy lifting and permutations.

For me the takeaway from the discussion is that I may have to be more liberal with the horn in advance and yes, move farther away before even trying to take evasive action, depending upon the other person's movement. Good call that!

Originally Posted by Beta_Blocker

Had you started shifting to the left most lane early on and had the bike been a bit faster in shifting lanes, the outcome wouldn’t be as favourable.

Exactly! It could frankly have gone either way to be very honest. We were extremely lucky that day.

[NG_EV]

Originally Posted by sam_machine

This is not only bad driving and putting life in danger ,but an classic case of bad parenting. Kids sitting on the bonnet ,while the dad drives on necklace road Hyderabad.
Not able to upload the whole video.

Is the vehicle actually moving? Unbelievable!!! Kindly upload the video to YouTube and add the link to forum post.

[CarNerd]

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=yzbqcxuE0y8
A villager randomly changed direction from fast lane to a cut in the median, intending to join the service road.

My question is what if we hit someone in such situations? Should we stop and try to know what happened and help or just go away from the scene? What is the right thing to do with and without a dashcam? Any suggestions?