[locusjag]

Originally Posted by glovins2004

Near miss incident with a Calf – Chennai to Bangalore highway
...
Ohh my god, I was hit by a dog couple of months back near Chennasamudram toll gate and I was stranded with my family on the road, since then I was bit paranoid while driving on our highways and this is another incident with narrow escape.
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How do we prevent domestic animal and dog’s crossing our highways? Will there ever be a solution?

Animals ambling onto the roads is pretty common even in some developed countries. This won't occur in elevated, access-controlled highways alone - which is the only type of highway where the problem gets addressed.

And so, let us give adequate respect to road safety on our normal highways (as opposed to access-controlled elevated highways) as an unstructured problem. Unstructured problems have unknown causes but known solutions; I think our highways have a huge number of unknowns waiting to pounce on us at any given time (wrong-side driving, animals crossing, farmers crossing the median on tractors, debris on the road, potholes etc.).

And the solution remains the same - drive sensibly, according to the conditions you're in:
* drive at a sane speed that suits your car,
* always leave some spare power on tap,
* don't stick to the fast lane (from where any unknowns can jump onto you),
* if you're driving at night - only drive at a speed that suits your field of vision etc.

[theabstractmind]

A near miss of a different kind. Well, I think I might have escaped being beaten up or even worse, for honking excessively. My fault, of course to lose my cool. So, the story goes like this:

On my way to Kushalnagar, in a two-lane undivided highway, in dark conditions especially under rain, the one quality which is required for any driver is patience, in my opinion. And patience, I was showing. To give an idea, people were trying to do about 90 or 100kmph in those conditions and I was happy to allow even Chevrolet Spark or the types get ahead. I was doing fair speeds, mind you, considering the conditions. After being tailed by a Triber (to his credit he was never rash), I let him pass when the conditions permitted and I was behind him for a few kilometers. There was no point in driving faster. Then I saw him getting stuck behind a truck - he was driving a bit too close to make a safe overtake when conditions would allow. No problem, so far.

Then, the inexplicable happens. A black KIA Seltos (I remember the number plate), pulls behind me aggressively. Wants to overtake in a no mans land. Then, on a two-lane undivided highway, tries to pass me from the left! An absolute moron! We had by this time come almost to a standstill as the incline caused the truck to slow down and it wasn't ideal for an overtake. I was so irritated that I honked - of course at the KIA, for say half a minute. Then after the Triber overtook the truck, I myself overtook the truck, the Triber and allowed the KIA to pass. Rather I signalled him to pass in an angry manner. I waved a minor apology to the Triber, whom again I allowed to pass.

In the hindsight, I am lucky I did not get pulled out and beaten or whatever for the honking. Yet, as I have expressed a few times previously, our Indian drivers feel entitled a lot. More so with the SUVs. All the degrees and the influx of wealth has really had no impact on the civility. Huh!

[theabstractmind]

Two near misses in two days. The second one was my own doing.

On the way back from Nagarahole, the traffic was crawling around Hunsur due to two slow trucks and a train of cars driving to close to be able to overtake. I was showing my customary patience until there was just one more car ahead of me. But in the meanwhile too many people were trying to fill up the gap ahead or behind me by driving too close to my car's tail. It was very difficult to overtake in those conditions. Finally when I got a visibility of around 100 meters, I decided to pull an overtake as there was nothing in the opposite lane except for a faraway truck and some wider run-off. I pushed to overtake only to see an Eeco also overtaking from the opposite side and merging into its lane bang ahead of me. I had kept a close watch on my RVM and the surroundings. I had two or three choices:

1. Try and pull off the overtake. Too risky with the lack of Torque on my car and the CVT. I was already using paddle shifters to gain speed.
2. Brake and try to merge between the two trucks or behind them - but there was already someone tailing too close. Was risky.
3. Took the third option - I made a sharp turn and went into the run-off area which was bigger than the lane itself as it was in front of some building.

Effectively, I unlapped myself, caught up with the trucks after some time and was able to pass them safely as traffic had thinned down.

Also saw a Honda City in Nagarahole being towed away. The airbags had been deployed and only the bumper had come off with everything else including the radiator looking intact. Later I came across a Honda Jazz with a heavily dented boot with whitish paint marks. Possibly from the same crash?

Lesson relearnt. Patience is a virtue.

[shankar.balan]

I had a flutesnoot bumfhead person in a KA53 Tiago try to suddenly accelerate and overtake me on the left side while coming down the hills from Ooty this morning around 9am. The margin was very narrow. There was no verge to get onto in case of any possible impact or mishap. And this was an idiotic wrong side overtake maneuvre. Yes the traffic was crawling because there are lots of roadworks going on on the Gudalur route. I was in my little Cooper and burbling along happily when this blob brain materialised. And for the most part the drivers on that road this morning were observing both lane and speed discipline. Except a few fellas. This Tiago was one of those outliers. I am not sure what anyone will gain simply by overtaking one car, when there is a long line of cars, all going slow on account of narrow roads and roadworks. These people who visit the hills from the cities, bring all their bad manners, anger, frustration and whatnot with them and make others suffer unnecessarily. Of course in the case of this particular Tiago I gestured sarcastically and angrily at him and purposely steered slightly to the left to block him and indicate that this was not on. He subsided immediately. Later when the road widened I waved to let him pass, which he did (without any acknowledgement of course!). But then, expecting good manners, courtesy and politeness from this new class and breed of driver is like expecting a stone to yield milk. So the less said the better.

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

These people who visit the hills from the cities, bring all their bad manners, anger, frustration and whatnot with them and make others suffer unnecessarily.

Not just that many of them do not know the basics of mountain road driving be it engine braking or proper cornering or giving way to large turning vehicles. After making their "elegant" overtake I have seen many of these smart alecs driving with their brake light on through out the descent. Do not know how long their brake pads last.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by electric_eel

Not just that many of them do not know the basics of mountain road driving be it engine braking or proper cornering or giving way to large turning vehicles. After making their "elegant" overtake I have seen many of these smart alecs driving with their brake light on through out the descent. Do not know how long their brake pads last.

The longevity of their brake pads is the least of my worries. With prolonged riding of the brakes, they fade. Result, absolutely no braking and it's not only these harebrained novices who would end up kissing the pavement in the best case or in a gorge heavens forbid.

[Capri89]

This happened on the 2 lane Dharwad - Hubli stretch last week.

https://youtu.be/RuOi4c0MFls

On reviewing the video I feel I should take part of the blame.
I should have completely stopped, instead of continuing to drive, and allowed the truck a safe overtake. But then, I don't remember if there were vehicles trailing me behind.

[NagarjunaB]

We were going in 50/60 on the left side of road. A maruti was parked on the left side edge of two lane highway, half of it is on the curb(not exactly curb, just some dirt), there is a lot of space to pass over him. On the right side, there is a truck going few meters ahead.

I missed my periodic rear and right side check. So I can't say for sure if there is anyone behind me or on the right side. Note that I previously mentioned there is a truck going on right side few meters ahead.

When I was few meters behind the maruti, all of a sudden it started off steering towards right(yup, apparently he didn't bother checking his right side and didn't even go straight first few meters, just saw the wheel turning towards full right and car started off).

I hit the horn and brakes hard (not too hard though, as there is some space between us and I am aware of my car's braking distance). I think the car's back slightly flew up(the car seat felt as though its pushing me forward and down. My laptop bag which is in rear seat almost got over to front (luckily laptop was fine)

I would have confronted him, but I was too petrified. In retrospect it is my mistake too, should have slowed down or been extra cautious in situations like this(what if someone was behind me!). Also, I am not sure if should have just done a super quick maneuver instead of hitting the brakes(I didn't expect it all, I just froze). Did you guys face such a situation? Do you guys do super quick maneuvers in cases like this?

On a side note, I am not sure about rest of the cars, but the brakes on Magnite are awesome.

[SS-Traveller]

I expect crazy stuff to happen on the road, but wasn't expecting a trio of jokers ambling across the multi-lane 70-km/h road leading from the Delhi Airport T3, at 1AM yesterday! Luckily I had other cars ahead of me, that braked hard at the last moment on spotting these pedestrians, so I was very alert about coming across some sort of hazard on the road. Otherwise they'd have been the new UDAN promoters - Ud jayega Desh ke Aam Nagrik.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpkrr9BY3Yc

Originally Posted by Capri89

On reviewing the video I feel I should take part of the blame.
I should have completely stopped, instead of continuing to drive...

Your camera is showing the speed in miles per hour, and you were doing 40+ mph while the speed limit for that road is 40 kmph!

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

IOtherwise they'd have been the new UDAN promoters - Ud jayega Desh ke Aam Nagrik.
https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=Qpkrr9BY3Yc

What more one of that Aam Nagrik was so polite to you gesturing a "Pehele Aapp" to your car

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by electric_eel

What more one of that Aam Nagrik was so polite to you gesturing a "Pehele Aapp" to your car

I noticed that, and continued, otherwise I was prepared to stop completely. Mercifully, there was no vehicle behind me.

[srvm]

Happened today morning
Location: GM Palya, Bangalore

Had my heart in my mouth for a second there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nSVJ-fENpk

[deathwalkr]

Came across this heart stopping video. Thanks to a good Samaritan a tragedy was avoided.

https://www.manoramaonline.com/news/...-accident.html

One year old kid ambled out onto the road...

[subie_socal]

On my way to college today, I was tailgated by an Innova Crysta, which had boards above the registration pate signifying it belonged to Kerala Police. While I usually give way to such morons for the fear of being rear ended (they follow you really up close). At a point in where the road widening works took place between Kaniyapuram and Pallipuram of Thiruvananthapuram district, I was behind a slow moving lorry which was impacted by the never ending traffic snarls in this stretch (common during rush hours). I was patiently waiting for an opening to overtake the truck. I know the Crysta has been following me (rather tailgating me) from Kaniyapuram junction. Just before reaching Pallipuram, there's a wide curve with so many adjacent by roads joining the main road at that point. So one should always be alert. I was preparing for an overtake as soon the curve ends. I knew the Crysta would pull a dangerous move, but that moron overtook me when there was a vehicle coming from the opposite. The Crysta barely had any space to merge back to its lane, and in the process almost sideswiped my car. Out of frustration, i called them many colourful names in Malayalam while blaring the horn at him. He never gave any hoot about it, and overtook the lorry, again in a similar fashion.

My advice to all the Trivians who frequent this route here, to maintain safe distance, scan the road thoroughly more so in this particular stretch. Everyone has zero regards to other road users. Its even more dangerous on a two wheeler, in my frank opinion.

[The Rationalist]

https://youtu.be/odQc0MzPGSY?feature=shared

Not an accident, incidents like this make me retain hope in humanity especially in these times. That baby was extremely lucky, hope the stupid parent have learnt a lesson. There are millions who are unable to have kids and then there are people like these! A big thanks for you gentleman, you were raised well.