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Old 3rd September 2021, 09:40   #526
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

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Originally Posted by Gannu_1 View Post
After Tindivanam, where the road merges to the 4-laned road, a WR-V was stopping and my concentration lapsed for a split-second! Noticed the car at the last moment and braked, slowing down.
Purely my mistake.
Though you humbly accept that it was your mistake, after reviewing the video multiple times, I can't see how it was your mistake. Clearly the WR-V changed lane without checking the ongoing traffic on the left. You just side stepped him and proceeded further in a smooth manner.
If it was a heavy vehicle, he would have been hit.
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Old 6th September 2021, 11:30   #527
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

An extremely close call | NH75 | Very minor nudge


This happened on yesterday when I was driving my parents back from Belur to Bangalore, between Kunigal and Solur.

I was at my usual cruising speeds of 100-110 when I notice that the left lane ahead appeared busier and switch to right lane. It was wrongly parked truck that was the reason. Soon after, within less than 5 seconds, the VW comes to a dead stop and the Rapid follows. I was next in line to slam the brakes dropping 2 gears down and managed to stop the way you notice in the video. Basically, all of us came to a dead stop in the middle of the highway from usual cruising speeds in under 5 seconds!

The ABS very well kicked in during the entire duration as I could feel the pedals pulsate rapidly. At the end, I somehow felt that my car may have bumped into the Rapid's rear but was still unsure as I never felt the impact to be that high. The Rapid driver's presence of mind to ease his leg off the brake pedal (perhaps after spotting me behind) also greatly helped and it appears in the video as if I pushed that car violently though that was not the case.

The Rapid driver gets out of the car assuming a major impact/damage but I tell him that there is no damage, which he sees. I apologize while he too says sorry and we continue our journey back home. All this exchange in may be less than 10 seconds.

Behind me was a KSRTC bus but was far away or else I am more than sure it may have resulted in a bad read end collision into my car too.

Damage to my car ? None actually. I also paid careful attention to the engine temperature gauge all the way back. I came home and first checked the bumper and pressing it inside with a firm push but it was intact and hence no clamps broken. However, what I did notice was both halves of the number plate frame were open with a gap and I used my fingers to press them together and lock the frames. I also opened the hood to check bent radiator frame but noticed that it was precisely in its place. The hood also opens and closes without any issues and that means the frame where the bonnet lock hook fits is also in place.

Few pictures taken this morning of the front, bumper and engine bay:

Your near-miss experiences on the road-20210906_112244.jpg

Your near-miss experiences on the road-20210906_112314.jpg

Your near-miss experiences on the road-20210906_112327.jpg

Your near-miss experiences on the road-20210906_112507.jpg

All in all, a very narrow escape and an extremely lucky one for me in all these years and kilometers of highway driving. The saviors here were the ABS and the fact that all 3 of us were belted! The roads were wet as it was raining constantly after Kunigal and my car's tires (Primacy 3STs) have run more than a lac km now with some usable life left on them. I am also assuming that may be newer tires may have fared better than this but nevertheless these managed well too.

Last edited by paragsachania : 6th September 2021 at 11:56.
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Old 6th September 2021, 12:16   #528
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

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Originally Posted by RavSam View Post
And yes, I wouldn't stop so quickly like the WR-V guy. That's why I am always being shouted upon by my parents when they spot a vegetable vendor and ask me to stop and I stop it a LOT ahead at safe distance making them walk. They then change their intention of buying altogether sometimes. "Jau de ata, evdha kon chalel!" (Marathi: Let it be. Who will walk so much!)
This is a favorite pet peeve with my parents too. They ask to stop car anywhere without regard for the road width, traffic conditions, what's behind, availability of parking etc. Like sometimes literally in a narrow road with tons of traffic and they suddenly remember to buy some fruits or flowers on the way to a relative and they ask to stop in front of a shop. I refuse always and only stop where the situation permits and it doesn't go well with them.
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Old 6th September 2021, 14:48   #529
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

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Originally Posted by paragsachania View Post
An extremely close call | NH75 | Very minor nudge
This happened on yesterday when I was driving my parents back from Belur to Bangalore, between Kunigal and Solur.
Phew! That was close!. Good to see all of you, the car and everyone else on the road safe .

I could sense some sort of a danger way ahead of you from the video, (red flag situation) a few seconds before all you screeched to a halt. If I had been in your place, I would have eased off the A pedal immediately.

Last edited by Rehaan : 9th September 2021 at 12:06. Reason: Minor edit within the quote :)
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Old 6th September 2021, 14:55   #530
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

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Originally Posted by Nalin1 View Post
If I had been in your place, I would have eased off the A pedal immediately.
Since my audio is muted always, you may not be able to realise this but it is obvious that I went easy on the A Pedal noticing that the way ahead was getting busier. You can notice how everything came to a dead stop in 5 seconds. I couldn't have happily kept my leg on the accelerator pedal after seeing this. Instead I started to slow down by braking upon seeing so both cars with brake lights but then realised that everything happened in shortest distance and came to a dead stop!
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Old 6th September 2021, 22:20   #531
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

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Originally Posted by Yieldway17 View Post
This is a favorite pet peeve with my parents too. They ask to stop car anywhere without regard for the road width, traffic conditions, what's behind, availability of parking etc. Like sometimes literally in a narrow road with tons of traffic and they suddenly remember to buy some fruits or flowers on the way to a relative and they ask to stop in front of a shop. I refuse always and only stop where the situation permits and it doesn't go well with them.
Ha ha, same with my wife. Who then takes it personally that I have made her walk!

In my early days living here, I was in an auto, and I grumbled about how a car had stopped in a really bad place. Auto driver told me, "paid driver, he has no choice, he has to stop where they tell him." That was a good lesson for me. But I don't think that husband, or offspring have to be like paid drivers!
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Old 7th September 2021, 09:54   #532
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

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Originally Posted by paragsachania View Post
An extremely close call
I apologize while he too says sorry and we continue our journey back home. All this exchange in may be less than 10 seconds.

Behind me was a KSRTC bus but was far away or else I am more than sure it may have resulted in a bad read end collision into my car too.

All in all, a very narrow escape and an extremely lucky one for me in all these years and kilometers of highway driving. The saviors here were the ABS and the fact that all 3 of us were belted! The roads were wet as it was raining constantly after Kunigal
This is a classic near miss - and an eye opener. A driver with over 4,50,000km of driving experience can also face this. Yes, use of rear seat belts in this case has at least prevented possible injuries due to the abrupt bump.

Factors leading to this near miss:

1. Slow moving traffic ahead whose speeds cannot be gauged by drivers behind
2. Vehicles stopping which necessitated braking to a full stop by the Rapid
3. Trailer with a crane blocking part of the left lane at 00:24, which is why the vehicles had to suddenly slow down
4. Not a tall vehicle else the view ahead of the Rapid would have been visible and actions could have been that faster
5. Wet road

A near miss, if investigated properly can be an eye opener to prevent a potential future incident. All of us have faced near misses but may seldom have learnt from or investigated them in detail. Dropping speeds a little ahead of a bunch of vehicles is perhaps the only learning from this incident.

There has to be a way to provide an additional warning to the driver(s) behind in case the vehicle is coming to a full stop. Just the steady brake lights won't do, as I've seen in my experience too. Flashing red lights at speeds below 10kmph perhaps? I know it sounds weird but think about it - this feature would work well to prevent rear ending incidents.

Last edited by vigsom : 7th September 2021 at 09:55.
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Old 8th September 2021, 10:25   #533
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

A bike was coming in wrong direction on a 4 lane highway. Frist I thought the bike was coming in opposite lane. Only at the last moment I realised that he was coming in wrong lane.
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Old 8th September 2021, 10:40   #534
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

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Originally Posted by anb View Post
A bike was coming ... wrong lane.
These High IQ idiots will think that they are right since they are keeping left unaware (or aware but don't give a damn) of the oncoming traffic which is in the fast lane.
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Old 8th September 2021, 11:58   #535
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

These guys should be stopped and thrashed in public .

This reminded me of a similar incident in 2013 when we were driving back to Bangalore from Mumbai. My cousin and I were the drivers. Around 10 p.m. or so, I took a power nap in the rear seat and just before that, stressed very strongly to him to concentrate much much more than usual as nights are deadlier!. Just after a few winks, I heard a 'oooohhhhh' from him and my eyes opened in a flash "What happened"? Would you believe it? There was an auto exactly like this bike guy!. One level higher!. With ZERO lights!. A head on missed by a whisker!.
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Old 8th September 2021, 19:37   #536
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

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Originally Posted by Nalin1 View Post
... There was an auto exactly like this bike guy!. One level higher!. With ZERO lights!. A head on missed by a whisker!.
I've had a near-miss with a tractor-trailer used for water supply, in one of the layouts under development, in the vicinity of IIMB in Bangalore. No headlights, dead of the night, teenage driver with an adrenaline rush, blind corner. That incident was one of the handful ones that prompted me to install a dash camera.
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Old 9th September 2021, 12:37   #537
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

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Originally Posted by Prowler View Post
Clearly the WR-V changed lane without checking the ongoing traffic on the left.
The WR-V was on the main road, so had right of way. The WR-V was to the right, and had right of way in any case.

If/when the WR-V checked for traffic, it would have been on the same road, not a merging lane.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom View Post
I watched the video properly. I had only skimmed it before. I didn't even realise that you had just joined the main road. And hey, you were there! I withdraw comment.

Speaking generally, yes, traffic on the main road has the right of way.
Quite right

Quote:
Originally Posted by paragsachania View Post
An extremely close call | NH75 | Very minor nudge
I was at my usual cruising speeds of 100-110 when I notice that the left lane ahead appeared busier and switch to right lane.
Glad it all turned out well for you in the end.

From the video, the lane change itself appears to be the wrong decision. For the speed mentioned or even decelerating from that speed by releasing the accelerator, that is too short a gap from the car (Rapid) in front. The added factors of wet roads and worn tyres should add to your gap.

Quote:
Originally Posted by paragsachania View Post
The roads were wet as it was raining constantly after Kunigal and my car's tires (Primacy 3STs) have run more than a lac km now with some usable life left on them.
1L km is too much for tyres on Indian roads. For wet conditions, they should have been changed earlier IMO.

Last edited by VeluM : 9th September 2021 at 12:48.
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Old 9th September 2021, 13:12   #538
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

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Originally Posted by VeluM View Post
From the video, the lane change itself appears to be the wrong decision. For the speed mentioned or even decelerating from that speed by releasing the accelerator, that is too short a gap from the car (Rapid) in front. The added factors of wet roads and worn tyres should add to your gap.
I always drive on the slow lane and never stay on the fast lane for millions of reasons mentioned in 100s of threads and this is exactly what I have been advocating too. The lane change here was after realizing the commotion in front, assessing any closely tailing traffic behind me and then switching instead of braking way ahead behind that wrongly parked truck and then change the lanes slowing down others - I believe this is exactly what caused many of them to brake when someone on the left lane suddenly switched to right!

Regarding the tyres - They aren't worn by standards where they cannot be called roadworthy. We have enough examples of Michelin Primacy 3STs lasting at least 80-90k km. My earlier tires lasted 93,000 Km which again were Michelin XM2s. My Brake pads lasts as long as 80,000 km and these 2 alone can be a good example to asses how I drive.

This also doesn't mean I drive till the last micrometer tread depth. If you by any chance have come across ownership threads of both my vehicles, you would notice how I do not compromise on proactive replacement of all the parts - mechanical, electrical, brakes or tires. I don't even take the risk of installing cheaper aftermarket parts for brakes.

Quote:
1L km is too much for tyres on Indian roads. For wet conditions, they should have been changed earlier IMO.
My 1L happened in 2 years and 9 months. The next 1L happened in another 4 years. Typically my running is higher and that means the age of the tires is not based on years and rather the number of Km run. Again, replacement of tire is when one experiences decrease in performance, especially braking and handling on tight curves and more importantly the upkeep and conditions of these tires and I felt till now there has been no need to replace them due to degradation in performance.

Last edited by paragsachania : 9th September 2021 at 13:13.
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Old 9th September 2021, 14:02   #539
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

I will share 3 near misses, both happened on the same road.

1. Many years back (maybe around 2010-2012) we used to do frequent trips to Tarapith.
It was on Moregram-Panagarh SH. This road is always pothhole ridden at different places at different times. This is a 2 lane road without any divider.
I was driving at around 60km-80km. Behind me at a few meters was a Tavera. I see a loaded tractor coming from the opposite side. Suddenly it swerves to its right and is heading straight at me. I thought that it may leave the road and move to a village road to my left. I start breaking while moving to my right.
To my horror it again suddenly moves to its left to regain its default lane! I somehow manage to move to my left and miss touching the tractor by a whisker.
The Tavera meanwhile moves to the extreme left and grinds to halt with right side tyres on the shoulder.
The whole thing happened within a few seconds and till today I can visualize the incident.

2. Same road. A state transport bus is in front of me. While I start overtaking it, the bus suddenly slows down. Something strikes me that why is the bus slowing down in an empty stretch? I try to slow down double quick so that my car is not jutting out from the bus.
Sure enough, a cow takes its own time and moves lazily from left to right of the road.
If I had continued to overtake the bus, it would have been a disaster.
What still amazes me is that the driver never bothered to hand signal me to slow down.

3. A few weeks ago I was riding a 2-wheeler. It was on the road to Bongaon from Kolkata. This is quite narrow. A 10-wheeler loaded truck which is coming from the opposite side, starts to overtake an auto and moves to its right. It covered nearly the whole width of the road.
Sensing trouble I stop completely at the edge of the road. I couldn`t move to the shoulder because the road surface has been newly laid and the shoulder is at a lower level. One of the decorative shiny thread hangings brushed past my leg.
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Old 9th September 2021, 15:11   #540
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Re: Your near-miss experiences on the road

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Originally Posted by VeluM View Post
1L km is too much for tyres on Indian roads. For wet conditions, they should have been changed earlier IMO.
I'm absolutely not a tyre expert, but I wouldn't quote distance covered, in itself, as a reason for replacement. My car is a six-year-old with very low mileage. There was plenty of tread left on the tyres. However, the rubber was getting hard and the sidewalls were beginning to crack. Of course, with a higher mileage I would probably have used up more tread, but I think that age would have taken the same toll at half or double the distance.

I got the message about how bad they had got as soon as I drove off with a new set: it was like driving a new car!
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