[amitoj]

Once i was driving back to my hotel in US after visiting a cousin for dinner. Tummy was full of home cooked food and i had also taken my contacts off and was wearing glasses.
I got off the highway into a smaller road where the hotel was.
Well, i got off the highway but i didnt get off the highway speed. As i got into the center lane to turn left to cross the road, i see red and blue lights flashing in my rear view mirror!! I was in the middle of the road and i stopped thinking, so i completed the turn with the cop yelling something from his mic!! I think it was "PULL OVER! PULL OVER!".
The cop was nice enough to let me go with a warning.

Thanks to all the COPS programs i had seen, i knew i should not get out of the car to approach the cop and "keep my hands where he can see em!" I know a colleague who had gotten out of the car before the cop could reach his car and was severely scolded and nearly arrested!!

[prince_pervez]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Thanks to all the COPS programs i had seen, i knew i should not get out of the car to approach the cop and "keep my hands where he can see em!" I know a colleague who had gotten out of the car before the cop could reach his car and was severely scolded and nearly arrested!!

That could be an important tip for many.

[bblost]

I would call this a lapse of judgement rather than concentration.

I had a nice lunch and then started for office.
From the Jubilee checkpost, enter Road number 36.
There is a Qualis, irritating driver.

Honking, mobile phone and trying to cut around in traffic.
We reach the Barista. There is a bus blocking the two of us.
He tries to cut in from the left. I am overtaking from the right.

I can see the bus driver and am taking it easy.
I know this road really well.
As I expect, the bus moves to the left, but the qualis is gunning it.
I am in a petrol Wagon R. And my car can pull when I want her to.

The diesel cab eats my dust.
But I approach the Honda showroom. A 90 degree left turn.
As I take the turn, I realize that I am FAST.
I am getting smashed into my door, but hold my line.
The windows were down and the music volume very low.
The tires are screeching and my car does a beautiful skidding turn.
Thankfully the car holds the road.

The tarmac is broken and all my angels hold the car in one piece.

A quick look at the speedo shows 80 kmph.
I think I took that turn at around 100+.

A very foolish thing to do.
I just hope the foolish driver part of me has learnt his lesson.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by bblost

But I approach the Honda showroom. A 90 degree left turn.
As I take the turn, I realize that I am FAST.
I am getting smashed into my door, but hold my line.
The windows were down and the music volume very low.
The tires are screeching and my car does a beautiful skidding turn.
Thankfully the car holds the road.

This is one of my favorite left turns.

I too usually take this turn at a pretty high speed ( especially after moving up to XM1+'s) and the car holds beautifully.

To ensure a better line, the trick is to hug the left corner while taking this turn instead of going wide and taking the turn along the divider

[MrinalSinha]

I am always scared at this turn. There is no traffic light and usually the right lane, before the turn, is occupied with people who either want to go straight or turn back. The vehivles who are going straight are trying to squeez past the vehicles coming from the opposite sides as no one stops here. Also this turn is the only u -turn after the Mdadhapur police station, so there will be vehicles (and cabs) taking the turn and occupying a big chunk of road. And lastly people coming from Jubilee hills are at the maximum speed they can manage, thanks to a little wide raod and the slope you get. I always feel that there is something waiting to happen at this junction :(

[bblost]

It used to be a good turn.
Now with the broken tarmac surface, I don't consider it a safe turn.

I prefer a half wide turn, because I have found debris in the middle of the road.
Once it was a big stone that might have fallen off a truck.
Couple of times the school bus on the wrong side(for it) of the road.

Inspite of seeing all that, I went ahead and let the wheels slide.
That is why I call my move as foolish.

Just got carried away.

[wheeler]

I remember 2 distinct occassions where I have lost concentration while driving.

The first time was when I was parking my 8 yr old Cielo at a parking somewhere, there was a new Merc S class in the next parking. So instead of turning all the way round and looking at the rear, my eyes were fixed on the Merc and I reversed into a lamp post. Dad was standing right in front and gave me an earful.

The second time was when I was driving from Palakkad to Coimbatore after picking up a 2nd hand M800. Dad, mom and sis were with me in the car. While driving on the highway, I was trying to kill a mosquito flying around in the car and took my eyes off the road. With all the twists and turns I was doing, the car started veering on to the other track. Thankfully managed to get back into my lane before nearing any vehicles.

[msetlur]

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

Once a Rickshaw guy told me about his wierd experience.
He dozed off for nearly 2 kms at night near Chennapatna. Thankfully he had no passengers. He was still on the highway.
Lucky I must say.

Pervez Bhai, there is no way that he could have fallen asleep and gone straight for 2 km on that road. It must have been closer to 200 metres. Maybe he was exaggerating like most of us do

[msetlur]

Was travelling from Bangalore to Mysore in my Santro and was doing a sedate 80 km / hr. Some distance after Maddur, there are a series of rumble strips which most people don't see and just speed over them. However on this occassion, the Scorpio in front of me decided to brake really hard (I think he saw them late). I had not slowed down assuming that he wouldn't either but had to step on the brakes at the last moment to avoid going into the Scorpio's rear. I stopped in time, but there was a Splendor who was tailing me at good speeds and unfortunately for him his brakes were not good enough. He swerved to the right, but could not avoid hitting the side of the car. Bang!!!

He went careening into the opposite lane and fell into the dirt track on the other side with a sickening crash. My heart was in my mouth. I parked my car and got out fearing the worst. This guy was not even moving. He was not wearing a helmet. A private transport bus also stopped behind me. I could sense that a small crowd was gathering. Things were not looking good at all and I half expected that the biker dude was dead. Expecting that I would be beaten to death or worse, that my brand new second hand car would be burnt , I stood transfixed for what seemed to be an eternity.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. People shouting, gesticulating etc etc. I ran across the road with my shaking legs to see what had happened. The biker was still not moving. I tried to feel for his pulse but could only feel my own heart beating like it was about to burst.

People in the crowd were suggesting a lot of things, which all sounded like Martian to me. Someone had by then brought a bottle of water and was sprinkling it on the poor chap's face. No effect!!!!

I had given up hope and had sank to my knees expecting the worst!!! And guess what....This guy just sat up like Kane and Undertaker used to (or still continue to do? I stopped following WWE quite some time ago) after taking a major beating. He looked left and right and appeared to be in shock. When I checked for any injuries on his body, surprisingly/thankfully, he had suffered only a few minor bruises. As soon as he understood what had just happened, he started apologizing profusely for hitting my car....I was stunned...I offered to take him to the nearest hospital but he stood up dusted himself and told me he was quite alright. Before I could say anything else, this guy told the crowd that he was fine and that it was his fault ...He came to my car to check for any dents/scratches. I told him that all I cared about was whether or not he was ok. He said he was. And before anything else could transpire, he ran across the road, picked up his bike and sped away...

Till today I thank my guardian angels that there was a gap in the median at that place and that there was no traffic on the opposite lane of the Bangalore-Mysore highway on a Saturday evening. And the fact that the guy did not make things difficult for me by staging a tamasha.

Good people still walk the earth I guess.

[14000rpm]

had been to mangalore once with my wife, then fiance, and her parents. She had to go to karwar on work and I had to stay back. she left in the morning and I thought hard and suddenly boom!! left to karwar! did a real high speed drive to karwar as I had to reach mangalore by night fall. Oh by the way, I hate night driving. Inevitably I had to drive back in the night and it was horrible. The windscreen of the rental car I'd taken was messed up and the oncoming vehicles' lights would get splattered all across the windscreen. it was hell. to top it all, i started to feel sleepy. the last 100 kms were horrible for me. the most dangerous too. I'm glad I made it back trouble free.the next time i did a long drive I ensured Red bull was part of my baggage.

[rageshgr]

Originally Posted by deepakhon

3 years back, South End Circle, Bangalore:

My Palio was behind a Doc's Uno. The Doc's driver was driving his car. We were in the right most lane and were approaching the signal, which had just turned red. Uno stopped and I was around 15-20m behind him, approaching to stop. Suddenly, a Santro guy from my left lane comes into my lane and goes off to his lane. I get disturbed by that and give him a quick glance and by the time I look straight, I managed to rear end the Uno. I exchanged my business card with the Doc and headed straight to my office. The Doc came up with the receipt for the money he had spent and I paid him back. Done deal.

Damage to the Uno? Headlights smashed, and a dent to its rear bumper. Damage to my Palio? Surprisingly none. Not even a scratch.

Moral of the story: Keep an eye on whom you are following. Dont get distracted by petty things while driving.

Headlights smashed? how is that possible since you rear-ended the Uno? u mean tail lights? or were the headlights really smashed?

[rageshgr]

Originally Posted by DriverR

Sometimes I 'blank' out and more or less drive in 'auto'-mode for some seconds to a few minutes. At the end of this brief spell, I often do not recollect having driven the past distance. The strange part is that I often stop-and-go at traffic points and make turns during these spells. Needless to say this only happen on my regular office-home route. Also needless to say this happen when I'm seriously lost in some issue or thought process.

You said it! happens to me sometimes. We may be still concentrating, but the thing is that driving has become our second nature and the roads are so famliar that we do it involuntarily and almost subconsciously, like breathing!

[sohail99]

Originally Posted by rageshgr

Headlights smashed? how is that possible since you rear-ended the Uno? u mean tail lights? or were the headlights really smashed?

There must've been a vehicle ahead of Uno who got rear ended by it, due to the force of the impact from the Palio

[Surprise]

Better if this has not got into my eyes, but.....

Child run over by dad’s car | Deccan Chronicle

In a tragic accident, a five-year-old girl who ran to welcome her father was crushed under his car after he accidentally stepped on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake on Saturday afternoon......The car then raced forward and crushed Swetha against the garage wall.

Mr Ravikumar usually does not return home in the afternoons and on Saturday, he decided to get out of office a little early and give the children a surprise. “Unfortunately, it resulted in a tragedy,”

[infallible79]

I had my first concentration lapse approximately 3 years back when I was travelling from Ahmedabad to Baroda on the Expressway, which was newly constructed at that time. While cruising in my Zen (approx. 110 kmph) on that nicely built expressway, my cousin who was sitting on the adjacent seat suddenly corrected my steering as the car was drifting to the left side of the road. I then realised that I had dozed away for couple of seconds and if my cousin had not corrected the steering direction, we would have definitely met with a major accident that day.