[pulsar56]

Originally Posted by carboy

What's wrong with this? How does looking at the speedometer while shifting add more safety?

+1. Looking at the Tacho or the Speedometer while driving is the worst thing to do while driving!

There is a friend of mine who checks tachometer when he goes for a gear change and he finds it real difficult to drive an alto or an 800.

All I can say is, your friend needs to LEARN Driving & understand the car he is driving!

[para_7k]

Originally Posted by carboy

What's wrong with this? How does looking at the speedometer while shifting add more safety?

Pal,

I'm not saying this adds to safety. I'm just pointing out that there are people who drive whithout caring or knowing about the speed that they're driving.

You don't have to keep looking at the speedo. Once in a while at least to know yours and your car's limits and to know if we're in line with the speed limit of the current road.

I agree that we don't have to look at Tacho for shifting. It's just my habit

[jkdas]

On my way back from Shertalla, saw a Nano that wanted to overtake a bus that had just stopped which inturn had made the Nano to stop. The track was an uphill one and he has incoming traffic.

Why are people so over confident ?

[vijaythacker]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The point of my father's saying, fifty percent of accidents are the other person's fault, was that it is not enough to drive carefully, or to obey the rules, even; we must drive defensively, and always try to take account of what might happen, of what the other guy might do.

Driving should be one long string of what-ifs.

Safety can only be achieved by recognising risk.

that explains it all, its just not about checking out yourself always but to ensure the other way too.You just dont need to be careful to drive but along to check the other vehicle or person also doesnt end up on you too.

[skilanjar]

I wonder how the Maruti Manufacturing standards are so low that the Alto bumper is literally 'torn off' after being hit by the esteem. The bumpers cant even withstand an impact like this one ... its simply gives up so easily, its a safety concern.

I dont think these cars even qualify for the Crashtests..

Well..heres one I found on the net. Looks horrible..Size does matter. Its the 'Smart Car', yea it sure is.

[swarooppatil]

With all these accidents and ever increasing in frequency and fatality; the only things that come to mind are...Do we really care for others and for that matter even our lives? Leave aside the cost of damage we cause to the vehicles in the process.

How many times have we noticed that autorickshaw just abruptly change lanes or make a turn out of the blue; not to mention the call center pick up cabs driving as if they are in the middle of an F1 track; and the bus and truck drivers who they own the roads; and to add to it people like us who feel that the car is to be driven to its limit...

I very much appreciate the recent drives against drunken driving, but I hope they also don't turn a blind eye to other offenders.

Just hope they have some way of allowing sensible citizens some mechanism for alerting the cops about such rash driving instances and they too take these alerts seriously. Might probably help in reducing at least a few fatalities.

[kishorelal]

Originally Posted by swarooppatil

With all these accidents and ever increasing in frequency and fatality; the only things that come to mind are...Do we really care for others and for that matter even our lives? Leave aside the cost of damage we cause to the vehicles in the process.

How many times have we noticed that autorickshaw just abruptly change lanes or make a turn out of the blue; not to mention the call center pick up cabs driving as if they are in the middle of an F1 track; and the bus and truck drivers who they own the roads; and to add to it people like us who feel that the car is to be driven to its limit...

I very much appreciate the recent drives against drunken driving, but I hope they also don't turn a blind eye to other offenders.

Just hope they have some way of allowing sensible citizens some mechanism for alerting the cops about such rash driving instances and they too take these alerts seriously. Might probably help in reducing at least a few fatalities.

Kerala government has recently taken this issue very seriously and have formed a ROAD SAFETY AUTHORITY with enough funds and legal framework to bring down the rate of accidents

[Caramelo]

Originally Posted by akshay_b

Guys beat this!
I was at a maruti dealer with my friend who wanted to enquire about SX4, I asked the sales guy to explain more abot the zxi(top) version, he explained all the features and in the end he says that the airbags once deployed for a minor accident will cost 40k for a new set of air bags and recommended us to go for the Vxi variant to save money!
Me: Shell shocked!

@ a ford dealer:
Us: We want a fiesta ZXI (with ABS) and give us a nice offer+goodies.
Sales guy: Buy EXI(without ABS) as it wont work in India at slower speeds and you save 70k!
Me: Shell shocked!

@hyundai when i over heard a sales guy talking to a customer:

Ill informed customer: What is ABS?
Sales guy: Anti braking system!
Customer: Why do we need this?
Sales guy: For quick stops!
Me: Shell shocked!

My neighbor's driver saw me wearing seatbelts and asked me why do i wear seatbelts all the time, I replied "for safety", The driver just smiles sarcastically and walks off!!
Me:

This is why many people think ABS+Airbags are just "waste of money"

i know what you feel bro. i have been a victim of this!! and even my friends never listened to me when they went to buy the cars! just to save money! they bought cars without airbags and basic things like ABS! just search about a thread i posted (VXI vs ZXI) !

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by kishorelal

Kerala government has recently taken this issue very seriously and have formed a ROAD SAFETY AUTHORITY with enough funds and legal framework to bring down the rate of accidents

Then they had better start with their bus drivers, whose aggression makes our Chennai drivers look like tame kittens

[ritedhawan]

I think the root cause of the problem is lack of implementation and corruption at every level. There are traffic laws , but there is lack of will to implement them. At the same time there are people who break laws and break laws with impunity , because
they think they could make thier way out or evade arrest by giving bribe, or have influential people on thier cell-phones that can bring them out. They escape from the punishment. What happens is this sets a dangerous precedent . People, began to believe that they can evade law too, all they got to have is money . The system is corrupt from bottom to top. And here we take the traffic instance into consideration when there many other instances.
May i ask, which institution in this country is immune from corruption? The answer: None, the only difference is in the magnitude. Why is that? The answer, again , has an inconvenient truth inherent in it.
The answer: people,there is an inherent or generic flaw in us. We are liable to corruption, we have an affinity to corruption, we believe 'end justifies means', what end: to make money . On top of that we are hypocrite. We point the index finger at others and forget there are four other fingers pointing back . That doesnt mean that i am any different, its generic!.

As a student of history, i truly believe in one saying: Corrupted societies fall like a house of cards.

[gomzi]

Originally Posted by ritedhawan

At the same time there are people who break laws and break laws with impunity , because
they think they could make thier way out or evade arrest by giving bribe, or have influential people on thier cell-phones that can bring them out. They escape from the punishment.

Yes, this is true to an extent. But a threat of immediate punishment is visible only in cities.
On a recent driving holiday, I was shocked at the way a lot of people drive on the 2-lane NH17.
A lot of vehicles, small and large impudently overtook at blind turns on the winding road and also when there was oncoming traffic at an unsafe distance. An aggressive driving style akin to city b2b traffic driving was evident even on the ghats where people were trying to squeeze their vehicles into tiny gaps in traffic. On many occasions I saw accidents being averted by mere inches! Enough to make anyone a believer.

No police were spotted during most of my journey, so no threat of punishment, only a threat of loosing ones life. And that it seems is an expendable commodity to most of these kind of drivers.

[blissfulcarver]

Yeah, we need serious safety re-education and enforcement in this country. Once, my then girl friend threatened to dump me because I kept asking her to wear a helmet while riding her scooter. She said I was out of my mind and "unnecessarily pestering her about non-issues"!!

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by skilanjar

I wonder how the Maruti Manufacturing standards are so low that the Alto bumper is literally 'torn off' after being hit by the esteem. The bumpers cant even withstand an impact like this one ... its simply gives up so easily, its a safety concern.

I dont think these cars even qualify for the Crashtests..

Well..heres one I found on the net. Looks horrible..Size does matter. Its the 'Smart Car', yea it sure is.

Well bumpers tearing off are ok really. A car that passes crash tests generally has a crumply outside and a strong inner core for the passengers. Bumpers crumpling are a good sign actually as the impact is being absorbed. And I'm not sure about the safety rating of the Smart Car but since its sold in Europe it will have passed their regulatory crash test.

[normally_crazy]

Yes there is safety here.

The hand of a pedestrian who wants to cross the road anywhere.
The loud horn of cars.
The idol of a God on the dash or anywhere in the car.

What else do you need?
ABS - nah
Air bags - the ones that you carry clothes in ?
Seat belts - are you nuts ? Those cost extra
EBD - what is that ? I would rather smoke a bd

[swarooppatil]

Originally Posted by kishorelal

Kerala government has recently taken this issue very seriously and have formed a ROAD SAFETY AUTHORITY with enough funds and legal framework to bring down the rate of accidents

Some refreshing change...Just hope that it becomes a success and the model is followed in other states and cities also.

Implementation definitely is not lacking in all situations; a couple of days earlier I noticed a cop forcing the BEST driver to take the right turn at the WEH-Bisleri junction as he was in the right most lane supposed to be used for turning right. Just wishing that the sight becomes more familiar; and makes each one of us think many times over every tie we decide to flout a traffic norm.