Volvo involved in collision - Kerala

benbsb29 · 14th March 2007, 10:50

My good friend who headed down to Kerala was involved in a bus accident involving a Volvo bus (belonging to Galaxy) on his way from Calicut to Bangalore. The bus rammed into another bus's behind and literally kept on going for quite some distance. On coming to a stop, the driver fled the scene. The cleaner who is usually perched beside the door suffered major injuries, including a lady who was probably traveling alone. Appears she lost her legs in the accident.

My friend who was jolted awake with the impact tried to kick open the Emergency Window along with another youngster, but he said it just refused to budge..!!! Only option left was to break the window, and pull people to safety.

The most irritating incident among all this was a lady who was demanding that her luggage be pulled out of the bus !! Once severely reprimanded by the local populace and fellow travelers, she subsided.

As regarding the lady who lost her legs… there was no one to even take a head count, and it was only after the bus cleaner was pulled out from the crumpled mass that he mentioned about another person stuck inside.

No idea regarding the casualties in the other bus. I believe there was a report on this in the local newspapers…. Coz that’s how my friend’s parents came to know.

esteem_lover · 14th March 2007, 11:13

Very sad that a lady lost her legs. The front seats in the volvo are the most dangerous places to be without seatbelts.

chanapli · 14th March 2007, 11:14

Sad to hear about the accident. Wish we had speed limiting devices installed on all public transport (especially Volvo's)

ajmat · 14th March 2007, 11:14

I think a colleague of mine was on the bus, he is quie shaken and has yet to come to work

benbsb29 · 14th March 2007, 11:20

In the case of my friend he didnt have any injuries as such as he was sitting somewhere towards the centre of the bus. His hand took a beating, but thats not serious.

What surprises both me as well as him here is that despite he and another passenger literally hanging and kicking the emergency door/window to open, it dint budge..!! Whats the point in having one then?! I remember a case somewhere in Gujrat, i guess.. where a Volvo caught fire, and people were charred to death as they couldnt open the doors or the emergency door/window.

With regards to the lady.. its sad, as she was asked to sit there as she was travelling alone (ladies seat), and with no one to even know of her existence, she may have remained in the crumpled mass, and never come out alive.

manikjeet · 14th March 2007, 15:43

i thought volvo were very safe buses but emergency window not opening
shame on volvo people

the woman was lucky she came out alive
and a speed limiter would be fixed on all public vehicles

ad75 · 14th March 2007, 16:00

Quote:

What surprises both me as well as him here is that despite he and another passenger literally hanging and kicking the emergency door/window to open, it dint budge..!! Whats the point in having one then?!

I guess volvo buses have a lever on the luggage rack next to Aircon vent (above the emergency window seat)which needs to be pulled to open the emergeny window(dunno how many of em really work).i had seen in the ones i had travelled.kicking wont help unless you are able to break the glass.

the operators should brief the passengers sitting on the emergency window seat(the way airlines do) on the operation of emergency window.

are these pvt operators training the drivers to drive a volvo?? guess they might be cutting costs there too!!!

chanapli · 14th March 2007, 16:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by ad75

I guess volvo buses have a lever on the luggage rack next to Aircon vent (above the emergency window seat)which needs to be pulled to open the emergeny window(dunno how many of em really work).

What is the point in hiding the lever!. if it can not be seen / located by the passenger!. Atleast they should have advertised / displayed the use of emergency door!.

Or the best idea is to show a mandatory video about saftey features before every journey.

rjstyles69 · 14th March 2007, 16:57

Sorry to hear about the accident benbsb29. Lets hope for a speedy recovery for those who have been injuired.

Quote:

i thought volvo were very safe buses but emergency window not opening.shame on volvo people

Folks before we even fume/badmouth Volvo and their safety features,let someone who knows about these buses speak 1st.
I am sure their buses should have some of the most advanced safety features when compared with the regular buses that we have across our country.Well accidents do happen and technology can fail and yes nothing is 100% fool proof.Does anyone know if the emergency window wasnt jammed due to impact of the accident?

@chanapli,

Quote:

the best idea is to show a mandatory video about saftey features before every journey.

I second that.

condor · 14th March 2007, 17:34

Quote:

and a speed limiter would be fixed on all public vehicles

or may be a device to detect a sleepy /sleeping driver.

If "The bus rammed into another bus's behind and literally kept on going for quite some distance", then it looks like the driver fell asleep, the bus hit the bus ahead, and the volvo didnt stop till the bus in front could stop both the busses.

alexrabbi · 14th March 2007, 22:32

Sad to hear such incidents. Govt should take steps to avoid such accidents

rahul_intlad · 14th March 2007, 23:38

There is a very big possibility that both the drivers were having a race.One bus driver wants to overtake while the other just does not want his rival to get ahead at all costs.I have heard about bets being placed.

The front seats of the volvo are a very dangerous place to be and those seated there[mostly kept as ladies seats] are advised to put on their seatbelts.

Most volvo drivers are just overwhelmed by the power the volvo buses give them,wanting to show everybody who's boss kind off attitude.Another thing is that the volvo drivers are being given very tight schedules and in order to keep up they resort to maniacal driving on the highways.Also cost-cutting by private operators means both the machine as well as the man behind the wheel are exploited to the maximum.

As far as speed regulators,the volvo B7R is regulated to a Max speed of 103kmph

Steeroid · 14th March 2007, 23:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by manikjeet

and a speed limiter would be fixed on all public vehicles

The High Court of Kerala had actually made the use of Speed Governors (or limiters) mandatory on all buses in Kerala after a series of accidents. This ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court.

Unfortunately that was greeted with a string of strikes and hartals by bus operators calling the move unfair and unjust, even going to the extent of saying that it gives an 'unfair advantage' to vehicles not registered in Kerala. As though saying the license to kill should be equal for everyone.

Finally the government promulgated an 'ordinance' to circumvent the Court ruling. So we'e back to square one - I believe last week alone the Red Killers of Cochin (the private buses there are painted red, rather symbolically) killed at least 5 people. This time the Police Commissioner has taken action against the bus operators, but predictably they have a large clout in the government.

Sad - lives are so unimportant in our state. Timetables and schedules are more important.

CaliforniaKnight · 15th March 2007, 00:20

As the day goes by the the most number of incidents as accidents involved in the forum would be of VOLVO buses I guess.......There is simply a lot of cases reported related to VOLVO buses and their safety issues!!!

jango · 15th March 2007, 06:02

Sad to hear abt that Ben, and feel really sad for the lady, by the way the volvo has seat belts for the front seat...only the front seat ....atleast i have seen them on most of the Kallada and Shama volvo buses which ply between b'lore and kerala.

14th March 2007, 10:50	#1
benbsb29 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brisbane Posts: 9,968 Thanked: 13,209 Times View My Garage	Volvo involved in collision - Kerala My good friend who headed down to Kerala was involved in a bus accident involving a Volvo bus (belonging to Galaxy) on his way from Calicut to Bangalore. The bus rammed into another bus's behind and literally kept on going for quite some distance. On coming to a stop, the driver fled the scene. The cleaner who is usually perched beside the door suffered major injuries, including a lady who was probably traveling alone. Appears she lost her legs in the accident. My friend who was jolted awake with the impact tried to kick open the Emergency Window along with another youngster, but he said it just refused to budge..!!! Only option left was to break the window, and pull people to safety. The most irritating incident among all this was a lady who was demanding that her luggage be pulled out of the bus !! Once severely reprimanded by the local populace and fellow travelers, she subsided. As regarding the lady who lost her legs… there was no one to even take a head count, and it was only after the bus cleaner was pulled out from the crumpled mass that he mentioned about another person stuck inside. No idea regarding the casualties in the other bus. I believe there was a report on this in the local newspapers…. Coz that’s how my friend’s parents came to know. Last edited by benbsb29 : 14th March 2007 at 10:51. Reason: Removing html tags
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14th March 2007, 11:13	#2
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	Very sad that a lady lost her legs. The front seats in the volvo are the most dangerous places to be without seatbelts.
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14th March 2007, 11:14	#3
chanapli BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Banglaore Posts: 270 Thanked: Once	Sad to hear about the accident. Wish we had speed limiting devices installed on all public transport (especially Volvo's)
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14th March 2007, 11:14	#4
ajmat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 14,860 Thanked: 27,949 Times View My Garage	I think a colleague of mine was on the bus, he is quie shaken and has yet to come to work
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14th March 2007, 11:20	#5
benbsb29 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brisbane Posts: 9,968 Thanked: 13,209 Times View My Garage	In the case of my friend he didnt have any injuries as such as he was sitting somewhere towards the centre of the bus. His hand took a beating, but thats not serious. What surprises both me as well as him here is that despite he and another passenger literally hanging and kicking the emergency door/window to open, it dint budge..!! Whats the point in having one then?! I remember a case somewhere in Gujrat, i guess.. where a Volvo caught fire, and people were charred to death as they couldnt open the doors or the emergency door/window. With regards to the lady.. its sad, as she was asked to sit there as she was travelling alone (ladies seat), and with no one to even know of her existence, she may have remained in the crumpled mass, and never come out alive.
	() Thanks

14th March 2007, 15:43	#6
manikjeet Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: chandigarh Posts: 1,618 Thanked: 295 Times View My Garage	i thought volvo were very safe buses but emergency window not opening shame on volvo people the woman was lucky she came out alive and a speed limiter would be fixed on all public vehicles
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14th March 2007, 22:32	#11
alexrabbi BANNED Join Date: May 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 131 Thanked: 21 Times	Sad to hear such incidents. Govt should take steps to avoid such accidents
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14th March 2007, 23:38	#12
rahul_intlad Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 1,579 Thanked: 4 Times	There is a very big possibility that both the drivers were having a race.One bus driver wants to overtake while the other just does not want his rival to get ahead at all costs.I have heard about bets being placed. The front seats of the volvo are a very dangerous place to be and those seated there[mostly kept as ladies seats] are advised to put on their seatbelts. Most volvo drivers are just overwhelmed by the power the volvo buses give them,wanting to show everybody who's boss kind off attitude.Another thing is that the volvo drivers are being given very tight schedules and in order to keep up they resort to maniacal driving on the highways.Also cost-cutting by private operators means both the machine as well as the man behind the wheel are exploited to the maximum. As far as speed regulators,the volvo B7R is regulated to a Max speed of 103kmph Last edited by rahul_intlad : 14th March 2007 at 23:42.
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15th March 2007, 00:20	#14
CaliforniaKnight BHPian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: IND + DXB Posts: 980 Thanked: 141 Times View My Garage	As the day goes by the the most number of incidents as accidents involved in the forum would be of VOLVO buses I guess.......There is simply a lot of cases reported related to VOLVO buses and their safety issues!!!
	() Thanks

15th March 2007, 06:02	#15
jango BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New York & kotayam Posts: 800 Thanked: 23 Times View My Garage	Sad to hear abt that Ben, and feel really sad for the lady, by the way the volvo has seat belts for the front seat...only the front seat ....atleast i have seen them on most of the Kallada and Shama volvo buses which ply between b'lore and kerala.
	() Thanks