[anuragn]

Yepp, I also thought the same way about the claim of santro being safer, but decided not to argue here as it would have been off-topic.
After all, everybody here is a responsible adult with a valid driving license and understands his/ her safety more than anybody else.

[rangaraj]

One of the aspects not taught in driving schools (besides various other important things) is the distance/time it takes to bring the vehicle down from the speed you are driving at to zero in case of emergency. This is besides the reaction time and the way you decelerate.

Most of the tin boxes have engines that take them well beyond 100kmph, but bringing them back to zero over a short distance is the real challenge. ABS helps, stability helps, suspension plays a role etc.

Very rarely do drivers know that braking distance of the vehicle you drive - whether you are tailgating another vehicle (what should the safe distance be), or come across traditional Indian UPMOs (un predictable moving objects) - pedestrians, cyclists, empty autos, tractor/trailors coming up a one way etc..and often the distance is realized when you try it out in real life and figure out at times that it is too late.

If not anything, every driver has to keep one basic 101 of physics in mind:
Most driver's education classes teach future drivers that the stopping distance of a skidding car is directly proportional to the square of the speed of the car. That is a car traveling 10 mi/hr may require 4 feet to skid to an abrupt halt; but a car going twice as fast - 20 mi/hr - would require four times the distance - 16 feet to skid to a stop. A doubling of the speed results in a quadrupling of the stopping distance. A tripling of the speed would increase the stopping distance by a factor of nine. And a quadrupling of the speed would increase the stopping distance by a factor of 16. The stopping distance is proportional to the square of the speed of the vehicle.

Hence the cautionary note on the awareness and responsibility of driving at whatever speed you are confident to control the vehicle.
The Physics Classroom
STOPPINGDISTANCE
Car stopping (braking) distances at different speeds
Quadratic functions - Motion at changing speeds

[amit]

Keep a look out for morons who keep coming from nowhere

I almost had an accident because of one such moron two days back.

I was forced to follow a overloaded, creaky Mahindra Pick up at 8pm on the Palm Beach road in my SX4. We were going towards Sector 17, Vashi from Galleria Mall. The traffic cleared up in the other lanes so I decided to change my lane and overtake him since honking and flashing lights had no effect on him.

I put my signals on, the mahindra starts to slow down. I don't think much of it and decide to finish the overtake. Just as I pull up next to the pick up (roughly 45-50kmph and picking up speed), a guy darts across the road running across I don't know if it was my slower speed or his ability, but the guy was through. Needless to add, I am sure he didn't realise how close he was to possible death.

I think the guy went through because the pavement or divider on the road is at a higher level so he must have jumped onto the road from a little height. That gave him the added spring to get across.

[rks]

Originally Posted by speedzak

Yes. That's the impression I also got after reading RKS's post and that is absolutely ridiculous.
Small cars can easily loose control especially in scenarios like above and especially the tallboys like Santro.

No, that is not my experience with my old Santro. It is very hard to lose control of this car and I am speaking from hard experience. The car has a razor-sharp steering response and you can cut lanes with impunity at any speed. Of course you have to maintain the car and take car of your tyres, alignment and so on. With that assumed to be done, most of what is said about this car is just plain hearsay and myth. All this applies on Indian roads, of course. On US and European roads I would want a more powerful car to feel safe.

I have driven the car in all sorts of conditions including heavy rains on the Expressway and found it to be exceptionally safe and reliable at any speed (it is capable of). Of course if you still manage to crash this car then you have to pay the price whereas the bigger heavier cars will give you better protection.

@badri, I agree that a certain amount of torque is a boon for highway driving and even required for safety. But only up to a certain point. Beyond that you only gain the ability to accelerate very quickly to unsafe speeds and that can get inexperienced drivers in trouble. The Santro is very stable to direction changes and the braking (with alloys and tubeless tyres in my old Santro) is very good, especially in the Xing.

[Jaggu]

@Mr rks: i understand from your profile you are a scientist, so correct me if am wrong, Razor sharp control + Tall boy = Disaster ?

What iam referring to is the C of G part, and Moose Test aka elk test.

I guess we are deviating from topic here

@rangaraj: You have made the best contribution so far, which most of us IGNORE.

[anandrs]

In city, quite a few accidents can be avoided if people stick to their lanes. So if a lane is blocked, the first instinct is to shift out of that lane with total disregard for anyone coming up behind. This is especially the case in Bangalore.

On the highway, one has to be vigilant and alert. Look out for dead spots where you cant see beyond. I was on the Chennai-Bangy highway before krishnagiri, moving at 130 on a honda city when a tvs50 100 mts ahead of me took a U turn from the left side to the right side of my lane. I almost banged him. You cant predict such situations. Just have to be careful.

[rks]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

@Mr rks: i understand from your profile you are a scientist, so correct me if am wrong, Razor sharp control + Tall boy = Disaster ?

What iam referring to is the C of G part, and Moose Test aka elk test.

I am not aware of these tests. I am only speaking from my experience. The tallboy stance of the Santro is just one aspect. There is a whole lot of other stuff that needs to be taken into consideration when considering whether a car is safe, e.g. suspension, steering, etc. Here is a review of the Santro Xing that backs up what I am saying:

The Hindu : Metro Plus Vijayawada / Wheels : Sparking off the big small fight

The stiff suspension gives the ride a hard edge especially at the rear. As speeds increase, the ride gets choppier. Hit a bad patch and the rear end gets skittish, threatening to step out of line. Despite this, the Santro is a nice car to drive. The steering is light, quick and accurate allowing you to steer the tall boy into corners with confidence.

With 5" alloy wheels and tubeless tyres the rear behaves much better on bad roads than mentioned here.

Here is another review of the old Santro:

HYUNDAI SANTRO Review

The steering works really good and this Korean mini perfects refinement to nicety. The brake set-up is discs in the front and drums at the rear. I feel the car feels skittish under severe braking even on slightly bad roads.

As far as handling is concerned, the car is a good handler, totally predictable and sticks to its line even under hard cornering and stuff

With 5J alloy wheels and Turanza ER-60 tubeless tyres, the braking has improved beyond recognition. I do agree that the old Santro does not have adequate braking at high speeds with the stock set-up of 4J steel rims and tubetype S322 tyres and the rear does get skittish at high speeds on bad roads.

For safe driving, the driver should understand the limitations of the car and drive accordingly. But in emergencies where matters get out of the hands of the driver for various reasons (e.g. one's own or somebody else's mistake) the car takes over and should respond to the driver's emergency maneuvers. All I can say is that so far my old Santro has not let me down in this respect despite the severe demands I have made of it.

[visu03]

It is studied in Australia that on an ordinary day most of the accidents happen with in 5 mile radius of the drivers home.

This is primarily because the drivers of the vehicles tend to be more relaxed when they drive on roads they are very used to.

[supremeBaleno]

guys, this thread is about driving safe on whatever car/bike/scooter that you own/use and not about the Santro or about it being the safest car on earth.

rks, I understand your love for your car and the extreme confidence (or even over-confidence) that you have on it and in your driving capability. But, it is just a machine after all and stuff that you dont expect to happen, can happen.

All I would say is drive safe and maybe even slow down a bit, because as the maxim goes, "better late than never". After the incident of 23rd-Dec, speed is the last thing on my mind while driving.

[speedzak]

Ok Baba! If you have driven bigger and better handling cars some while and still claim the Santro to be better than any, then all wisdom to you!

But as of now, Let's take that extra care and drive safe home.

[DagnyJohn]

Hi guys... wanna know if there're any head gears n other safety gears for kids under 5.(two wheeler safety gears).

[supremeBaleno]

John, I am sure there must be helmets available for kids too. Places to check would be the Studds website or helmet shops in Chennai (near thousand lights mosque and on G.P.Road).

[prasadee]

Originally Posted by DagnyJohn

Hi guys... wanna know if there're any head gears n other safety gears for kids under 5.(two wheeler safety gears).

You probably know this already, but just in case....
While buying helmets for kids its really important to get teh right size. A helmet needs to fit snug, else it defeats the purpose, and there is a good chance of breaking the neck. I am saying this, because when I was a little kid, my dad always got me shoes 1 or 2 sizes bigger than my feet, to extend the life of the shoes. I have seen my friends applying the same logic for their kids helmets. You can only tighten the strap so much!

We have all seen entire families use a single two wheeler because of various reasons. the least they could do is get a decent helmet for everyone. With increasing sales of fast cars, bikes & construction of highways, there is a huge need for awareness, in this regard.

Between road and skin, road always wins!

[Freaky_Sid!!]

Guess we went a lil' going off-topic with the Santro (Safest Car in the world) Jazz.
But coming back to the fatal thrill of high speeds....... Heard a lot about tires bursting at high speeds though never seen or experienced it ever (Hope I never do too!!)..... Any thoughts here ??

[theexister]

I used to be a reckless driver during my early 20's but a few close shaves have made me more sensible.
If one wants the exhilaration of speed & racing then one must leave that on a race track. I just do some karting if I feel like going fast.
I wish there was a track near by.
Maybe Hyd. guys can pool in tons of money & get one built.