[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Another buffalo found dead on the bypass. This time on the opp side of the road(leading to CC). Between Lalani Quantum and Praj Ind. Whats happening? Poor buffalo. Traffic had already started to pile up, one lane being closed.

This is the second incident in the last one week and is really sad. I am wondering how come suddenly we have these buffalos grazing on the highway. During my last 2 years of traveling on this stretch had not seen this happening.

I was reminded of PuLa's Mhais when i saw that last week. But unfortunately the real life incident was a sad ending.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Why do cops hit two wheeler riders? This morning at the chowk where Karve road merges with Paud road (from under the flyover), a cop had stopped all traffic so that people taking a u turn from Paud road towards Karve statue could proceed. An intrepid rider (inside a hooded raincoat) proceeded straight into the incoming uturners after waiting a few minutes. The cop (no cap, aviator type glasses, get the drift) lost it, ran after the two wheeler rider and gave a huge whack across the back of the head/ shoulder. The rider was almost under the flyover then and when the hood was removed, we saw it was a lady!
The cop was literally ejecting bricks. I guess the people around were surprised that he actually hit a lady, the lady was shocked with the whack she received, and probably the cop was shocked to know he hit a woman. I gave the cop a hand signal asking why he did that and his response was hitting his head in frustration. I am not sure if he was mad at himself or that lady. Nevertheless I had to proceed further, so dont know what happened next.

I don't support the cop hitting the biker, but i guess that was the last resort for him. Totally frustrated with the riders breaking all rules and shouting or blowing the whistle hardly has any impact. Wasn't the lady wearing that scarf covering her entire face. That is a sure shot giveaway of a lady rider in Pune.

[Swanand Inamdar]

I guess we are missing the point here. Its not if the driver was a lady or a male. The point is, the cop in question shouldn't really have done this. I've seen cops raising their dandas as if to hit, but never really done the act. It sure is a sign of frustration.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by sajo

WOW, thats quite some experience Selfdrive. What vehicle was the lady on?
When you say huge whack by your standards, I guess we have to multiply it by 2 to bring it to female standards. I guess the lady may not have even noticed that they are being stopped.

I guess it was an Activa or a Scooty type. I was in the second lane from the right and there must have been at least 5 lanes there. The lady went ahead from the extreme left. This cop was standing to the extreme right, but when he saw someone breaking the ranks, he ran all the way and whacked her. I think it would have been worse due to his momentum with all the running, and he wasnt a nimble footed guy if you know what I mean.

Originally Posted by noopster

Typically women riders in Pune have this standard cream-and-patterned jacket they wear (I hate the look of it but my wif wears one too and claims it helps). Maybe the cop should have asked her- madam, why aren't YOU in uniform?

A colleague had an accident with a cow grazing at Baner bridge the other night- actually he braked hard and an Indica taxi rear ended his Honda City, damaging it to the tune of 70-80K (like what happened to mdsaab's Civic). Tackling these bovine incidents is fast becoming a moo point.

IIRC it was purple, but with his aviator style glasses I doubt if he even understood what colour it was.

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Now, as far as Juna Bazaar is concerned, I share your grievence. Its such a pain to follow age old practices. They can easily be give a ground nearby for this bazaar. It astonishes me that even the cops give them support and divert traffic (or try to do so).

I guess there is little the cops can do given all the patronage these people enjoy in terms of vote bank politics and the usual flimsy excuse of being victimised.

Originally Posted by amitwlele

This is the second incident in the last one week and is really sad. I am wondering how come suddenly we have these buffalos grazing on the highway. During my last 2 years of traveling on this stretch had not seen this happening.
Wasn't the lady wearing that scarf covering her entire face. That is a sure shot giveaway of a lady rider in Pune.

you will be surprised - she was wearing a helmet!

As for the road to HJW it is no longer a bypass. Land sharks have converted it into a hybrid between a city road and a village street. A bypass should have been like a ring road where entries and exits are controlled by relevant lanes. Here it is a free for all.
No offence meant to anyone here, but there is no township planning involved and all the politicians are interested in is to make a quick buck by acquiring land by hook or by crook and reselling it to the highest bidder. they behave like pimps only with someone else's land. I have heard enough true stories to know what happens around these parts. I wish this could be identified as one of the major scams in India as most seem to be benefitting from this.

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

I guess we are missing the point here. Its not if the driver was a lady or a male. The point is, the cop in question shouldn't really have done this. I've seen cops raising their dandas as if to hit, but never really done the act. It sure is a sign of frustration.

IMHO it all comes down to 3 things.
1. Discipline: we dont have it at all. we always question authority and rules as if they were made for our inconvenience.
2. Arrogance: every joe on the street thinks he is too great or big for any of these self termed silly rules. a reason why we see vehciles speeding up the wrong side to overtake a long line of waiting vehicles.
3. Lack of sensitivity: towards anyone or anything on the road. or anywhere else for that matter.

[F150]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

IMHO it all comes down to 3 things.
1. Discipline: we dont have it at all. we always question authority and rules as if they were made for our inconvenience.
2. Arrogance: every joe on the street thinks he is too great or big for any of these self termed silly rules. a reason why we see vehciles speeding up the wrong side to overtake a long line of waiting vehicles.
3. Lack of sensitivity: towards anyone or anything on the road. or anywhere else for that matter.

Cant agree more SELFDRIVE. People have lost common sense. I was driving on a fly over with a heavy truck crawling on the extreme right, I moved to the left to overtake it, i found a auto rickshaw coming at me in the wrong direction on the fly over. That is the sense that prevails in INDIA, in the current day

[amitwlele]

Pile up on the bypass road which caused a slight traffic jam. I think it started with a Red Swift and then a Accord (not sure about this as was on the right most lane). I think the Accord was hit from behind by a truck or a bus. Its back was totalled.

[anilisanil]

Huge pile up on by pass. Traffic piled up when I passed there at around 10:30. A swift and a Laura (as corrected by Swan) were seen on the shoulder both of them with huge damages. Rear of the sedan totally crushed in till c pillar and the front could not be sighted. Swift was a sore sight, with both front and rear badly damaged. There was also a truck and Sumo being parked. Sumo did not show any signs of damage. Also seen were a few damaged bikes.

[Swanand Inamdar]

@Amit and @Anil: That was a Laura. Not an Accord. Saw the cars on the left side of the road. By the looks of it, the Swift rear ended the Laura at extreme speeds. The Laura and the Swift could be termed as totalled. Back of the Laura is non existent and the front of the Swift has vanished. Serious accident indeed.

Our yet to be BHPian, Maulik saw the accident and was prompt to call me. Seeing the Laura, he thought it was me! We did speak and assured that, it certainly wasnt me.
@Maulik: I know you are reading this. Thanks a ton for the kind gesture mate. Truly appreciated.

@Sajo: Hope its not your Swift Zxi. Uncanny resemblence to your ride. Hope all's well.

[noopster]

Wow that's T-BHP spirit for you- hope Maulik gets his membership soon: having met him he certainly belongs here.

That sounds like one scary accident. A Swift causing so much damage to a Laura? Hope no casualties?!

[Swanand Inamdar]

Noop, I agree. Maulik does certainly belong here.
Also, from the appearance, it looked as if the Swift actually got ON the Laura from the back (is that possible?). Hence the C pillar is non existent in the Laura and the Swift has its front tyres, bumpers, fenders etc missing.

Casualty does seem a possibility. There was a crowd around the incident, hence could not verify the actual damages.

[sajo]

Nope, it wasnt my Swift. I saw the incident while driving/crawling by though. Huge jam.
What happened was, the Swift went under a white Wipro bus , they were still trying to extricate it from under the Bus when I passed by. The Swift was also rear ended by a Silver VW Jetta (and not a Laura), causing considerable damage to the front of the VW. Unfortunately , a red colour Tata truck behind the Jetta also couldnt brake in time, and mashed it totally. The rear was a mess, while the truck driver was getting into the cabin when I passed by.

Resultant damage : Swift front end + a pillar damaged.
Jetta totalled.
Unharmed bus and truck.

[Swanand Inamdar]

Wow, a lot of confusion on the cars and the way the accident happened!
Sajo, thanks for the detailed explanation. Now that clears all doubts. Stupid enough of me to assume/imagine the accident happening .

What I saw just after the accident was, a few people were actually crossing the bypass at their own sweet pace . As if walking in their own backyard. Thats a highway! The entire accident could also be a reult of such an act.
Jay-walking needs to be a punishable offence in India.

[sajo]

What was even worse was, I was passing by a little after 8.30 AM, and some rubbernecking bikers on the other side almost caused an accident of their own.
What happened was, the two guys saw the accident when riding by, and then casually moved towards the divider from the left lane to get a closer look.
An Alto coming from behind at good speed almost rear ended them, and that would have certainly been a casualty , because both were villagers not wearing a helmet.

I dont think there was any major injury to any occupants of the vehicles in todays pileup though. The VW's cabin was almost intact, and the Swift's occupants too would be okay , provided they were buckled up.

[the-rare-one]

Good lords ! What the highway has been in the last 2 weeks or so, I am glad I am a sedate driver.

Adding to the list of todays incident (swift & Jetta):

I saw a santro (sky blue, old type) climbed on the divider on the sharp turn near Garden City (Warje) between CC and Shell pump. No sign of damage and there was already a patrol van (tata 207 or similar) near by. Looked like nobody was hurt. I atleast hope so.

BTW: This divider is huge in width and has slope on the inner side (not towards the road) and the santro was standing in a tilted fashion. It did not topple which otherwise would have been a disaster.

EDIT: It was between 10.15am to 10.30am that I crossed this section of the highway, so it had happened much before that.

[sajo]

On Friday evening, i was stuck for almost 40 minutes on the bypass highway, from Sayaji to Wakad bridge. And didnt see any reason for the jam too. Apart from the fact that it was being manually controlled by the cops.

Also, 21000 cusecs of water has been released from Khadakwasla dam. Expect flooding on river roads. So people planning to go to the DCC Mall area () better avoid today.

[noopster]

@sajo- never take the Wakad Europa underpass on Fridays. The amount of traffic headed towards Mumbai invariably blocks that route. It's a decent option on other days, though.

I took the Wakad flyover on Friday night. There is a prominent "NO U-Turn" sign posted where we used to U-turn earlier. Of course everybody was just ignoring teh sign and taking the turn away.