[SR-71]

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

A recent harrowing experience was along the undivided Coimbatore Palakkad stretch, where I wished for some twisties. The straights constantly had an oncoming vehicle in my lane turning into a blinking contest, not that I had any room to move aside.

That L&T bypass stretch is a nightmare, more so in the night. I am a long term user of that stretch, atleast once in two months and have been doing it for more than a decade now. The road has steep drops on both sides with no embankments in many places. Its worse specially near the Podanur ROR bridge. To top it you have a lot of Schumacher(s) racing down at you with no regard for oncoming traffic. The worst time to cross it is during twilight when the lighting is poor and between 9PM and midnight when you have an onslaught of Volvo buses bearing down on you, lit to kingdom come and no regards for fellow road users. 14 years on am still trying to get used to that stretch. The only thing I have seen change is the increase in toll fee, I don't even know what am paying toll for in that stretch (pun intended)...

[kinetic]

Do Kerala roads have more CCTV and dashcam-equipped cars, or do a disproportionate number of Kerala drivers not care about life and limb when driving?

[Bibendum90949]

Originally Posted by cheeku

a private bus starts an overtaking move seeing the large gap in front. I knew this would end bad if I kept at my speed and immediately braked to a complete halt and moved as much to the left as possible.

There was hardly any space on the left or right as the bridge was narrow and there was decent paced traffic on the opposite lane.


In a situation like this, be it any kind of defensive driving, I couldn't fathom what else could have been done, maybe maintain lesser distance with the car in front so that the bus doesn't even get a chance to perform that overtake by moving to our lane, but we all know that hardly can stop the famed bus drivers

I've lost count of the number of times where I faced similar situations. As you rightly said, it always pays to slow down or even stop after giving the maniac as much room as possible.

Years ago, I had a very close shave in the night on a two lane KL highway where a TN SRTC bus completed an overtaking maneuver at breakneck speed, inches away from my front bumper. This is after me slowing down, moving to the farthest left possible and almost coming to a stop after seeing the idiot coming right at me. Those were the days I didn't have the dashcam. Had it been today, I would've ensured he faced the music, big time.

Sadly, on our roads one has to encounter such incidents almost every other day.

[cheeku]

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

I've lost count of the number of times where I faced similar situations. As you rightly said, it always pays to slow down or even stop after giving the maniac as much space as possible.

Years ago, I had a very close shave in the night on a two lane KL highway where a TN SRTC bus completed an overtaking maneuver at breakneck speed, inches away from my front bumper. This is after me slowing down, moving to the farthest left possible and almost coming to a stop after seeing the idiot coming right at me. Those were the days I didn't have the dashcam. Had it been today, I would've ensured he faced the music, big time.

Sadly, on our roads one has to encounter such incidents almost every other day.

Absolutely agree with your point and have encountered this many times on the Nilambur-majeri stretch. We did have this captured on the Venue's dashcam but didn't want to view it again during our trip back as it had already sent enough chills down the spine in real-time and replaying it may have led to a sleepless night after a long drive

By the time I accessed it a couple of days ago, it had been overwritten.

The only drive where we get to laugh back at these erratic drivers is the Thamassery ghat section, where cars are able to zoom past at a decent pace whereas these guys are gasping for breath with all their overtaking antics being of no use.

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by kinetic

Do Kerala roads have more CCTV and dashcam-equipped cars, or do a disproportionate number of Kerala drivers not care about life and limb when driving?

I have driven in UP (mostly Kanpur and some times to Lucknow) and Kerala (extensively Kozhikode-Wayanad etc to TVM). Overall I think the driving is better in Kerala (which is not saying much) but I think I have felt more at risk in kerala roads than UP

1. Kanpur City because of the traffic congestion is relatively safer (slower speeds). While
you might get into some sort of accident, the slower speeds make things safer.

2. The terrain is mostly flat and rains are not such a problem in UP as opposed to kerala

3. Country roads in kerala are lot narrower than in UP with almost no shoulder area which means life of a pedestrian here is really painful

3. Private and KSRTC busses are just crazy in kerala (a crazy as the numbering of this list)

Overall I have found better traffic enforcement in kerala, less wrong side driving and also people mostly dim their lights at least when flashed. All these are pretty problematic in UP. As some taxi driver aptly compared UPs traffic situation vis-a-vis Rajasthan (trip to Bharatpur). "Saab Rajasthan ka traffic kharab hai, wahan red light pe rukna padta hai"
(The traffic situation in Rajasthan is bad, you need to stop at red lights)

[nettooran]

Originally Posted by kinetic

Do Kerala roads have more CCTV and dashcam-equipped cars, or do a disproportionate number of Kerala drivers not care about life and limb when driving?

Kerala is very much densely populated and you dont typically see "villages" unless you move very deep. Due to people being spread around more, there are more shops to cater to them ( usually small stationary and such shops) and these establishments usually have CCTVs installed. Also, CCTV's are common here in many households, though I dont think it is the same with dashcams.

Due to the dense population, the roads have a lot of curves and is narrow, while at the same time having good tarmac which enables good speed. I belive this is one of the main reasons for so much of accidents.

That said, having driven through different parts of the county, I would say there is much more traffic sense here, and definitely a lot less wrong side driving. Traffic enforcement is also much stricter here. You cannot just get out of a challan with Rs.50 or 100 bribe. Fines will be imposed in most cases.

[anilsurya1985]

I have seen several such careless incidents in Kerala. BHPians of Kerala have to share their thoughts on the driving behavior of Kerala, do drivers don't care about their life and families at home?

I'm from Hyderabad, usually compared to other areas of two Telugu states people on the road (around 60% of commuters) consider the surroundings and respect people when on the road.

[binand]

Originally Posted by kinetic

Do Kerala roads have more CCTV and dashcam-equipped cars, or do a disproportionate number of Kerala drivers not care about life and limb when driving?

Kerala has a fairly functional community policing system called Janamaithri (https://keralapolice.gov.in/page/janamaithri-suraksha). Among the initiatives undertaken by this project is one that encourages residences and small businesses to invest in CCTV cameras+DVRs (the cops even tell you where to install and facing which way). I think there is a much higher penetration of such recording devices among the shops, factories, offices and homes here.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by anilsurya1985

I have seen several such careless incidents in Kerala. BHPians of Kerala have to share their thoughts on the driving behavior of Kerala, do drivers don't care about their life and families at home?

Some interesting charts from the MORTH website regarding accidents.

In total number of accidents (2022) Kerala is at #3 behind Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradhesh.

In number of accidents on highways Kerala is at #2.

But in number of fatalities due to accidents on highways, Kerala is not even in the top 10!

And in terms of accident severity (deaths per 100 accidents), Kerala is at one of the lowest rates of 9.8.

My presumption is that our roads are still very narrow and couple that with vehicular density and almost non stop interconnected towns, accidents are but inevitable :(

But again, I assume thanks to said non-stop interconnected towns, emergency access is also very good which could be why fatalities are so less as compared to other states.

Link to the pdf:
https://morth.nic.in/road-accident-in-india

[rajivr1612]

Adding to the above discussions about state and private buses in Kerala, one significant thing to note is the meek horn of KeSRTC buses. Hearing them honk one would think that a moped is following us, only to realise a behemoth barreling up behind.

[Fuldagap]

Saw this news video on youtube, which was persistently popping up in my feed. It is from Bangalore and the lady was harrowed by her chasers. I have never lived in Bangalore but videos like this certainly don't help put up a great picture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niALFB3-K0c

[govindremesh]

Originally Posted by kinetic

Do Kerala roads have more CCTV and dashcam-equipped cars, or do a disproportionate number of Kerala drivers not care about life and limb when driving?

Both and more- The state has a good network of CCTVs , owning a car and driving it fast is a matter of pride, vehicle density is high and so are driver egos, roads are narrow, but (of late) of good quality, which encourages speeding.

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

But in number of fatalities due to accidents on highways, Kerala is not even in the top 10!

And in terms of accident severity (deaths per 100 accidents), Kerala is at one of the lowest rates of 9.8.

My presumption is that our roads are still very narrow and couple that with vehicular density and almost non stop interconnected towns, accidents are but inevitable :(

But again, I assume thanks to said non-stop interconnected towns, emergency access is also very good which could be why fatalities are so less as compared to other states.

Nice analysis, it's spot on. I think given the higher literacy rate - Kerala is also one of the rare states where I have seen people consciously making an effort to let ambulances pass, even when there's a traffic jam.