[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by swift_guy

... we spent hardly 10 minutes in swapping the tyre and had searched for the missing nut for more than 20 minutes; only to realise that it was in my hand. Sort of a confession but I have a good laugh when I remember the incident.

It's not road related, but, post flood, I took the back cover off a pump motor to see if there was water inside (there was). three out of four nuts and washers, I put back on the studs, One, for some reason, I put in a safe place. Anyway, we partly reassembled the motor, leaving it aside to drain before going for service, and that final nut and washer was not to be found! It had to be nearby, so I did not even get out of my chair as we searched the ground... until we gave up. Then I found I had been sitting on it!

[fordfreak]

This happened over a year ago. Just thought of posting it since I was reading through this thread.

I was dropping a friend of mine home after dinner and was driving on the stretch outside Victoria Memorial. Just before the roundabout at the entrance to the grounds, I spotted 3 puppies loitering bang in the middle of the road. They would surely have been run over since it is a road with fast moving traffic and this was at night.

I was in two minds, whether to stop or not. I decided to stop just after I had crossed them. I pulled up 10 meters past them, on the side of the road and switched on my hazards. As I walked towards them, another car slowed down and stopped in front of the puppies. The driver got out and started scooping the puppies one at a time off the road and leaving them on the safer pavement.

Seeing that someone was already handling the situation, I asked him if he needed a hand (which he politely declined) and then went back to my car and drove on.

I am not a fan of stray dogs since some of them have a tendency to run out onto the road at cars, but seeing someone potentially save the life of another being (regardless of species) definitely made me feel good.

[W.A.G.7]

We were returning from a weekend outing at Pavana dam, some 50kms from Pune at around 5pm. While traveling a bit slowly and enjoying a beautiful sunset around Mulshi and the Pavana back waters, a goggle wearing local hero on a Splendor decides to race with us.

He was honking behind us for long, but since the road was narrow almost single lane, it was impossible to give him the side. Somewhere on the road there was a trough and the road again climbed to the shoulder of the hillock, and this dodo decides to gun his Splendor on the downward slope. Squeezes between the gap on the right of my car and the edge of the road and zooms ahead.

Suddenly a Punto climbs the crest of the hillock in front of us from the opposite side and this guy panics. He squeezes the brake hard and within seconds the Splendor fishtails in front of us. Moments later the guy is flat on his face on the tarmac and the splendor somersaults two or three times before coming to rest on the road.

Fortunately both the Punto and me, were slow enough and stopped in time. But before we could react, this dude gets up, walks coolly to his battered war horse, mounts it and rides away into the sunset, full Rajnikant style!

In the end, both the Punto driver and us had a hearty laugh at the way he got up and vamoosed from then scene. We were glad, that there were no broken bones or injuries.

We don't know if the guy learned his lesson; but both of us hope so.

[KPS]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

........, I spotted 3 puppies loitering bang in the middle of the road. They would surely have been run over since it is a road with fast moving traffic and this was at night.

........, on the side of the road and switched on my hazards. As I walked towards them, another car slowed down and stopped in front of the puppies. The driver got out and started scooping the puppies one at a time off the road and leaving them on the safer pavement.

This can lead to a very dangerous situation for the other users of the road, where vehicles are driven at fast speeds.

In Canada there is a very famous case where a lady stopped for Ducks to cross the road and a Harley Rider rear ended her car killing 2 people

Details of the accident

The worst-case scenario is what happened when business student and animal lover Emma Czornobaj stopped her car in the fast lane, put her hazard lights on, and got out of her car to help a family of ducks get off of the shoulder of Highway 30, south of Montreal.The ducks ended up ignoring her, and as she walked back to her car, André Roy was approaching on a motorcycle with his 16-year-old daughter Jessie sitting behind him.

She was sentenced as below

Justice Éliane Perreault sentenced Czornobaj, 26, to a 90-day jail term that she can serve on weekends, beginning on Jan. 10. The prison term is to be followed by three years of probation and she is required to perform 240 hours of community service. Czornobaj is also prohibited from driving for 10 years. She was ordered to hand in her driver’s license after Perreault read out her sentence at the Montreal courthouse on Thursday.

I would not recommend stopping in the middle of the road, unless there are safety measures in place.

Cheers

KPS

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

... within seconds the Splendor fishtails in front of us. Moments later the guy is flat on his face on the tarmac...

Sometime in the last decade, my dad was enjoying the breeze with the window down on the M800, on a country road. A moped with a "Roy-bhan"-sporting Rossi was coming in at supersonic speeds in the other direction. Sensing trouble, dad moved the car to the extreme left, with the left tyres off the road and into the grass, beyond which the paddy field was at a 3-4 feet below the road surface. The desi Rossi lost control as he passed the car, thanks to the crosswinds and his speed, tried to brake, and finally landed in the field. My dad stopped the car and came back to check on him. That guy had the audacity to say that the car nudged him off the road and wants money, when a few more people gathered. Seeing the situation change, my dad immediately said that he is insured, the car is insured, let the Rossi guy go to the police station and file a case, but he won't pay a penny, instead he will file a counter case for attempt to murder against anybody who tries to touch him or the car. This kind of made most of the aggressive onlookers to fizzle out and some started taking my dad's side. Soon, there were a few enlightened folks who started scolding the Rossi and even started talking how he would always ride rash.

Good that you didn't have a crowd gathering there.

[Trojan]

Brussels circa 2011, being my first visit to a foreign land I was not quite aware of the general traffic rules being followed.

I reached on a Sunday afternoon and after a good nights rest, went about to buy some breakfast items.

As I walked out of my apartment block I was to cross a street and here I see a behemoth of a truck about to take a turn.

It was a village road with no signals and I promptly stopped on the footpath to let the truck pass.
Imagine my surprise when the truck stopped as well and the driver gestured me to cross the road!!! I gestured back at him, its alright, you go ahead!
But he won't have any of it and insisted that I cross!

I literally had tears in my eyes and couldn't control my laughter thinking about how it would have been back home

Small incident but on the very first day I learnt the value of pedestrians in Belgium!

Cheers!
Trojan

[swift_guy]

Yesterday at 9 in the morning, I was approaching a signal in my Swift and checked the IRVM to see if any vehicle was following. Everything was clear, I moved the gear lever to neutral and started braking from a speed of around 60 km/h.

I stopped behind a Vento. As there were 40+ seconds for the light to turn green, I started stretching my hands and yawning! The weather was good, "Paani da rang" song playing through the HU and I was as relaxed as possible. Naturally during the yawn, my eyes were closed and hands were busy with the hairstyle and I heard a grunt/clatter noise. Like every other BHPian, I expected some modded Jeep and opened my eyes. I was like .

I saw a big tow hook kind of thing coming down at good speed from the sky, inches away from my polished and clean bonnet. Thankfully it stopped well in time and was lifted up again. I came out, and saw that the diesel clatter was from a JCB Liftall thingy and the hook was also attached to this mega-machine. Quite shaken, I walk up to the driver and this fellow, with folded hands, said that he is a new driver and would lose his job if I took the matter to his team. All my anger/frustration just vanished, I said "It is okay. Be careful from next time." and couldn't think of anything else to say to him. Traffic light has turned green by this time, I drove a bit and then stopped and took a deep breath. What a great feeling when you realise that everything (which was about to spoil your day) is now fine.

I did some research on Google and it was this machine :



Shared this incident with my friends and they all were laughing like retards. So thought I should write here also. Lesson learnt is that be alert (read : eyes Wide-Open) while driving, even at a red light.

[condor]

Originally Posted by swift_guy

... this fellow, with folded hands, said that he is a new driver and would lose his job if I took the matter to his team.

Problem is - a JCB needs just a LMV licence to drive. (from what I remember from earlier posts on TBHP). The person may not even have a CV license

[swift_guy]

Originally Posted by condor

Problem is - a JCB needs just a LMV licence to drive. (from what I remember from earlier posts on TBHP). The person may not even have a CV license

Add to that, the ease with which one can get a licence in a corrupt country like ours!

[FuelInjector]

Incident happened this morning, it looked funny from behind, but people need to think of better modes of disciplined transportation.
Mom-son-son on scooty pep. Mom driving, elder son sitting behind with schoolbag and holding a thermocol project of volcano or something like that. Younger son standing in front sipping something from his water bottle. Two tiffin bags hung in front and a school bag hung on right side rear hand grip.
Whiff of air causes the cotton in the termocol volcano project to fly and our hero jumps for it. This causes turbulence and mom goes off road. Younger son gets a jab of the straw onto the palate of his mouth. Bu this time the "volcano" has become a "cano". Mom beats the <> out of the elder guy. That little family situation was grim. So I just asked if everything was ok and moved on. It made me think, who is at fault? The school for giving such a project? Could the school ask children to bring materials and do that stuff in school itself ?
The mom for not finding a better way to transport that stuff (put in a cover)?
The mom for asking the younger one not to drink water while standing on a two wheeler? The kids weren't wearing a helmet as well.
ah - the enigma of school children transportation in urban India.

[Enobarbus]

This happened in 1980 when I was a school boy of 15 in Vijayawada; I am posting it now because I have only just joined the forum. When I started writing this post, I thought I could finish the story in a couple of paragraphs. But as my thoughts went back in time, the emotions came back vividly. As I continued writing, it became a short story of sorts. So please forgive me if you find the post too long.

I was a member of a gang of eight. We were a bunch of footloose loafers who were always getting into trouble with all sorts of authorities. Just to quote an example, one of the notorious members of our gang actually stole a policeman’s hat (just like Bertie Wooster), but that is a different story.

It was the month of January and we were in the middle of our winter break. Our gang decided to go on a picnic to a place called “Dongamarla Baavi”. It is basically a Wishing Well situated inside the Kondapalli reserve forest near Gaddamanugu village. This is about 40 KM from Vijayawada. This Wishing Well was besides a small Shrine for Hanuman at the foot of a hill. On top of the hill was an abandoned traveller’s bungalow which was known to be haunted. We decided that we should go on and visit the traveller’s bungalow as well and see if we can catch up with some ghosts. I was very scared, but I put on a brave face and tagged along because I didn’t want to lose the membership of this illustrious gang.

None of us owned any motor vehicle. The only way to get to this place was by getting to Gaddamanugu village by bus and trekking from there. But we came to know that some trucks fetch bamboo to Vijayawada from deep inside the Kondapalli forest. One of the truck drivers was a cousin of our friend and he was willing to take us there. Transportation problem solved, so the trip was a go. As usual, we made sure that our parents didn’t get wind of our plans.

The road was pretty normal up to Gaddamanugu village. There was a railway line just beyond the village, once we cross this and enter the jungle the road was just a rocky trail. The wishing well was at about three kilometres into the forest. The only vehicles that plied this trail were the three bamboo trucks.
It was the first time in a forest for us and we were very excited. We were expecting to see some wild life, but we only saw a few monkeys. The truck driver dropped us off at the Wishing Well and continued into the forest. He promised to pick us up at about 0530 in the evening, when he returns with his load of bamboo.

There was no one in the Shrine or at the Well, not even the tribal priest who is usually seen at the Shrine during the day time. We spent some time there before we hit the trail to the top of the hill. We followed the winding trail for a couple of turns, when I and a couple of others got excited. We decided to cut across the trees to reach the top faster. So we left the trail and started scrambling up, laughing and screaming like the silly monkeys we saw on our way. We reached the trail again and again we left it to cut across the trees.
Just when we were about to abandon the trail and get into the trees once again, one of my mates held us back, staring into the trees with a wild look. We followed his gaze into the trees and instantly froze with fear. Crouching in a thicket at about 50 yards from us, was a LEOPARD. We stood there staring at the Leopard and it just sat there calmly returning our gaze. Our minds just went numb. After what seemed like an eternity, we heard the other five laughing and screaming as they came along the trail. Hearing them coming, the Leopard got up and vanished into the trees.

We told the others about the Leopard, but they did not believe us. They thought we were joking and trying to scare them. They really thought we were putting on an act. They just laughed. One knowledgeable fellow told us that he would nominate us for the Oscar award. They just brushed us aside and continued towards the top. So the three of us had no choice but to tag along.

It was a beautiful location with a nice flat clearing on top of the hill. The bungalow stood at the centre of the clearing and we had a clear view of the forest all around. We could also see the trail and the Hanuman shrine from the edge of the clearing. The bungalow was built by the British during colonial times. It was a large Tudor style building with a tiled roof. The structure and the roof were mostly intact but the doors and windows were gone.

The five who didn’t see the Leopard had a good time for a while. They were screaming and booing. They were calling any ghosts that may be there to show themselves for a treat of snacks. The three of us who saw the cat didn’t join the games. After a while, the other five slowed down, confused because the three of us continued in a sombre mood. We sat down in the Veranda and ate our lunch. Even in such a confused state, we were very hungry; we finished everything we brought.

It was about 0330 in the afternoon a couple of the boys were trying to climb a tree at the edge of the clearing. There were orangish looking fruit and they were trying to get the fruit. They just about made it to the second branch. Suddenly both started shouting and calling for the others to come and look. We rushed to the tree at the edge of the clearing and there, on the trail below at the foot of the hill, was the Leopard. All of us have seen it this time. It stood there for a few moments and crossed the trail and vanished into the trees. (This second sighting of the Leopard probably saved at least some of our lives. I will come to that at the end of the story).

Now everyone is scared. The leopard went into the trees near the shrine. The shrine is also our rendezvous point to catch the truck that takes us back home. So we have no choice but to go down the hill and go near the place where we last saw the cat. So what is the right time for us to go? How long should we wait there? We discussed for a while and decided that we should reach the Hanuman shrine exactly at 0530 so that the wait for the truck is not too long. It was about 0400 in the afternoon and we should wait for an hour before we start our descent. It should take about half an hour to reach the Shrine. We were hoping that there will be no more tension, we were quite distraught already. Little did we know that our troubles were only beginning.

In about 15 minutes, the weather turned freakish. Billows of dark clouds came blowing in from the east. The sun could still be seen in the west but two thirds of the visible sky was covered in dark clouds. For a while the light was strange and eerie, but at least there was light. In another 15 minutes the whole sky was covered and it has become very dark. A few streaks of lightning were followed by the rumble of thunder. The rain can start at any time. We decided to start our descent immediately and at least reach the Hanuman shrine before it becomes too dark.

We started our trek in silence. The worry that started in the afternoon has grown into a fear that made our throats dry. We can hear the chatter of the monkeys in the forest somewhere. The knowledgeable fellow said that they are chattering because they probably saw the Leopard. The others cursed him and told him to shut up. We didn’t want to think about it, talk about it or know about it.

We reached our rendezvous point by 0500. Thankfully, the rain held off but it was getting darker by the minute. We could only see the trail, it was quite dark in the trees. There we were, waiting in the middle of the forest peering into the trees in fear. The sound of crickets has started already, there was an occasional whiff of breeze and a rustle of dry leaves. We still have to wait for another half hour.

It was 0530, the appointed time, and we were looking up the trail in expectation, praying for the truck. I was trying to focus my mind on the truck. I tried to imagine the glow in the distance and then the lights shining down the trail. I tried to imagine the sound in the distance; the sweet, musical rumble of the old Bedford. I remembered the stench of diesel and sweat in the trucks cabin. My mind was clutching at straws to preserve itself from the all-consuming fear.

We waited and waited, but there was no truck. It was 0630 and it became very cold and it was pitch dark already. It started drizzling and yet there was no truck. We were calling out to each other to assure ourselves. We decided to start walking towards Gaddamanugu village. Its only three kilometres and we should reach in 45 minutes even in the darkness. One guy had a keychain with a small torch that runs on a single AA size battery. That was the only light we had as we stumbled along the cold dark trail.

Strange shapes seemed to be following us, keeping just outside the cocoon of the light. The Leopard must be out there somewhere, may be it is watching us right now confident that it can pick any one or all of us in its own sweet time. May be there are more than one.

The drizzle continued to be mild, but we are already wet and completely in the grip of fear. Every time someone stumbles, the terror reaches a crescendo. We then we assure ourselves it is only us and nothing else.
As I shiver in cold and fear, the mind is alternating between blank numbness and frantic activities of thought and hope. The feeble light of the pencil torch now seems to be creating monstrous shadows. The Leopard is now no longer the source of fear. Every sound, every touch of a fellow walker, every shadow pushed me into roaring peaks of pure terror.

I cannot remember for how long we walked. Every single one of us, were on the very edge of our endurance. Another five minutes of this and the blood vessels in my brain would have burst.
And then we heard this voice in the distance “YEVURADHI?” (WHO IS THERE?)

We couldn’t believe our ears. We froze for a moment. And in the next moment all of us started shouting and crying as we ran towards the voice. It was one of the railway gangmen waiting at the intersection of the trail and the railway track. An engine with a couple of bogies comes at about that time daily to take them back to the Vijayawada station. Luckily for us the train had not yet come on that day. They were totally surprised to see this crying, babbling group of wet kids. They gave us water and calmed us down.

The gangmen laughed in amusement as they got the story out of us. They kept wondering how stupid can kids be. The train came in about 15 minutes and they took us along to Vijayawada Railway Station.

By the time we got home, it was 0930 in the night. Our parents were obviously worried and started asking around. The truck driver’s cousin told them that we went into the Kondapalli reserve forest in a truck and the truck is not back yet. They were trying to organize search parties when we arrived. They had already informed the police. Needless to say, every one of us received the bashing of our lives.

After that adventure, every one of us had mellowed down. We were no longer prankish and rebellious. We were the school bullies before that. But in the weeks after that, we became the butt of all jokes. Our parents think that this transformation came about because of the bashing they gave us. Only the eight of us knew the real reason; and now dear BHPians, you too know the reason for this transformation: it is because on that cold, rainy evening in the forest, we understood the true meaning of fear.

We met the truck driver after a few weeks and asked him why he didn’t turn up. Apparently, he started drinking “Vippa Saara” the brew made out of Mahua flowers (the flowers of the Madhuca Longifolia tree) while he was waiting for the bamboo to be loaded. In a drunken stupor, he picked up a quarrel with the tribal labourers. He was tied up and thrashed and was released only after three days. So he failed to turn up at the Hanuman Shrine. So the only actor in this misadventure who escaped thrashing was the driver’s cousin.

The fruit that the guys were trying to pick when we saw the Leopard for the second time was the fruit of the “Muchidi Chettu” (the Nox Vomica tree). While we were talking to the driver, we described the bungalow and its surroundings, because he had never been up there for fear of ghosts. We told him that there are many of these trees with orangish fruit around there. He asked for a more detailed description of the tree and confirmed that it is the “Muchidi Chettu”. Its fruit and seed are highly poisonous and are used in the making of strychnine.

Had they not seen the Leopard, the boys would have brought down some of the fruit. At least some of us would have tasted them (we were that stupid). Goes to show how everything is connected. I sincerely believe that on that day the Leopard was there to save our lives and teach us a lesson.

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by Enobarbus

I sincerely believe that on that day the Leopard was there to save our lives and teach us a lesson.

Wowza, what an experience! And well written too!

One question - when you were walking back, did you choose straws to see who would walk in the rear?

[raghu.t.k]

Not sure if this is the right forum, but going by the news reports, some things are related to fate and just cannot be prevented.

Govt 'confirms' meteorite blast in Vellore killed man
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/50894959.cms

[Enobarbus]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

One question - when you were walking back, did you choose straws to see who would walk in the rear?

We were just keeping as close to Saroj (the torch guy) as possible. We stumbled on the rocks so many times, I am sure it was a different guy at the last every few minutes.

[jaguar.runs]

This happened with me two weeks back in UAE.

Had an adventure while trying to help someone in trouble at UAQ (Umm Al Quwain). While driving on the highway in my Land Cruiser with my family, I saw a CRV stuck and decided to help them as I had a tow strap with me. I always carry the tow strap in my car as once I felt so bad that I could not help someone who was stuck in sand. On top of that it is advised to carry a tow strap if you are venturing out into the desert.

While trying to reach them my Land Cruiser also got stuck. The surface was looking fine from a distance and when I got out of the Land Cruiser, I realized that only the crust was solid and under 2 inches of crust was just a mixture of wet sand and mud. The area was close to the sea and the mangroves, with just the top layer dry due to the sun.

Spoke the South African guy from the CRV and he was sorry that we also got stuck in the mud trying to help them. We started the recovery of the Land Cruiser first as we had a better chance of getting out by putting some fire wood I had in the car. The tires had zero traction due to the MUD clinging to the tread. After few minutes we saw a Nissan Patrol approaching and we started waving at them to help us. The car stopped at a distance and the guy who was driving got out of the car and started walking towards us. The other guys from the car was following him. The guy who was driving was in traditional UAE attire and from the way other guys were following him clearly indicated that this guy is someone important. We explained him the situation and asked if he can pull us out of the mud. He checked the surface and backed up his car to connect the tow strap. He asked me to get in to Land Cruiser and wait for his signal. He honked once and started pulling me. The car moved a little bit and stopped. Then I saw everyone running towards the Patrol and I realized that the Patrol also got stuck. It was not 3 vehicles stuck in the mud. By that time we had a chance to speak to one of the guys from the group and realized that the guy who was driving the Patrol is actually one of the Sheikhs of Umm Al-Quwain! (Younger brother of the UAQ ruler).

The Sheikh immediately called for his Hummer as it had a winch. By that time lot of other 4x4 vehicles approached seeing 3 cars stuck. Couple of them had good tow straps and we extended reach of the straps by joining them together. One of the guy had a Chevy Silverado and he pulled the Patrol out first. Then he connected to the Land Cruiser and pulled the Land Cruiser out. There was another South African guy who was in the driving seat of my car and he decided to take my car for rescuing the CRV from the opposite side. I told him to wait for my signal to make sure that the surface is hard enough before he takes the car. While I was running ahead to make sure that the surface is good, this guy zooms past me in full throttle towards the CRV. While approaching the CRV he realized that the surface is really bad, he takes a wide turn to come back to the hard surface and gets stuck in even deeper mud. The local Arabs who was accompanying the Sheikh was now pissed off with this guy and was abusing him in Hindi.

By this time the Hummer arrived and we started the recovery of the CRV using the winch. CRV was take out from the MUD easily as it was a light car. In the meantime one of the spectators in his FJ Cruiser decides to have fun and while trying to drift on the loose surface, flips his car. Everyone stops recovery and rushes to the FJ to make sure that the passengers are fine. Reaches the spot and finds them in good shape. The FJ is left as it is and everyone returns to recover the Land Cruiser. Land Cruiser gets recovered after a lot of effort due to the winch coupling breaking off. We finally had to use a thick rope which was available in the Hummer.

Sheikh led the recovery operation till the end, even getting his hands dirty and being in the pilot seat of the Hummer. Funny part was that all the vehicles involved in the recovery operation got stuck, but not all of them together. Hummer and the Chevy was stars of the day from a recovery point of view.

Thanked everyone who had helped us, especially the Sheikh as he even had a meeting 75 kms away from where we were and he stayed there for almost 4 hours to help us. He had only 45 minutes to cover the entire 75 kms, that too with Friday evening traffic. As soon as my car was out, he ran to his Patrol and took off to Dubai.

I had my family with me and one of the local guys asked them to stay in his car with his family when all the men from the cars were out in the field having a recovery fest. One thing I have noticed about the UAE locals are that they help you out when you are in trouble on/off the road.

Drove to the next washing station at slow speed as advised by one of the local guys and got a full wash at double the price due to the Mud on the car. It took them 1 hour just to wash off the mud from the car.

I had helped a lot of people in the past who were stuck off the road and while approaching the CRV I thought this would be a routine affair. I did a mistake of not checking the surface before approaching the CRV in my car. Lesson learned that you have to scout the area before you approach any stuck vehicle.

Attached is the only picture I have from that day. Did not even get a chance to click a picture with the good souls who helped us that day.