[Thad E Ginathom]

Yep! There's a guy who takes protective clothing seriously!

[namanski]

Unsure if this belongs here (mods, kindly remove this if it isn't), but I found this driver living his best life riding along the East Coast Road with a severely dented roof and broken rear windshield.

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by arvind71181

Extra cushioning courtesy the rubber, cheaper form of airbag for 2 wheeler

Car guys have front, side, and curtain airbags but this guy have full 360 degree protection.

[TheHelix0202]

This was probably the 100th guy to park in front of the gates of our rental house in the past year or so. Looked up his details on the RTO app and dad wrote him a note- "Dear Mr. XX Abraham XXX, please don't park in front of our gate or any other passageway again". Drew a little do not park logo and we secured the piece of paper on his windshield (wiper). It's funny how people in our country have a blatant disregard for other people's rights on the road (for one). I don't know whether it's even funny anymore. The excuse of "but I'm only gone for a minute!" doesn't work.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I was manoeuvring around some obstruction when a car turned into the congested road from a junction just ahead. I thought, "this guy is going to block me." I was quite pleased when I saw the guy position their car at exactly the right angle to allow me to pass. I was delighted when I saw that the "guy" was a very elderly woman --- whose driving skills, no doubt, exceed my own

My mum was such a driver: she drove her small Micra on British rural roads and hills until the last months of her last year, her 90th year.

[WhiteFang]

I'm surprised that traffic police have allowed this on Mumbai roads. An advertisement by DSP Blackrock in BKC, Mumbai. The way this car manoeuvred through traffic was more like watching a rope walk.

[srvm]

This happened today morning around 8am near BEML Gate junction in Bangalore.
I was riding my 2-wheeler with my 9-year old daughter riding pillion. While coming from GM Palya towards BEML Gate junction, I observe a very unusual pedestrian on the footpath (footpath here is usually used only by vegetable/fruit vendors and beggars). He/she was walking calmly in the footpath never once getting onto the road. I was overjoyed at this pedestrian's discipline that I called my daughter's attention to this and she was thrilled beyond imagination.
The pedestrian was a bovine, a beautiful black semi-adult

My daughter ranted for the next 10 minutes till I dropped her off at her school.
"Papa, Why can't humans follow traffic discipline the way that cow did?"
"Papa, Why are there so many horrible riders on our roads?"

[Amity]

Guess how many people are there on the motorcycle?

My wife came across this 'loaded' motorcycle in Faridabad. I wonder how these people keep their safety aside and happily ride along.

Mods: I am not sure if this is the correct thread for this post. Please post it in correct thread.

[avi_swift]

Greeting fellow members!!

This is my first post in this forum. Although my membership was approved way back, I had been a passive member here. But this time, I want to share a very good experience that I had recently. Mods, please remove it to the appropriate thread if this is not suitable for it.

With Christmas approaching, I thought of taking a road trip to Madhya Pradesh for the whole week. Accordingly, me and my wife left for Khajuraho on 21st December. Now my car, a second gen Swift bought in 2013, although questionable both in terms of safety and quality, is undoubtedly a gem in terms of reliability. In almost 7 years that she has been with me, she had not left me stranded even once. I religiously take her for the annual service every 12-13 months and fortunately, that is enough for her. This time also, I completed the annual service in November and told the SA at Maruti Narayana (New Delhi) about a long road trip that I intend to take, and he assured me when the car was delivered that it is in excellent condition and I can go ahead without any concerns.

Now coming back to 21st, we planned to start by 4 AM but it’s winter, so overslept and started only around 6 AM. On top of that, there was dense fog/smog till Gwalior, so progress was slow. Reached Agra only around 10 AM and Gwalior by-pass after 12 PM. Although the weather was clearer from there, it was increasingly becoming clear that we would have to stop for the night somewhere (I subscribe to the theory that driving on Indian highways is best avoided at night). Also, I want to mention that despite Google Maps showing a different route after Jhansi, I choose the route via Mauranipur since it was way shorter. In hindsight, it was a big mistake as road conditions were terrible after Orchha. Anyways, after crossing Orchha around 5:15 PM, we decided to continue till Mauranipur as we felt we can reach there around 6:30 or so since it was approximately 50 KM. As mentioned before, road conditions deteriorated and after 1 hour or so, we were still 22 KM from Mauranipur. Around 6:15 PM, I heard a sound like something hitting the underbody. It was not a loud noise and I felt that it was nothing major. Still I parked by the side and got down (the road was double lane with area to its left and right being used for the ongoing expansion). As expected, there was nothing broken or leaking, probably a small rock which somehow made its way to the car’s underbody. Took a break for 5 minutes and turned the key after that. It would not start

This was the first time something like this happened to me and I was ill-prepared to deal with it. Tried for a couple of times again but it would not start. Searched the Maruti service centre booklet and Google but the nearest centre we saw was in Jhansi, easily an hour away, if not more on the terrible roads. Now it was almost dark and we were panicking. A recent TeamBHP thread discussing about the dangers of highway travel during night also played on in my mind. Hoping it to be a battery issue, I stopped a passing auto and asked him to give the car a push. Still nothing. The auto driver said he can take me to some mechanic he knew but somehow, we didn’t trust him. Told him to move on while we contemplated what to do. My wife attended a self-defence class in her office where the instructor had advised that in any road emergency, it’s better to head for the nearest place with CCTV, like petrol pump, toll booth, hospital etc. Searched in GMaps and voila, a petrol pump was 500M away. Called the number from Maps and a person named Vikram Singh took the call and told us that he will send somebody. By then it was completely dark and we decided to walk the distance to the pump. As we were nearing the pump, a couple of guys on a motorbike spotted us and told us that they were told of our car breaking down nearby. One of the men introduced himself as Gaurav Singh (brother of Vikram). We verified the name of the person who told them about us and retraced our way back to the car.

They tried as well and the result was same. Since it was pitch dark by then, we could not do anything other than pushing the car to the petrol pump. It took some time to cover the 500 meters, and as we were entering, hoping that the distance pushed will change the result, I turned the key again. To no avail. Gaurav called some local mechanic and was promptly told that it would be at least 30 minutes before the mechanic can reach us. It was almost 6:45 PM and we were mentally preparing ourselves to spend the night at any nearest hotel/hostel/dorm and if nothing was found, the pump. Also shared our location with a family WhatsApp group. Then Gaurav got a call from the mechanic again, and after discussion, asked the other men (his friend from the bike and others already present at the pump) to push the car in reverse while he tried again.

Thankfully it worked!! Gaurav said it is definitely a battery issue and advised us to let the car idle for 15 minutes before driving to allow the battery to gain some juice.

Both of us were elated and I was also astonished that the battery decided to conk off after travelling almost 500 KM from Delhi. I asked him what different did he do and he said that while the others were pushing, he tried turning the key in half-clutch. I am not sure what difference did that make and I plan to ask it in some appropriate battery related thread.

We thanked all the men profusely. They refused anything from us saying it’s their duty to help. They only asked that we give a positive review of their pump in Maps and since it’s the least I could do, I did so the very next day.

The car was working fine. Changed the battery the next day and the car completed the 1900+ KM trip without the least hassle.

My primary learning from this is: In future services, I will specifically ask the SA to update me about the health of the battery as well. I googled how often car batteries last and was shocked to find out that the average age is 3 years. Places with extreme temperature like Delhi can actually decrease the battery life. The stock battery that I replaced lasted almost 7 years and around 33k KM.

Also, it is better to call it a day at the nearest place you find, if you find it impossible to reach your destination. The 22KM drive to a hotel in Mauranipur was one of the most harrowing in my life, with diversions, under construction/bad road, high beam, animals and what not. Sunlight definitely takes a big load off.

And lastly, not all people are what you expect. We were naturally quite tensed when the car broke down but the way we were treated by Gaurav and his friends blew us off. They helped us when we needed it and in a manner which left no doubt in our minds that were only there to help us.

The pump location: https://www.google.com/maps/place/HP...699!4d78.91509

[TheHelix0202]

So, this happened a few months ago. Our neighbor, the guy living diagonally opposite to our house had parked his car, a taxi Dzire (we hence assumed he was a taxi drive, but it later turned out that he was a criminal lawyer. ) in front of our gate.

Dad went out and asked the guy to move it, but the guy said he was working on his battery and that if we were to keep talking, he'd be delayed further. Now it isn't polite or logical to say that when you're causing inconvenience to others. He was quite rude too, threatening that there would be a bunch of cars here everyday and who were we to say anything- this when we said we'd call the police. He didn't understand politeness. Dad answered him firmly and strictly, then asking him to leave within the next half an hour. The guy slowly does (takes around an hour though). Another person who was with him was polite enough and I saw him later on, asking him why he didn't just park the car in front of their own house. Apparently the dude wanted to work under the street light (visible in the pic).

Tonight, there was this other car, an Alto, right in front of the gate. We'd seen this car quite a few times around here, recently. We wrote him a note (3rd person to recieve a note from us) and Dad tagged it onto the windshield. He then proceeded to inspect the car, in the process setting off the typical touch sensitive Maruti alarm. This probably caused the guys to come out from their house, or maybe one if them was just leaving. They walked over to the car and the client and his little kid were about to drive away. I thought it's best to avoid confrontation and let the note do the talking, but Dad had other ideas. He went straight up and spoke to them, telling them how dangerous it could be if someone needed medical help in the house or had to rush to an emergency and the car was blocked like that. They seemed to understand and the neighbour seemed apologetic to have lost his temper earlier.

And as you would have it, this turned into a friendly conversation over the next 45 minutes, with me getting my socks bored off, watching through the window. The lawyer's excuse was that he didn't think we would take the car out at night (really bad assumption) and that he would make sure nobody parks in front of our gate again. The three men then started talking and after a point (when the talk turned to mundane things), poor Dad got bored of it and excusing himself, came into the house. Those guys went about their business.

The first day of the new year does help things!



What makes it even more convenient for people to park here regularly is that there's a speed breaker, a giant one to the left of our house (in front of the Alto) and an always open gate belonging to an old ration shop to the right. These together act as a sort of parking "slot". The recent road work going on along the entire left stretch of the road doesn't help matters either, with a huge mound of earth on the left part of the speed breaker, again in front of the Alto.



Dad asked him if he'd got the name of the car owner (client) right and he had. The guy seemed surprised until Dad explained to him about the RTO app. Useful app indeed!

Situations like these need a cool head, patience and maybe some humour as well, not to mention the skill of being polite, yet firm about certain things, especially when you know you're in the right. That's another thing I've learned in 2019. Thanks dad!

[Thad E Ginathom]

When my mum found someone unfriendly or even unpleasant, eg in one of her regular shops, she would make it a challenge: to get a smile out of them, and then become friends. She regularly succeeded too. Have done the same thing once or twice. Or found good friendships, off and online, that began with an argument.

[saisree]

Caution Long Post

I spent Rs 54,00,000/- to park my car


Prologue

This happened around 2008. I was just learning to drive my car -Zen LX (Non Power Steering). I used to live in a very spacious apartment, walkable to the camp road junction, selaiyur, Chennai. Apartment had two blocks with 2 flats and one open car parking for each block. 2 flats were usually kept locked as the owners stay elsewhere and they use only when they are in Chennai. So that makes only two tenants and parking was kind of free for us. Our road is 20ft wide and the apartment is raised three feet high and so, we have a inclined ramp to get into the apartment.

I had a Zen and the other tenant had a Bolero which is covered with a tarpaulin cover for almost the year. This cover is tied to the jeep at 21 places. Every weekend, my co-tenant, unties a part of the cover and starts it. He will keep the bolero running for 30 minutes, switches it OFF and ties back the cover. The only time he takes it out is during the Diwali holidays and drives to Tanjavur.


Below is a rough representation of the parking we had and you can see how the Bolero is parked in front and my car which is used at least thrice in a week is kept at the back. The well nearby is actually a bigger well and my car is parked on the concrete slab laid as the cover for the well. The length and weight of the Bolero didn't help us to park it at the back.

D-Day.

To get my car into my apartment, I move to the left most part of the road and do a very calculated turning on to the inclined ramp, cut the Jeep and enter into the narrow pass through to my parking with that hard steering. I do it almost flawlessly most of the times and had to do some back and forth exercises when I cannot cut the jeep. One day I thought I almost made it, but heard my car tires rubbing the Bolero's tires. It generated a sound and my tenant was out in a flash. He started in a high tone and started saying you spoiled my tires and there will be damage et al. I parked my car and we both looked into and there were no visible damages and there was no air loss too. I said we will again check tomorrow morning and if there are any signs of wear, I will pay for it. Also, asked him to park his car further back so that, I, will have ample space to adjust the direction and park my car easily. Instead, he again started with high voice and said, " You call me if you want to park the car. I will get my Jeep on to the road and you can turn your car where ever you want and park it". I was a bit upset and walked back to my flat.

Next Day

As the saying goes, Every Donkey has its day, I had to take my car for a marriage the very next day and returned back home at 10:30 PM. I knocked my tenants door and said, I want to park my car and he has get his jeep on to the road. He was startled, as his words came back to him the very next day. I was adamant to get his car down and said, I'm not leaving until I park my car. Now he has a big job of untying the car at 21 places, get it down and park it back and again tie the cover at 21 places. Finally at 11:15 PM, I let him go and the very next day I saw the jeep parked further back as per my request. A lesson taught.


Similar issues creeped in and by then I bought a new Wagon R. I wanted to convert that open car parking into a closed parking with sheets. This idea didn't mature with the tenant and I eventually sold my flat. Bought my self an individual house with a covered parking, which can house an Scorpio easily.

[Par_neon]

Originally Posted by avi_swift

Now coming back to 21st, we planned to start by 4 AM but it’s winter, so overslept and started only around 6 AM.

I have faced a similar problem but in our old Omni. Everything used to be running fine, and then suddenly some day the car refused to start on turning the key in ignition. Also it used to happen occasionally and randomly. We had replaced the battery but yet the problem persisted.

Eventually it was diagnosed that
1. There was a plunger mechanism which slid the gear of the started motor so that it meshed with the gear teeth on the flywheel. Once the car started a spring used to push the starter motor gear back into its original position and disengage the connection with the flyweel.
2. There was an inbuilt mechanism that unless the starter motor gear teeth had not completely slid into the position the started motor will not turn.
3. Our car had run considerably and over the years the gear teeth on the flyweel had worn off slightly and hence the starter motor gear teeth could not slide in completely.
4. And as the gear was not slid in completely the motor wouldn't turn due to the inbuilt system.
5. 80~90% of the time the worn gear teeth didn't used to create problem in sliding but whenever it happened the car refused to start.
6. The impromptu solution in that case was to turn the flywheel slightly, that could be done by engaging any gear (but preferably the fourth gear) and giving the car a little push and it used to work.

In your case it may or may not be the same problem but there's no harm in checking.

NOTE FROM SUPPORT - Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

Thanks!

[Stribog]

Heart warming is something I still remember from decades ago.

We were in Mumbai then (just moved), went shopping at a local market and got caught in one of the first Monsoon rains. It was torrential, and no taxis (this was SoBo so no autos) were to be had for love or money. Travis Kalanick was 14 and still decades away from Uber.

Stuck we decided to walk in the rain, my dad, mom and my 4year oldo sis and 8 year old me.

A Maruti Van (I know, I know, 80's kids have a negative view of the sliding door car as the kidnap mobile) stops, the car is already relatively full with an extended family but there comes the words that gladdens every Indian's heart "aao, adjust karlenge"

So we squeezed in, and they went some 4kms out of the way to drop us home.

Dad did take down the card of the kindly gent, and we later invited them for a sumptuous Southie dinner but that gesture. Still stays with me.

[avi_swift]

Originally Posted by Par_neon

I have faced a similar problem but in our old Omni. Everything used to be running fine, and then suddenly some day the car refused to start on turning the key in ignition.

Thanks!

Thanks for your suggestion. I don't think there is a problem with the starter as she is cranking perfectly normal now but I will check it out from a mechanic as I also believe in 'better safe than sorry'. Your post helped me get some ideas about the relation between starters and the clutch. Till now I used to believe that there is none. BTW, what was the solution to your problem? Did you get a new starter motor?

I Googled a bit about starters, dead batteries and the idea that I got was you have to press the C pedal when turning the ignition, even in neutral, since the transmission also adds some load to the starter motor. Now I am aware of good techniques like not riding your clutch, turning off all headlights/electronics when the engine is not running etc but this is completely new to me. If this is true, then I have been doing it wrong for all these years, and since I always stop in neutral(traffic signal or anywhere else), I have probably never pressed the clutch before firing the engine. But I also found others claiming pressing the C pedal takes a toll on the clutch and replacing a starter is a lot cheaper than anything clutch related, so some has advised against it. I found an old thread here and it recommended pressing the clutch before ignition.