[ECM]

Thanks god and glad to see you alright.I always warn my friends not to brake hard SUVz in sharp turn.Specially SUMO.

[mclaren1885]

Glad to to know that u all are safe ..

This is the ghat section soon after the palamner check post i guess .. There is one swooping right hander mostly taken at blind missing which one will straight down the cliff .. I guess thats exactly where this happened Rudra .. All members heading to chennai or to track days better watch out for this section , its been potentially dangerous for many ages now .. I have known about this for years ..

[Jay]

Hey Stevie, glad to know none were injured.....
could you please give us the exact location so that people traversing that road will be more cautious in the future.... is it the Ghat thats just after Palamner ??? that road has been newly laid and widened too !!! Where exactly did it happen........

Such things usually happen, where its the other drivers fault and you end up in a situation like this.... hence its always better to be more cautious as you never know when this'll happen...

[stevie]

your right mclaren...the very same cure.the one that gets dangerous when unnoticed.i have driven down the same road several times after the incident and boy it does gives me those shivers down my spine.

yes rudra...its the first of the four curves where u see a yamraj pic!!!

[v.tec]

well the seatbelt played a major role in ur survival..glad u heard the voice in ur head..helps a lot always

[rks]

Originally Posted by Jay

Hey Stevie, glad to know none were injured.....
could you please give us the exact location so that people traversing that road will be more cautious in the future.... is it the Ghat thats just after Palamner ??? that road has been newly laid and widened too !!! Where exactly did it happen........

Such things usually happen, where its the other drivers fault and you end up in a situation like this.... hence its always better to be more cautious as you never know when this'll happen...

In this case Stevie says "I let him pass" right next to a sharp corner. Whether he signalled to let the lorry pass (a big mistake) or just slowed down and made way for the lorry, both of these actions would have suggested to the lorry driver that he was being given the all-clear to go ahead with the overtake. I am not saying that the lorry driver was right -- I personally would not take somebody's word for it that it is OK to overtake at a blind corner. But what Stevie should have done is move aggressively to the middle of the road and signal to stop the overtake next to the blind corner.
Regards, rks

[stevie]

ya rks,

i do know what u mean but i never signaled him to pas nor did i slow down to let him pass......he wasovertaking anyways.....well stuff like this happens on a highway all the time........one doesnt plan the course of action.......most of these incidents happen in a split second...i guess oyu have enlightened me as to what i must do in the future but i am happy to be alive.would rather not think about what already happened.........so no "should have's" for me!!!!!

[rks]

Originally Posted by stevie

ya rks,

i do know what u mean but i never signaled him to pas nor did i slow down to let him pass......he wasovertaking anyways.....

This suggests to me that you were going quite slowly uphill as you were approaching the corner. So the lorry driver simply did not want to slow down and fall in line behind you at the corner. One possible reason for this is that lorry drivers generally like to go uphill fast -- once slowed down, our Indian lorries (especially loaded ones) really struggle uphill.

Originally Posted by stevie

well stuff like this happens on a highway all the time........one doesnt plan the course of action.......most of these incidents happen in a split second...i guess oyu have enlightened me as to what i must do in the future but i am happy to be alive.would rather not think about what already happened.........so no "should have's" for me!!!!!

You are right about the split second part. It happens to all of us, and to the best of drivers, at some point or the other. Whenever I have a close shave on the highway, I always replay the incident countless numbers of times in my mind and try to analyze what I ought to have done. It is painful, but the only way to instill good driving habits. When it comes to a split second, you will have no time to be making conscious and considered decisions -- during such emergencies, your good driiving habits will kick in and save you, and bad driving habits will haunt you sooner or later.

Anyway, you and the passengers were very lucky not to have suffered any injuries. I am amazed -- when you say that your Qualis "tossed and tumbled" a few times, did you mean it actually rolled over? You must have been going very slowly indeed, to have avoided injuries to yourself and passengers in such a horrific accident.
Regards, rks

[kb100]

Originally Posted by rks

This suggests to me that you were going quite slowly uphill as you were approaching the corner. So the lorry driver simply did not want to slow down and fall in line behind you at the corner. One possible reason for this is that lorry drivers generally like to go uphill fast -- once slowed down, our Indian lorries (especially loaded ones) really struggle uphill.
You are right about the split second part. It happens to all of us, and to the best of drivers, at some point or the other. Whenever I have a close shave on the highway, I always replay the incident countless numbers of times in my mind and try to analyze what I ought to have done. It is painful, but the only way to instill good driving habits. When it comes to a split second, you will have no time to be making conscious and considered decisions -- during such emergencies, your good driiving habits will kick in and save you, and bad driving habits will haunt you sooner or later.

Anyway, you and the passengers were very lucky not to have suffered any injuries. I am amazed -- when you say that your Qualis "tossed and tumbled" a few times, did you mean it actually rolled over? You must have been going very slowly indeed, to have avoided injuries to yourself and passengers in such a horrific accident.
Regards, rks

RKS... Going by this and your earlier post - your angle is dangerously close to making it look like Stevie's fault ... Well... Like he said... "NO SHOULD HAVE's" pls!!

Stevie... Glad to hear you all made it out of that in one piece!

[rks]

Originally Posted by kb100

RKS... Going by this and your earlier post - your angle is dangerously close to making it look like Stevie's fault ... Well... Like he said... "NO SHOULD HAVE's" pls!!

Going by the book it is the lorry driver's fault. But are you saying no one should point out how the emergency could have been possibly better handled/prevented by Stevie and discuss it in this forum? Why not? I would prefer that type of discussion to the large number of repetitive "I am glad you are OK" type of posts. Anyway, sure, I have said what I wanted to say anyway (and will continue to do so in future, as long as I am allowed to).
Regards, rks

[stevie]

ok ok ok..... this topic is only to praise the fact that i am alive and discussing the whole incident with all of youlets not let it get out of hand.
anyway the response is overwhelming and no doubt 'rks' is critcially analysing the whole thing!!i like that too.
we need the pros n the cons . great going guys..........so cool.........everyone can say anything they want as long as they dont break forum rules and the sentiments of people in here.
dont you guys agree??

[sujaylahiri]

Praise the lord !!

[DRC]

Glad that nothing serious happend to lives..

We can always investigate and try to find whi's fault it is.. Finally boils down to the system/governament.. and there ends the buck,

More important is to take lessons of good driving habits and learn from examples. Not necessarily yours alone.

[ATL_BOY]

these incidents give u definition of life ... thank God you and family is safe ...

[bike_bug]

Thank GOD that u all are safe.....