[TheTeacher]

Most drivers in India don't even know of the concept of right of way. This is natural, when the ability to change gears, pop out the clutch and hold the steering wheel is considered to be all one needs to be an "expert" driver. How many understand that these technical skills are only a fraction of what is required to be a good, safe driver.

Unless there is uncompromising vigor in testing before a drivers licence is issued, this will continue.

[vikred]

I'm extremely shocked looking at the way precious lives got lost.

• First, a 'gap in the median' should never be on a curve on a fast four-lane highway. That's a recipe for disaster.
• The two-wheelers shown in the video looked like they were on their suicide missions. Who on Earth would cross a road without judging (or guessing) the kind of speeds vehicles would be doing on the fast lane. Morons!
• The roads shown in the video appeared to me like toll roads. In spite of many accidents at the same junction, why would the operator not put rumble strips (not speed-brakers) some 20-30 mts before the junction just to warn the vehicles, is something I fail to understand.
• We should remind ourselves that we noticing the headlights of an oncoming vehicle doesn't mean that we're being noticed by that driver.

I shudder how unsafe our roads continue to be. Safe-driving is not an achievement or a record. Just because people have been driving the way they are driving for the past few decades without any accident doesn't mean their style is safe. We should be taught some basic road sense. That's for sure.

Videos like these need to be shown during driving license tests.

[cs_rajesh]

Originally Posted by Pferdestarke

That's really a nasty design of that intersection. The least they could do is laying some goddamn speed humps. That would have spared more than half of the accidents at that particular junction. May the departed R.I.P!

Do you think Speed Bumps on highways are answer to avoid such accidents? Speed bumps can be the killers for highway vehicles again.

Ideally as mentioned by other fellow bhpians, there should be traffic signals and once every few mins the highway side should go red and allow the intersecting traffic to merge onto highway or cross the highway.

And don't know how many highway drivers are following speed limits.. I have seen bangalore-coimbatore highway having many speed limit signs and lower speed limits while just approaching junctions (such as village crossings) and that is quite clearly helpful and if one follows them rigorously, one can anticipate surprising crossings like what we see here.

[Octane_Power]

"Retaaardd".. This is what I was saying throughout the video.
Just look at how casually our pea-brained morons cross such major highway intersections be it night or day.
Almost 95% of the accidents in the video were due to the following attitude of people : "Accidents? Aah they never happen to us. We always get to witness them". "Apan ko kuchh nai hoga" kind of attitude.

Taking for granted the other vehicle's speed is another major reason. In a few cases, the bus drivers knew the approaching vehicle was too fast but still they went ahead thinking that if he bangs the car will get totaled, his bus will be safe.
Man did you guys see how that tractor guy ran leaving his tractor after the accident?

Man, I can write an essay to vent out my anger for such retards, but no use. They are millions in number and just increasing..

-Bhargav

[ramzsys]

At 5:25, the way the Innova got thrown away by the tractor!

The tractor driver jumped and ran away from the moving tractor, the tractor plunged into the furrow/ditch, Innova passengers rescuing themselves; the RTC bus rubber necking the accident.

Sums up very much the state of Indian affairs.

[prasadee]

Originally Posted by Pferdestarke

That's really a nasty design of that intersection. The least they could do is laying some goddamn speed humps. That would have spared more than half of the accidents at that particular junction.

Speed bumps may not really stop the two wheelers from trying their stunts. In bangalore I see two wheelers, and autos go on the sidewalk, or the dirt on the side of the road only to prevent the speed bumps. After dark, some brave souls even go the wrong way to avoid speed bumps. Some are not speedbumps but mountain ranges. Especially on Bangalore Mysore road - everytime someone dies they add another speedbump. There are places with 8 bumps in a row.
What is needed is education about right of way especially when a small side road intersects a highway. A cultural shift where people feel it is OK to wait for their turn. Live and let live. Treat others the way they like to be treated on the road (and in life)

[Santoshbhat]

Boy that's a deadly intersection!

Such a wrong place for an intersection. It is on a curved part of a very fast four lane highway. It comes into vision at the very last moment. People looking to make a turn are not able to get a long field of view. They see an empty road and make the turn not realising that vehicles are moving at very high speeds and can be in their face within seconds. The curve kind of hides the intersection for the vehicles coming from the distance.

We get very excited with well asphalted, wide four laned roads made to international standards. But our people are yet to realise the dangers of high speed driving and the risks associated with it. They think vehicles can stop, change their path, avoid obstacles at four lane highway speeds, just as they do at city speeds.

Its always better to slow down to controllable speeds when you come up to a long banked curve on four lane highways for more reasons than one
1) There could be an intersection like this one
2) There could be a bullock cart on the rightmost lane or an idiot driving on the wrong side of the road.
3) There could be a nasty, suspension and car breaker speed breaker which was installed the day before by the locals, due to frequent accidents on the spot.
4) The four lane may be incomplete and the end of the curve might just be the end of the road, with a small 'diversion' sign on one corner!!

If we can't see the obstacles coming up at the end of the curve, the obstacles can't see us too. Slow down at intersections - Yes, but also slow down when the road curves and you can't see as far ahead as you do when the road is straight.

[sabsubs]

That video is horrible. One thing is pretty clear, the vehicles approaching the intersection has no patience to wait and look for any vehicle approaching and none of the vehicles are slowing down when they approach intersection. This is the saddest part on our Indian roads.

I always honk couple of time when approaching an intersection & slow down considerable. Only when I am sure that there are no vehicles approaching, I increase the speed of my car. These kind of intersections are very dangerous in India. We have to be very careful while driving.

[jnpai]

The video clippings sent a chill down my spine. Those who lost their lives..sad....some due to own sheer callousness, some due to gross mistakes by other drivers. May all those souls find peace.

While I agree with most observations regarding faulty designs of our highways, the majority of the accidents are caused by driver error. For this we have to squarely blame the licencing process, prevailing in our country. Many, until recent times , gained their licences through dubious ways and means. I recall a thread here on team bhp- which highlights the licencing process in Sweden-wish some day we will emulate those steps and make our drivers better.http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...erience-8.html

It pays to be on the safer side always.A few kmph slower will nevertheless take you to your destination.

[VW2010]

There is one where a guy in his two wheeler slowly comes, can actually see the lights coming towards and just goes into its path. Most of the accidents are because of arrogance and not really ignorance. And some of the cars are driving at really high speed considering there is a orange light to indicate potential danger. Why cant people slow down when they see those orange lights...or Amber

More so reason to stick to 80-100 in our highways even if you have a super car. The more reason for me to stick to 100 max unless i can see 2kms of no nonsense roads

[Kimified]

Just happened to come across this video on FB. Thought ill share it here. (Don't know if its already been shared here. I went through the last few pages on this thread and din't see it)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...type=2&theater

This is scary A full 9 minutes on accidents in only 3 or 4 junctions - No wonder I had heard someone tell me that there is one death in India every minute due to accidents! What is irritating is the foolishness of many of those drivers in this video.

[Chetan_Rao]

Just back from a trip to Coorg. The number of morons willing to risk their own lives (and yours) trying to overtake on twisting blind curves on undivided 2-lane highways is horrifying. There are scores of intersections, bus stops and unmarked village roads joining the highway at blind spots. These idiots tailgate with abandon, swing out into oncoming traffic without a second look, then panic-brake and squeeze back in, makes no difference to them that they're possibly running someone off the road (or worse, off a cliff).

The temptation to not let one of these morons back into my lane and let them face consequences of their idiotic driving is hard to resist sometimes.

[maytx10]

This video makes is pretty scary! People drive here as if slowing down would mean missing their own funeral ceremony. And while road designs in India leave much desired, even a good design cannot prevent accidents if people have an abject lack of regard for traffic rules and safety.

This also makes me wonder if groups like us can really do something about road safety etc. I mean apart from driving safely ourself and discussions on the forum. Any ideas?

[whitewing]

In some of the collisions, the other party simply scoots!
The driving skill(rather, the lack of it) is some thing we see around us on a regular, daily basis, but the scampering away from the accident site is shocking and reflects sadly on our humanity.
In some cases of I think the driver actually 'runs' out to escape (@around 5:20mins the tractor driver actually runs out of the tractor that is still powered)!


One way to reduce the number of moron drivers/riders is by making every driving license aspirant watch these videos for an 10 minutes every month for an year.
And, repeat the same for every driving violation... might drive in some sense into those moronic brains.
Of course enforcement of such rules would be a challenge.

Although most of the incidents in the video are caused by the vehicles trying to cross the intersection, this does not show the other surprise that we encounter on highways... jack in boxes popping out of medians.. But those and much more are covered in another thread (was it safe driving tips on highways?)

As VW2010 points out, all the more reason to stay within the legal speed limits even on good highways.

[Vasuki]

I don't know whether it is practically feasible, but we do need subways or flyovers @ intersection.

Also this illustrates that nothing can replace proper education of rules and driving lessons.