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Old 23rd March 2014, 02:37   #46
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

Holy Cow and all the Gods of our world and Asgard can't save this nation from this freaking suicidal maniacs on wheels. This is just one junction in one corner of this huge nation. Poorly designed roads, no awareness of basic rules of road safety, overloaded trucks with no tail lights, high beam hooligans, cargo vehicles with crap load of people, two wheeled Rossi/organ donors - put them all in one place and what you get is the Worlds one and only Organized Chaos.

I have been thinking of some possible solutions to this kind of inherent design errors, especially after my last weekend trip. The road I was taking was NH4 from Chittoor towards Bangalore, this was a new road for me and I was relying on Google Maps for the directions. The initial roads had lot of twisties and very few road sign alerting you of a S- curve or a sharp right after a high climb. However, occasional glimpses at the Maps screen did help me judge the road better, especially before going in for a brave overtaking manoeuvre. Now to take this one step ahead, if google could provide safety warnings via voice based navigation, wouldn't this be of great help? Like in this case, "Sweeping right hander ahead with an intersection, slowdown the bloody hell!" ? This could be like a crowd sourced thing where we could mark the dangerous places we come across after the drive, or a co passenger can do it while on the go. If not some simple database comparison and compiling a list of hazards like accident prone intersections, landslide prone zones, sharp turns, wildlife crossing zones.

What I have suggested here is not a miracle cure, only a temporary fix, but something like this could have warned some first timers of such an intersection if not a road sign. Ofcourse, I agree that 99% of the accident here is due to attitude of our fellow road user. What do you guys think?

Last edited by delta5 : 23rd March 2014 at 02:38. Reason: Adding info.
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Old 23rd March 2014, 03:24   #47
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

Boy that is a scary video. One thing is certain, no one travelling across oncoming traffic to take left/right turns in that video wants to stop and ensure that they are safe before making the turn - trucks, buses, two wheelers, pedestrians - none! If you don't care about your own safety, what can someone else who has no awareness of your intentions do about it?
If you are on the highway, your best bet is to be cautious and ready to slow down/ stop for these unexpected joyriders. I would think that people on this forum are sensible enough if they are the ones making the turns off or into the road to stop, watch and go.
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Old 23rd March 2014, 07:07   #48
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

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Originally Posted by Gotham_City View Post
Saw this video compiling accidents on some highway in India.

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

This freaked me out completely. Barring a few cases where visibility of the turn was blocked, everyone else looked like on a suicide mission. If this is how we drive, I am sure India will never leave the pole position in accident deaths.

Part of the blame also lies with the design. Must say, it takes a real dimwit designer to plan an intersection bang in the middle of a curve.

Hello Gotham City,
Immense thanks for this thoroughly terrifying video, which I feel should be de rigour for every driving/riding licence issuing centre in the country - as part of a mandatory course for all applicants, before a licence is issued.

The car population is exploding in the country despite all the dire prognostications and chest-beating about the state of the economy. And all our RTOs must be flush with funds. So why the dickens can't they introduce a stringent training programme (cost to be shared by all vested interests, including applicants) before issuing licences. As many of us are aware, there is a standing backlog of prospective drivers in the U.S. - including,yes, frail old ladies! - who keep failing the test year after year and are denied a licence because they are just not safe behind the wheel/handlebars.

This video jolted me in recalling vividly the many chilling sights that we (my wife and I) have come across over the years during our touring across the country - at times just minutes after the accident occurred.

Once again, thanks for this video and thanks too to the videographer who compiled it.
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Old 23rd March 2014, 08:01   #49
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

Very bad place for an intersection. IMO all highways should have flyovers, since in most cases there is no dearth of space.

But this is just complete lack of common sense. 80% of the accidents here are due moronic two wheelers and bus drivers. It's called a highway for a reason, for heaven's sake. Even at 80kmph it will be difficult to stop if someone jumps into your lane like people do in this video.

And the bus driver don't care two hoots when making a turn. If at all the authorities see such videos, their licences should be confiscated for life.

I had a similar scare when returning from Mysore a month back on NH4. Somewhere after Hiriyur, an omni just carelessly crossed the median whithout even a pausing for a second on the intersection.

All along NH4 in karnataka section I could see people grazing cows on the median. What if the cow decides to wander on to the road?


After these incidents I wised up and I just don't cross 100 kph no matter even if its a expressway with fencing. In this country you never know what kind of moron you will bump into next.
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Old 23rd March 2014, 08:28   #50
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

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Originally Posted by Ph03nix View Post
Very bad place for an intersection. IMO all highways should have flyovers, since in most cases there is no dearth of space.
Not practical in countries like ours, where there are more pressing priorities, where we are still lacking investments. Even in developed countries where I have driven/travelled. While this is my wish too, seldom I have seen this across world. Exclusions are freeways in US and Europe. Even there if you don't follow the lane system and try to take a right side exit from left most lane, similar disaster assured.

What all the drivers on the roads need is patience, discipline follow rules, road manners, respect to other road users and common sense.

Also I do believe one of the reason for the heavy vehicles not stopping at junction is that, lack of sufficient power and hence breaking capability of the vehicles. Drivers with high loads and low pickup vehicles, don't want to slow down often, just because it takes minutes to get back to the cruising speed, and they can never keep up the timing.

If they slowdown, and then they would drive for long hours and eventually get tired and equally dangerous on the roads.

As a country we need phaseout vehicles, which are not suitable for better roads. At least restrict those vehicles on national highways.
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Old 23rd March 2014, 08:33   #51
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

My God, this is insane! :( Few bikes were really shattered with their riders flying. After all how long it takes to STOP-LOOK-GO, that too at the cost of own life or spending rest of life on wheel chair.
Just a thought - How much it costs to create an underpass for every major intersection. Is that cost higher than the lives lost? :(
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Old 23rd March 2014, 09:08   #52
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One big issue is the misjudgment of the speed of the on coming vehicles. Even at 100kmph a vehicle travels 100-200 mtrs in a few seconds. This realization is not there. So when if one does a stop look go, you need to realize that a vehicle few hundred meters away can reach you in a few seconds and that is not enough time for a slow moving vehicle to cross. In this case the fact that it is a sweeping right hander makes the visibility very less. So I guess here the vehicles b that seem to cross straight through would have seen no vehicle approaching for may be a 100 mtrs and just went through. Sadly that is not at all sufficient.
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Old 23rd March 2014, 11:38   #53
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

I am not a fan of speed breakers on the highways. But in India where senseless drivers treat the roads as their own, it is imperative these are present. Most of the accidents could have prevented or atleast the damage lessened only if the speed was lower. There are instances where a slow vehicle is trying to cross the intersection and really fast moving one comes from no where and just rams into it. Give a warning sign for speed breakers some 200 M away and put a hell lot of speed breakers so that no vehicle can pass the intersection at greater than 20 - 30 KMPH giving more time to avert or atleast lessen impact. Collectively we will have to deal with these inconveniences if we are to be safe from irresponsible drivers.
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Old 23rd March 2014, 11:50   #54
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

I got so scared I stopped watching the video before it was half way through. In most of the incidents, it is purely human error. I found the second incident really scary with the lorry driver suddenly taking the left at the wrong place.
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Old 23rd March 2014, 12:33   #55
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

That is a terrible video as well as a grim reminder of the attitudes prevailing in our country regarding driving etiquette. While all the accidents there were caused due to sheer misjudgment and the eternal rush to cross over to the other side, did anyone notice the accident at 5:48?
That was absolute ludicrousness, who would approach the turn at such high speeds!?
I know its harsh but i think he probably went out looking for that one.....

BTW...I didn't read the entire thread but where is this intersection? I'm thinking its Andhra Pradesh looking at the Transport buses....
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Old 23rd March 2014, 12:56   #56
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

Gosh ! This is something is really shocking.

For my Car Driving License lessons, I had been to the Maruti Driving School - where similar videos were played to make the new drivers aware of how accidents happen and how to be cautious and prevent them.

One thing I noticed in the video and also a lot more times in the regular city traffic is taking a right turn/U turn from the 2nd or the 3rd lanes. This just perplexes the person in the first lane who wants to take a turn and ones in the 2nd and 3rd lanes who want to drive straight. This I think is done to avoid the waiting time on the 1st lane. I had couple of close shaves (a Honda City's right side view mirror got smashed by my car's left side view mirror) and now a days I take a lot of care.


Apologies as the following can be deemed Off Topic :

Even till today, it boils my blood when people drive with a high beam in cities causing blinding (Mumbai's Western Express Highway is the one that I frequent) - including the drivers of commercial vehicles. And then we have our other usual stuff like changing lanes suddenly etc.

I have an idea in mind to get a glow sticker made and stick to my car's rear and front top saying "When in City, use low beam (and a mark with red cross on the blue high beam)". I haven't been able to implement this yet though. But it does get very frustrating.

Also, on my mind is an idea to print ads on the first page of our newspapers (Like the ad's on TOI where we get to see the ads first and then the news) letting people know of at least basic traffic rules. But I think that is an initiative that the traffic police should come own up and I cannot afford the costs too

Is there something that we as team-bhpians can contribute to make the driving sense better in this country? The first thing that strikes me is that we can have sub-forum under "Team-BHP advice" as "Driving a vehicle" and collate all our expert's advice into a short parked article.

I can help collate (and hopefully contribute) to this.

Thanks,
Midhun
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Old 23rd March 2014, 13:07   #57
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

Why don't the highway authorities construct a flyover at major intersections such as the one in the video. It will reduce the accidents to a very great extent. I presume the video clip is that of a NH. It does not make sense to erect speed breakers at intersections.
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Old 23rd March 2014, 13:46   #58
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

Those were some pretty painful accidents there, caught on camera. But I have seen that most of the turns on the highways, are death traps. Especially the right and left blind curves. People speed into curves without batting an eyelid. If I am turning right/left on the highway, I never feel comfortable; I always keep one eye on the mirror, to see if anyone is approaching me from behind. All the accidents in the video seem to be taken at a single junction. The lesson, is be cautious on the highways and reduce your speed at every turn or junction.
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Old 23rd March 2014, 13:49   #59
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

Many accidents can be averted if the 'I OWN THIS ROAD' attitude changes. At many places, motorists do not even bother to stop at red signals if the are sure there are no cops around/there is no surveillance.
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Old 23rd March 2014, 14:05   #60
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Re: Video: Why you should be cautious at road junctions

IS it me, or did all of those accidents happen at the same junction!? What is wrong with people! Especially the buses darting across lanes and taking suicidal turnings!?
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