[rjstyles69]

Biju 1st of all thanks to your stars and your guardian angel. Good to know that you realized what the limits of the car is and that you will never take a step to try this manoeuvre ever.

I know you drive well enough, but then all of us have that bad day for no mistake of ours.

I thought you would be enjoying fatherhood these days and would have given up the idea of red-lining the car atleast for a few months .

You came thru un-scathed which matters the most and so did the car .
Take it easy and oh yes $hit happens and its inevitable never stops in its way.

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

So if i have a gun and dont have a firing range i pull the trigger on a crowded road?

You have a point but if you read my earlier post I specifically stated an empty road free from obstruction. In any case, our thread originator seems NOW to have learned something. You can tell that from the title and tone of his opening post. Are you going to tell me that you have not taken a calculated risk on a safe, empty public road? We have all done it, I think. Some of us learn to be more careful, some do not.

[Spitfire]

Firstly thanks for the great reply, i expected a much strong worded reply.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

But, what made you think that I am proud of what happened OR posted this incident to boast ? To boast of what ? Of redlining the car in the initial few gears (which anyway is nothing worth boasting) or about the soup I found myself in due to an overtaking manouevre I did ? This post was about trying to get some clues to what went wrong.

First and foremost this is no personal attack, but i have seen 2 close friends die due to such testing for no fault of theirs. About the boast part you came out of a difficult situation you yourself got into the first place which could have endangered many lives. You seriously think the Baleno can handle quick direction changes at speeds of 130 kmph with stock tyres and stock suspension on a public road which can have wet patches, cowdung, gravel or any slippery matter on it. And you still want to know what went wrong? Also if you are on a highway and not in a city road do you think its good to try such manuvers? Cant we just slow down and pass through safely.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

That overtaking manouevre is something we all would do on a highway and which could also go wrong in some cases. Heck, you could even seriously injure a biker by suddenly turning right / left without putting on the indicators. Its a machine and things could go wrong in the most normal cases.

If things go wrong without you knowing it its called an accident. If you very well know that what i am doing can kill someone i dont know whether we can call it a normal thing. How do you justify your point by saying that a person can get injured because you missed turning on the indicator. It should be registered in your mind that you need to use the indicator. Its an automatic thing the same way that we change gears without having a visual aid or anything.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

I do agree that doing 130 on a public road is wrong. But I dont even see mopeds keeping to the 40kmph rule on that road. And that is during daytime. The highways have a limit of 80kmph or so. How many stick to that rule ? How about you ? Can you truly say that you follow all the rules in the book or even know all the rules that exist ?

So if the mopeds dont keep to 40kmph you will drive at 130 kmph what logic is that? Also how does it matter to this thread whether i drive at 80 kmph or i follow all the rules. I am not at any high ground or i am not saying that i am the best driver around, i am just trying to make a point that all the awareness in the world cant stop people from doing these stunts. So only if i was the perfect driver i have the right to say this to you?? Hope you understand the difference between a deliberate action and a mistake.

And Spitfire is not because i like to spit fire but because of the World War II fighter.

[sreenivass]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

This incident is mentioned here just to remind all the petrol-heads (and diesel-heads) about the possibility of us encountering a situation where the horses we think we control (under the hood that is) could end up controlling us. They almost wreaked havoc in my case.

....

I flick the steering to the left and then correct it so that I would be in the centre lane. But that did not turn out to be as simple a manouvere as I thought. I am not sure what went wrong at that point. Maybe I overcorrected the steering to the right a little bit more than required. Anyway, to come to the point, the next minute or so was the scariest of my life.

The car swerved to the right and then to the left (maybe because I would have corrected the steering - dont remember) and then again to the right. This went on for atleast 4-5 times and the swerving was so violent that I had the feeling that the car would overturn. I was lucky that I was in the centre lane, else I would have hit the median or the pavement resulting in serious consequences.

As the car buckled around like a wild horse, the only thing running through my mind is that maybe I have a flat tyre which resulted in such unpredictable behaviour. Anyway, after what seemed like hours, the car took a sharp right towards the median. I was sure it was going to hit the median.

I imagined the damaged front of my lovely car, a small scratch to which has earlier given me sleepless nights. I thought of the cost involved in repairing it, of how the car simply wont be the same after a crash etc etc. Also thought of how I would explain this to my wife.

Anyway, this is where divine intervention came in and the car stopped a feet or so from the median. Maybe I braked or it stalled (the engine was off) - I really dont remember. I breathe a sigh of relief. But then I remember that the car is now perpendicular to the road. The Amby and the Indigo (who maybe slowed down seeing the mad Baleno hurtling along) are approaching.

.................

Thats some learning experience. You got to thank your stars to have got out of the situation without any unto incidents.

Appreciate the way you have put it, very candid. Hopefully this serves as a reminder to many other petrol heads not to push the machines over the edge.

[Spitfire]

In the end its your life man. I have been through hell because of such incidents. I can only warn others maybe the way i say it is not the right way but it has never harmed anyone. Please try and drive safely - it seems you have a family. One of my friends who died was a doctor with a 2 month old baby boy. It was a waste of a good life, karma or not i dont know but no one deserves to pay for someone else's stupidity.

[supremeBaleno]

I know this is not going to go anywhere. But still...

Originally Posted by Spitfire

About the boast part you came out of a difficult situation you yourself got into the first place which could have endangered many lives.

As I mentioned clearly in my initial post, I did not come out of it due to my skill - it just happened that it did not get ugly. Lets just say I was lucky. If I had said that I overcame the sverwing and came out with my skill, then it is boasting.

Originally Posted by Spitfire

You seriously think the Baleno can handle quick direction changes at speeds of 130 kmph with stock tyres and stock suspension on a public road which can have wet patches, cowdung, gravel or any slippery matter on it.

It was a miscalculation - could have happened even at 40kmph due to n number of reasons. BTW, before I reached the cars, I had stopped further acceleration - all I wanted was to overtake them with the existing momentum and move on - something you and me would have done countless times in city traffic albeit at lower speeds. Now I know that it can be dangerous and stand corrected.

Originally Posted by Spitfire

How do you justify your point by saying that a person can get injured because you missed turning on the indicator.

Sir, I take care to signal my intentions, if not for others, but atleast for the sake of my car. If you read that line again, it does not say that I do not turn on the indicators. I was mentioning about any normal user who knowingly or otherwise does not signal and could endanger an innocent and it would end up being called an accident.

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Also how does it matter to this thread whether i drive at 80 kmph or i follow all the rules. ..... So only if i was the perfect driver i have the right to say this to you??

I would think that if I criticise someone, the least I should do is not make similar mistake as them. Maybe you think otherwise. To each his own.

[Shan2nu]

Instead of all these late night stunts. Why don't you take your car for track days (considering the fact that there's one just 30kms from the city).

This way you can safely take your car to it's limits.

Shan2nu

[Spitfire]

@supremeBaleno: Like you said this wont go anywhere. I have done mistakes myself and still do them but not intentionally and i am not talking only about driving. I dont have the ***** to redline my bike or car on a public road call me chicken but i have seen the consequences up close.

Hope you get the point and the other members too. To all the folks out there the 2 mins of adrenaline rush in such situations is just not worth the risk we take.

PS: Stick a small picture of your family in your field of vision on the windscreen so that it does not obstruct your view but is always in your sight. See how it helps us drive safely.

[theMAG]

I've found that the most critical change and compulsory cost needed to be incurred in most mainstream Indian cars is to change its stock tyres immediately after delivery. Once safe footwear is in place will exploring and enjoying a car really come into its own.

Anyway, glad that you and your car are safe.

[hydrashok]

Good to know you are safe, SB!

I won't preach, 'cause I'm sure you know what is good and what is bad (with more pointers learned after this incident).

I do this too -- taking advantage of an open stretch (on a sunday) when I can find one. But I won't be all confident from now on. After all, we're trusting our lives with a machine. Anything can happen.

[quicksilver]

From what I read, SB had taken precautions, but pushed his car a bit further than he should have and got lucky. It happens to all of us.

He is at least man enough to accept his mistakes and also discuss it on the forum so others be aware. Why don't we look at it this way? If at least one member learns from this, isn't that a good enough reason for the post? I, for one, am going to drive home slow tonight because I read this post.

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

Instead of all these late night stunts. Why don't you take your car for track days (considering the fact that there's one just 30kms from the city).
This way you can safely take your car to it's limits.

Just what I was about to say. I have been fortunate enough to have pushed my car to the limit (and beyond) on the track and ended up loosing control and almost toppling the car. But I say I was fortunate because it happened on the track and not on the road. Now I have a fairly good idea on when my car is going to snap out of control.

A track is a good place to learn stuff that would take you years of driving on the normal road (and if you are not carefull, could also cost you as much... ask me, I have burnt enough rubber for a year on just two track days because I was not carefull).

SB, I don't know you, have not even known your name untill this post, but I salute you man. You were lucky, and brave to make a post here. I really hope that others learn from your mistakes and try to stay away from harm's way.

[tifosikrishna]

Originally Posted by quicksilver

He is at least man enough to accept his mistakes and also discuss it on the forum so others be aware. Why don't we look at it this way? If at least one member learns from this, isn't that a good enough reason for the post?

SB, I don't know you, have not even known your name untill this post, but I salute you man. You were lucky, and brave to make a post here. I really hope that others learn from your mistakes and try to stay away from harm's way.

sriram, i was going through the entire thread and was about to convey the same as you did. thanks, you saved me from typing a few paragraphs.

I completely agree with you, he is man enough to stand up and accept a mistake he did. I don't how many of us would have posted such an incidence at the risk of looking stupid in front of others just to make us aware of the perils of such stunts.

SB, i am sure you have realized the downside of such an action, and in the process also helped few others understand the grave dangers of acts of such irrational exuberance.

regards
krishna.

[Spitfire]

As much as i hate to do this, its going to be my last post here.

A piece of advise: Guys dont put a noose around your neck and jump into thin air, it can suffocate or break your neck and kill you. I did it yesterday and by God's Grace i got saved because the rope was of bad quality.

Now i am still a living "MAN" i agreed to my mistake and i am ready to discuss it too, so that other people dont try it.

[humyum]

Everyone learns from their mistakes.Some live to tell the tale some dont.Supremebaleno is one lucky guy to be alive and share the incident with us.
Everyone has the urge to do things like these and most of us do it.I myself have a very unsafe car but in my younger days that did not stop me from doing stupid things.I learnt my lesson when i almost ended up reading the name of the bank from which the rickshaw guy had taken a loan from and brought the rick stuck on the rear at almost 120 kmph plus in my 800.STUPID ME
I learnt a lesson and I dont repeat the mistakes again and luckily i m alive and so is the rickshaw driver

[WhiteKnight]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

A piece of advise: Guys dont put a noose around your neck and jump into thin air, it can suffocate or break your neck and kill you. I did it yesterday and by God's Grace i got saved because the rope was of bad quality.

As much as i hate to do this, its going to be my last post here

OT: Your last post? So you found a good quality rope already?