[watashi75]

Originally Posted by breezydrive

And hit the vehicle on the other side with a bang

It would lead to a similar situation for the guy on the other side, but hopefully they would have seen the first vehicle cross the median and slowed down or moved to their left!

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by hellstar

the NH 47 which runs next to the college was the scene to many such accident the mopst gory one i remeber was the one where a private bus from aluva to jetty was over speeding and broke his sub axle somewhere after the Changampuhza nagar after the CUSAT signal

That was a very risky straight before the NH was 4 laned. That is still a very risky straight now. Close to 2km visibility in both directions, and just out of traffic jams, drivers coming out of the city are tempted into flooring the pedal, and those coming into the city have just passed 4 (Four) signals in a 2 KMs road.

Even between Premier tyres (now appolo) and Pulinchuvadu there are places where the median is barely 2 feet wide, and trucks frequently jump the barrier. Such accidents are frequent there.

[MuzzledMoose]

One more bloody thing in tamilnadu is that people jump over 3 feet medians scaring drivers coming through any way. Even if there is a subway or a planned crossing, these idiots wont use it.

[gd1418]

Any reason why the Canter jumped? It is very scary. How does one react in an actual situation is something that cannot be visualised here.

The state of mind at that particular time and the kind of reflex action only shall determine the outcome.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Hi,

Just back from Jaipur. On the ~87km milestone, a Canter had jumped the median and crossed over to the jpr-del stretch leading to an UGLY head on with another truck. No pics taken as cops were aggro and I could see some blood. Very reminiscent of what happened to Shri Saheb singh ji.

Third such case I saw today. First that was so bad, tho.

That gets me to the question - if an oncoming vehicle (truck) jumps median, can we even anticipate, let alone do anything?

Even assuming the truck doing 60 kph and me doing 90, the approach velocity would be 150, ie WAY too fast for me to realize anything.

The scene has stuck in my mind, and to me, its like nemesis - inescapable if it happens to us.

/Rode back thereafter only in left lane, not median/right at all!
//On a side note, even the maharaja of jaipur uses a Safari 4x4VX!

[iraghava]

I remember a family friend suffering a broken right arm after a call center cab broke it's steering & jumped the median ramming his OHC on the driver's door/front fender. This was in Gurgaon & according to him the Qualis just appeared from amongst the bushes/plants & slammed into his car. Nothing he could do.

I think it's a matter of luck basically, if you're lucky you'll see the vehicle heading towards you & try & take evasive action but if you're unlucky you'll be slammed by it blind.

[.anshuman]

This is India buddy,things like this are expected.

Defensive is the only mode one can drive in he wants to reach home alive,rest is luck.

[vivekiny2k]

swerving can lead to worse scenario than head on collision, if you car is equipped with safety features, and within safe speed limits.

it's really a gamble i guess.

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by abhi1309

What if the median is full of bushes and it is not possible to see what is coming even if something is? (all of GQ is like this) I have always had this phobia in my mind. The vehicle would simply be invisible and you will only be able to see it the moment it comes in front.

Originally Posted by iraghava

a call center cab broke it's steering & jumped the median ramming his OHC on the driver's door/front fender. ........ unlucky you'll be slammed by it blind.

Bushes on the median would definitely lowers the visibilty of who is on the other side and add to the risk, especially on our roads where jumping or cutting across medians are so common.
That is why I feel the two lane highways with no medians are a lot safer than the bushy medianed highways, atleast you can see and anticipate who is ahead in the former case.

The stone base of the medians should not be higher than 2 feet and should have steel railings running over them which will give better visibility.

[mjothi]

Its become common to see these BMTC to cross the medians and drive on the other side near the Hoodi junction in here. Since the junction connecting the Gopalan national school and Whitefield road is so worst the traffic is horrible on the one side. When do we get this cured? Who will help us :( No One !!!

[lambuhere1]

Originally Posted by mjothi

Its become common to see these BMTC to cross the medians and drive on the other side near the Hoodi junction in here. Since the junction connecting the Gopalan national school and Whitefield road is so worst the traffic is horrible on the one side. When do we get this cured? Who will help us :( No One !!!

I have seen something similar below the marathalli bridge. Buses coming from below the bridge towards sarjapur side, take a u - turn over the median just after the bridge ends to come towards KR Puram direction, (before the turn at hometown). God help the people if they dont observe this monster turning into their lane. Keep your eyes open for these incidents. Saw it on last sunday for a couple of buses

[sam003]

I have been using this NH8 from Delhi -Jaipur since it was single road, and I would say it is full off accidents. I don't know even a single instance where I haven't seen any truck lying down on side of the road or somewhere. This road have been victim of many Major accidents like, Late Chief Miniter of Delhi, Mr. Sahib Singh Verma and other major one was Actor Govida Family accident, although they were safe.
I too had two occassions where in one of I was driving my NHC at 120 km/hr with my family, it was afternoon and no traffic at all. So thought of test it. I saw one more accent just on my left side too driving almost at the same spee, suddenly just 30-40 meters ahead I saw one truck took blind U turn. Believe me my heartbeats were going more than 300 km/hr at time. As I have no other option then braking, as I can not take left due to that accent. So I have stand on my brakes, by the God Grace my car did stop, way behind that truck but that accent was not able too even after braking. He went offroad and then stop in front of truck ( as he stopped after hearing our brake noise) and starting beating that driver. I just took my car away from that site and took rest for 10 - 15 mins. Since then I have become Big Fan of Honda. It doesn't matter at what time u make 0-100, what counts is how soon you can do 120 - 0, which can save your life.

Second time, I was driving at 80 km/hr and on left most lane. Nothing unusal on that day, beautiful scene in the evening. I saw one dog going from left to right, I was watching him crossing the road. Not sure what came in his mind and he turned around and hit my front bumper. He went off road (thank God he was alive), but my bumper came out 50% and right side inner mud flap came out completely. I have tie them with cleaning cloths what I have in my car. I have to drive like this to-from Jaipur and have to pay 1500 from my pocket and rest by insurance claim.

So I would say you have to be active to react as I did in my first case, but you cann't do anything if you have bad day, as in my second case.

[bill1182]

I have seen something more scarry. Imagine a trailer jumping a median. Attaching a picture which speaks for itself.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

I think the swerve is more dangerous than the head on collision when you have just a second or two to react. By swerving (which is our natural instinct), you are actually going to take the hit side on which would injure/kill the driver immediately. I can't think of a better way to minimize the impact.

Headon collision even at 40 Kmph without seatbelts can be fatal. What if one is doing a 90 Kmph and collides headon with a truck? Well... it is better, in the sense that he/she dies instantly without much suffering. Swerving may save his /her life, but he/she might end up in a hospital bed for weeks if not months. In low-rider cars like the M800, the chassis of the lorry makes its first contact with the driver's chest, because the hood of the car goes underneath the chassis.

And how can the sideways impact be more fatal than a headon collision? IMO, a headon collision can give you more injuries than even being inside a car which is toppling. (With seatbelts of course) Testimony: Read Maruthi R Janardanan's story in PUG. (He walked away from a toppled car which resulted from swerving away from a headon collision)

[gd1418]

I'm a passionate driver and love my vehicles. But after reading all these posts, soon it might read as - I was a passionate driver and used to love my vehicles.

[phamilyman]

gd saab, no fricken clue. I arrived some 10-15 min after the accident. But the trail of wreckage clearly indicated that it just flew over - prolly tried to avoid something or what - but it came at a minor angle (meaning little swerve) not a full yanked right turn.

bill, the first trailer I saw resting on the median was a fully loaded maruti suzuki trailer. That was scary and got me thinking!