[Tejas@perioimpl]

I'm sure most of you have read about my last week's post of how a youngster bangs into cars. (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...d-account.html)

Tonight, i witness another stupid accident. We are just coming out of jazz by the bay / pizzeria restaurant at marine drive. There is major junction there connecting it to the churchgate station.

As we are waiting to get into our car, we notice that a biker (bajaj eliminator or something - the big one) is at the junction inching forward. Ofcourse at 12midnight, the signals are off. He all of a sudden he takes off without noticing a white indigo coming at normal speed on the marine drive road. The car had right of way, must of flashed his lights and honked and slammed the brakes real hard but could not avoid hitting this biker!

WHAM! Biker gets thrown clear, the pillion without a helmet gets her foot trapped under the bike ( i see it snap into a right angle) and her head sling shots and hits the road!

We rush, she has head injury with bleeding from the base of the skull and eyes rolled up. Pulse is thready. Fortunately there were cops right behind, they put them in the same car and rush off to the hospital. The biker was absolutely fine by the way.

I as usual stand and give statement wondering should i again be wasting my time. By this time a local resident of a nearby building comes and starts shouting at cops saying they witness this every alternate day! Why can't the signals at busy intersections be on full night. All the cops say is you have to complain to the traffic department or the CP. It's not our job!

I'm really sick of things i am seeing. Why can't bikers wear helmets! What are the thinking?!!!

Why can't signals be on on major intersections?!!! Can't we as a community start an online petition to get this implemented???

[Eddy]

I hope she survives.

But really really stupid to ride a two wheeler without a helmet. And the thought behind all this - "Arre, ye mere saath nahi hoga". And then it happens.

And yes, I have not been able to figure out the concept of putting off signals at night. Sigh !!!!

[Rehaan]

Unfortunately yet another accident on marine drive witnessed by you.

Late last night i saw a blue bangled BMW (5series or 3 - couldnt tell w/ the crowd around) that had just had an accident, completely smashed at the front. I looked around to see what he had hit, but couldn't see anything. Was just hoping that he hit another car or inanimate object. This was on marine drive too, just under the princess street flyover.


I hope the woman is okay.
We really need to do something about road safety and awareness.

Hopefully this time your testimony to the police can relieve some pressure on the indigo driver - if you say there was really no way he could have avoided this.

[F50]

I passed the same junction at 12.30 am and did hear a screech but no bang!

Accidents are part of virasat for Marine Drive. I have witnessed countless accidents on MD, 300 in 3 yrs may be?

[condor]

Tejas, just how do you manage to find yourself in such situations ? May be you should chk if you a tingling "Tejas-sense", a-la our friendly neighborhood spidey.

Jokes apart, hope the pillion survives. Also, was the biker trying to turn (right-wards) into MD ?

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

Why can't the signals at busy intersections be on full night

Generally after 12.00 am, almost all the signals within the city (Chennai) will be on sleeping mode with only yellow light blinking, just to indicate its a 4-road crossing junction. Recently happened to travel early mornings for a week on regular basis & found specific signals working operating 24x7 within the city.

I stopped at the first signal as it was red, there were no vehicles in sight from any direction & my co-passenger was requesting me to move ahead slowly even when the light has not turned green. But I stayed till it turned green & we were into next signal. Same red, same story & bit of frustration from the co-passenger with educating me that over cautiousness is too dangerous. Hmmm... trying to fix a rectangle in a square box.

While I was returning back on day-1, rolled my car slowly even when the signal is red & accelerated when it turned green. Following days my discipline got eroded bit by bit due to constant nagging & last day I just slow down to see all directions and accelerate if there is no vehicle within my range even when the signal is red.


I knew it will happen once (a car from both directions and dash) & we might not be there to write.

Thanks Teja's for writing this.

[pras.oct25]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

I'm really sick of things i am seeing. Why can't bikers wear helmets! What are the thinking?!!!

Why can't signals be on on major intersections?!!! Can't we as a community start an online petition to get this implemented???

I second this big time!! I so totally hate watching bikers zig zagging around with out helmets ( i hate them doing it with helmets also) and cutting lanes and doing what not, and we being in the car will always be at fault.
And signals being off is another major pain. Not only at night, but also in the morning (read 730am in one busy junction ).
Also I absolutely dread driving near people treating their bikes like mini vans with a kid on the tank and a kid hanging on for real life from the mom's neck and what not. If they cant afford a car, then take the bus, else join a circus. Dont put everyone at risk for the sake of saving money.

[condor]

Surprise : I stopped at the first signal as it was red, there were no vehicles in sight from any direction & my co-passenger was requesting me to move ahead slowly even when the light has not turned green. But I stayed till it turned green & we were into next signal. Same red, same story & bit of frustration from the co-passenger with educating me that over cautiousness is too dangerous. Hmmm... trying to fix a rectangle in a square box.

@Surprise, appreciate you stopping at the red at that time of the night. Have done it myself many times late in the night. But in such situations, I (grudgingly) suggest a balance between that & what your co-passenger said : after mid-night, even on a red : stop, look & GO !

You can wait till the signal turns green for you - which means red for the other directions, and that they need to stop. But what guarantee do you have that a person in any of the other directions is going to respect the signal as much as you do ? God forbid something happens - you having right of way may not stop your vehicle from taking a possible impact.

Well, atleast till we too have intellingent signals, and ones that are enforced.
(For those not familiar : intelligent signals means ones that can sense approaching traffic, and give a green for that direction - implemented with sensors).

[Volt]

Tejas, I can understand your frustration at the way people drive/ride without any concern for their own safety or the safety of other road users.

You should be commended for helping the injured and also giving your statement. I really hope the woman survives.

As far as keeping the signals on at night is concerned, I remember discussing this issue with a traffic guy some years ago and his reply was that people dont tend to follow signals at night, with blinking lights atleast they slow down (better than driving through a red light at max velocity). Maybe we can discuss the logic of this argument on the forum.

@Condor: I think you are making the same point as the traffic cop.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by Volt

As far as keeping the signals on at night is concerned, I remember discussing this issue with a traffic guy some years ago and his reply was that people dont tend to follow signals at night, with blinking lights atleast they slow down (better than driving through a red light at max velocity). Maybe we can discuss the logic of this argument on the forum.

That traffic guy's argument doesn't make any sense! Or we need camera's at every major signal atleast and start shooting of traffic violation tickets like they do in the UK. This will be the only solution i think.

If traffic signals are on at night, even if two people stop, the others behind will have to stop even if they don't want to. That should help. Although the chances of getting rear-ended then increase manifold!

[vikram18]

Doctor Doom! You should post your travel itenary first thing every morning here!

On a serious note, it's really lucky for people to have a doctor around at times like this. I think I've become completely desensitized. Living in Pune, with so many 2-wheelers, most of them lunatics, if i got upset everytime, I'd end up on BP medication or with stomach ulcers or both!

Like GTO said, most people my generation learned to drive on really sedate cars and most times were more concerned with praying that nothing goes wrong with the car (An ambassador in the ghats!)
Nowadays, kids get responsive vehicles without the prerequisite responsibility.
Bajaj Pulsar may well advertise as "definitely male", but the kids riding them around like crazy need to grow up to earn that status. When i look at them, I'm like, "definitely should be in jail!"

I've been reading all your threads and commend you for your attitude and behaviour but ... err ... can you stay home more often?

[condor]

Volt : @Condor: I think you are making the same point as the traffic cop.

@Volt, I am refering to having a sensor-based signalling system, esp for nights : where the system 'senses' from which side a vehicle has come & give a green for that side only. All other sides get a red at that time, and all sides have a red when no traffic is approaching. But this must also be enforced - like for times when traffic has come in two directions, and one has a red because the other has a green.

vikram18 : Bajaj Pulsar may well advertise as "definitely male", but the kids riding them around like crazy need to grow up to earn that status. When i look at them, I'm like, "definitely should be in jail!"

@Vikram, if you are refering to the bike itself, then the bike involved was not a Pulsar .. But may be biker 'felt like God' to go through the signal without checking for other traffic, and the signals.

[vikram18]

Originally Posted by condor

@Vikram, if you are refering to the bike itself, then the bike involved was not a Pulsar .. But may be biker 'felt like God' to go through the signal without checking for other traffic, and the signals.

I was referring to the most popular bike amongst kids here in Pune, not the one involved in the accident.

[starter]

Hello Everyone,
Really sad to read Tejas' post. Sometimes, i get really confused whether i should stop at a signal or not. After 11 in the night, at Bangalore, i sense more danger stopping at a signal. If you guys have read through Bharat's post about SX4 rear ended, you would know what i mean. I still stop at a signal whenever it is RED and pray that nobody rear-ends my car.
Cheers,
Deepak

[shuvd]

I don't think working traffic signals will be of any help. There are 5 or 6 signals in proper Calcutta that work throughout the night. No one gives a damn. My car got rear ended once by a truck as I was waiting for the lights to turn green. Trucker's reasoning: rasta toh khali hai, aapne kyun roka??

P.S. I still wait at every stop light.