Do not tailgate and overtake! See what happened when an Indica did this with a Palio.

clevermax · 11th March 2009, 23:19

Guys,

I just thought of writing about what happened today morning, when I was driving from Kollam to Cochin through NH 47.

The traffic was okay, and I managed to pass Alleppey without much of a delay, and by 8:30 I was already nearing Chertalai. The road is still single lane, and I have to overtake few vehicles every now and then, to keep my pace steady at around 80-90 Kmph. Then I spotted this Indica taxi driver with an attitude, on my rear view mirror. He just wanted to overtake me in a split second, but the car could not catch up with his mind. Whenever I slow down behind a truck, he would tailgate me and start honking like mad with the angry flashing of headlights. I normally downshift and pass such heavy vehicles so that I am exposed to the collision course for a shorter period of time, than overtaking in 5th gear – which is a stupid thing to do especially in roads like this.

During overtaking, since I accelerate faster than Indica DLS could, I can only see the taxi driver behind me when I am stuck again behind another vehicle. Then there was this long container truck, behind which I had to spend at least 2 or three minutes trying to overtake, all the time the taxi guy honking behind me as if he would pass me in a split second if I had given him little space. Then I got an open frame, I was doing a 40, down shifted straight to second, and started overtaking the truck. To my surprise, I saw the Indica taxi is tailgating me during the overtaking session! I thougt “Oh this must be a turbo diesel then..” ( It was not an Indicab. Very very few Indicabs in Kerala in fact)

I could just pass the truck and I swerved to the left lane to make way for the oncoming cars which were so close by then. I looked behind, Indica is still on collision course – oh my god, he stared panicking – I am hear loud breaking sound – then a huge collision sound – Indicab had collided with an oncoming car - the other car hit Indica on the rear-right side.

I could see some plastic parts of the cars being thrown in the air through my RVM. No causalities I hope, but the car damage won’t be minor.

Moral 1: Always overtake when you see enough clear stretch of road ahead, so that your car can pass.

Moral2: Always downshift and overtake, for quicker acceleration.

Moral 3: Know you car’s power; do not just follow another car while that car overtakes.

Moral 4: Do not depend on MHP – Mental horse power. It is dangerous. Only depend on the actual horses your engine has.

Sowmya · 11th March 2009, 23:27

Hope those people are safe.
By the way today while I was coming from Kolar I was following all of your Morals byy my default driving style ... The road is under construction so it is very dangerous mode specially at night time ....

1+. I always give the path to these kind of attitude people as soon as possible saying that let him go to hell first

Specially Our Cab driver cant wait for any thing at all.

hrag · 11th March 2009, 23:37

What was the guy thinking? Trying to overtake a Palio?

rkbharat · 11th March 2009, 23:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by hrag

What was the guy thinking? Trying to overtake a Palio?

I think it has nothing to do with Indica or Palio, these are just kind of drivers whose adrenaline rushes faster to there brain and stops there thinking power.

I have seen such incidents happening with Vernas and Fiesta, where car had all the power to overtake fishtailing, but drivers had no brains to follow the rules.

bottle · 11th March 2009, 23:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sowmya

1+. I always give the path to these kind of attitude people as soon as possible saying that let him go to hell first

Specially Our Cab driver cant wait for any thing at all.

Same here , usually let impatient cars by

iraghava · 11th March 2009, 23:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by hrag

What was the guy thinking? Trying to overtake a Palio?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkbharat

I think it has nothing to do with Indica or Palio, these are just kind of drivers whose adrenaline rushes faster to there brain and stops there thinking power.

RK - I don't think you got what Rishi was actually trying to say!

Nitin · 12th March 2009, 00:26

We can't rule out the fact that the guy might have been in a hurry to get somewhere,possibly a medical emergency.
If the guy was just being an idiot, then serves him right.

12th March 2009, 01:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nitin

We can't rule out the fact that the guy might have been in a hurry to get somewhere,possibly a medical emergency.

It doesnt matter if its a medical emergency, if the car is not capable of accelerating fast enough, there is no point in letting it get in front of you, he's just going to get in your way as soon as he's in front.

Lots of people like this, in slow underpowered cars who tailgate while you're trying to find a safe way to overtake other slow cars.The only reason they keep up with faster cars is because they take greater risks, and that seems to give them a lot of MentalHP. Serves him right.

@clevermax
Something you could do to keep people like this from killing themselves and you-

Leave as much space as you can between yourself and the vehicle you are trying to overtake. Keep a close watch on the slower tailgater behind you in the RVM.
Everytime he tries to take his wheezy car past you, dab the accelrator and stay out of reach. Oncoming traffic will force him to get back in line. Do not let him pull up past your rear door. He may try and run you off the road.
Do not get into the right lane and block him. Just use the free space in front of you to stay out of his reach. Everytime he gets back in line, slow down and regenerate the space that you had used up earlier(not by braking, but by lifting off the accelerator,seeing your brake lights blink will get him even more angrier) When you see safe space to overtake the slower vehicle in front, leave the pesky tailgater in the dust.

Ofcourse, if you have been using kerala 2 lanes long enough, you're probably already doing this by now. Its the safest way to stay out of trouble.

The other, more fun, more cruel method is to do what you did. I'll say this again-Serves him right! Only regret is about the innocent oncoming car.

Please note- if the "underpowered car is catching up with you after you get away from him 2 or 3 times, its better you let him pass because he's probably travelling at a higher average speed than you, OR he's really crazy/drunk

BTW- the indica can match a palio 1.2 in acceleration if driven properly

anantnehru · 12th March 2009, 01:33

Not wanting to hijack your thread but have seen and felt the result in a similar case.
I was sitting inside my car twiddling my thumbs waiting for a friend who was in Ferns N Petals. I had parked on the side of the market in Greater Kailash II with Cafe Coffee Day to my right and Ferns 'n' Petals to my left. Its a narrow single lane road with cars parked on either side and no divider in the center. In the opposite direction was an Alto trying to take a U-turn. An auto stops for him to complete the turn.
Just as he took about half, there was a loud screeching of brakes and loud bang. Before I realised what was happening the Alto comes flying towards my car and smashes into the right hand side. The impact was so strong that I was halfway in the passenger seat.
A minute or so before this, I was standing outside having a smoke exactly where the Alto struck my car. Sadly enough there was an old lady who was walking across at that exact spot when the car hit. I hear shouting and screaming, and by the time I can gather whats happening around and get out of the car, she's been whisked away to a hospital. The Alto was pulverised, the chassis was pushed in by a large amount; the right hand side of my car was crushed. There was a kid sitting in the back seat who got hurton his head and he too was taken to a hospital by is mom before I got out of the car.
The cause of the bang? A speeding Corolla, I'm guessing following the auto too close, served out to overtake the auto when it stopped.
What happened to the Corolla? God alone knows, the guy didnt stop. The instructions of the police to me? "Move your car kid, otherwise everyone is going to stop and stare, blocking traffic in the process."
I said what about the Corolla? "Well, he didnt stop did he? So what am I supposed to do now?"
This was all over just as quickly as it started. Strangely enough, seeing the Alto coming flying (and I literally mean flying) towards my car didnt shake me, the impact didnt shake me; looking out of my window and seeing that woman getting hit and falling, the screams that were to follow was what really shook me.
I dont know why people drive the way they do, on a colony/crowded market road. It's just inexplicable.

Nitin · 12th March 2009, 02:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by rippergeo

It doesnt matter if its a medical emergency, if the car is not capable of accelerating fast enough, there is no point in letting it get in front of you, he's just going to get in your way as soon as he's in front.

Perfectly fine.! The guy obviously doesn't know what his car is capable of,and he tries for the impossible. In any case,following another car during an overtaking procedure isn't the wisest thing to do.

Zahir · 12th March 2009, 02:47

IMHO, the cab guy got what was coming to him. I'm not sure he knew what he was doing and I doubt he was trying to catch you're slipstream but the act of slipstreaming itself is a very effective way of overtaking when done right. Obviously, you must do it with adequate space to avoid any such accidents. The reason a lot of drivers tail cars especially at high speeds is because you cut down the resistance to your own car allowing you to accelarate faster by following the slipstream of the car in front of you. Then when you have an opening, you just slignshot past the car ahead. I'm not encouraging this, no one should try something like this unless they're absolutely sure of what they're doing but I do it pretty often on open roads at night when I'm in a hurry to get back. Its perfectly safe if theres no traffic and ofcourse, granted that the guy in front of you doesnt brake all of a sudden, then you're in trouble so do it at a distance.

blacmagic · 12th March 2009, 02:51

yeah, well, he created the medical emergency for himself, didnt he? serves him right. me? I prefer letting these pumped up airheads pass and then giving them some of their own medicine. it helps establish a lot of things about the other guy which aid in my decision making process. examples:
a. his top sustainable speed
b. his driving style
c. his composure

once these parameters are established, the time is right to overtake decisively. but tailgating is NEVER a good idea.

clevermax · 12th March 2009, 07:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by rippergeo

BTW- the indica can match a palio 1.2 in acceleration if driven properly

Well, theoretically it may be correct. But nobody would want to push that diesel engine to the limits so that its pistons starts coming out through the exhaust pipe right... he he :-) I am open for a drag any day, we can see the practical results.

deepclutch · 12th March 2009, 07:51

I would see it like this : better drivers driving underpowered cars getting frustrated ,hence rallies up with 1 million rupees plus cars-Heck , they beat super cars in horrendous city driving conditions

(not a flamebait) .

greenhorn · 12th March 2009, 08:11

yup, the way maniac cabbies drive the NA indica is amazing. One day i travelled home by one , and the way the guy was ripping it was amazing. he did better speeds than i usually do through the same route , despite my car being faster. I felt like asking him for some pointers

Of course , it was risky, and had a super fast appeared on any of the blind corners he overtook, we'd have been goners!

11th March 2009, 23:19	#1
clevermax Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Tvm/Amsterdam Posts: 2,086 Thanked: 2,640 Times View My Garage	Do not tailgate and overtake! See what happened when an Indica did this with a Palio. Guys, I just thought of writing about what happened today morning, when I was driving from Kollam to Cochin through NH 47. The traffic was okay, and I managed to pass Alleppey without much of a delay, and by 8:30 I was already nearing Chertalai. The road is still single lane, and I have to overtake few vehicles every now and then, to keep my pace steady at around 80-90 Kmph. Then I spotted this Indica taxi driver with an attitude, on my rear view mirror. He just wanted to overtake me in a split second, but the car could not catch up with his mind. Whenever I slow down behind a truck, he would tailgate me and start honking like mad with the angry flashing of headlights. I normally downshift and pass such heavy vehicles so that I am exposed to the collision course for a shorter period of time, than overtaking in 5th gear – which is a stupid thing to do especially in roads like this. During overtaking, since I accelerate faster than Indica DLS could, I can only see the taxi driver behind me when I am stuck again behind another vehicle. Then there was this long container truck, behind which I had to spend at least 2 or three minutes trying to overtake, all the time the taxi guy honking behind me as if he would pass me in a split second if I had given him little space. Then I got an open frame, I was doing a 40, down shifted straight to second, and started overtaking the truck. To my surprise, I saw the Indica taxi is tailgating me during the overtaking session! I thougt “Oh this must be a turbo diesel then..” ( It was not an Indicab. Very very few Indicabs in Kerala in fact) I could just pass the truck and I swerved to the left lane to make way for the oncoming cars which were so close by then. I looked behind, Indica is still on collision course – oh my god, he stared panicking – I am hear loud breaking sound – then a huge collision sound – Indicab had collided with an oncoming car - the other car hit Indica on the rear-right side. I could see some plastic parts of the cars being thrown in the air through my RVM. No causalities I hope, but the car damage won’t be minor. Moral 1: Always overtake when you see enough clear stretch of road ahead, so that your car can pass. Moral2: Always downshift and overtake, for quicker acceleration. Moral 3: Know you car’s power; do not just follow another car while that car overtakes. Moral 4: Do not depend on MHP – Mental horse power. It is dangerous. Only depend on the actual horses your engine has.
	(18) Thanks

11th March 2009, 23:27	#2
Sowmya BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 493 Thanked: 19 Times View My Garage	Hope those people are safe. By the way today while I was coming from Kolar I was following all of your Morals byy my default driving style ... The road is under construction so it is very dangerous mode specially at night time .... 1+. I always give the path to these kind of attitude people as soon as possible saying that let him go to hell first Specially Our Cab driver cant wait for any thing at all.
	(1) Thanks

11th March 2009, 23:37	#3
hrag BANNED Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bangalore / Madras Posts: 1,982 Thanked: 31 Times	What was the guy thinking? Trying to overtake a Palio?
	() Thanks

12th March 2009, 00:26	#7
Nitin Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,294 Thanked: 20 Times View My Garage	We can't rule out the fact that the guy might have been in a hurry to get somewhere,possibly a medical emergency. If the guy was just being an idiot, then serves him right.
	() Thanks

12th March 2009, 01:33	#9
anantnehru BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Delhi Posts: 447 Thanked: 14 Times	Not wanting to hijack your thread but have seen and felt the result in a similar case. I was sitting inside my car twiddling my thumbs waiting for a friend who was in Ferns N Petals. I had parked on the side of the market in Greater Kailash II with Cafe Coffee Day to my right and Ferns 'n' Petals to my left. Its a narrow single lane road with cars parked on either side and no divider in the center. In the opposite direction was an Alto trying to take a U-turn. An auto stops for him to complete the turn. Just as he took about half, there was a loud screeching of brakes and loud bang. Before I realised what was happening the Alto comes flying towards my car and smashes into the right hand side. The impact was so strong that I was halfway in the passenger seat. A minute or so before this, I was standing outside having a smoke exactly where the Alto struck my car. Sadly enough there was an old lady who was walking across at that exact spot when the car hit. I hear shouting and screaming, and by the time I can gather whats happening around and get out of the car, she's been whisked away to a hospital. The Alto was pulverised, the chassis was pushed in by a large amount; the right hand side of my car was crushed. There was a kid sitting in the back seat who got hurton his head and he too was taken to a hospital by is mom before I got out of the car. The cause of the bang? A speeding Corolla, I'm guessing following the auto too close, served out to overtake the auto when it stopped. What happened to the Corolla? God alone knows, the guy didnt stop. The instructions of the police to me? "Move your car kid, otherwise everyone is going to stop and stare, blocking traffic in the process." I said what about the Corolla? "Well, he didnt stop did he? So what am I supposed to do now?" This was all over just as quickly as it started. Strangely enough, seeing the Alto coming flying (and I literally mean flying) towards my car didnt shake me, the impact didnt shake me; looking out of my window and seeing that woman getting hit and falling, the screams that were to follow was what really shook me. I dont know why people drive the way they do, on a colony/crowded market road. It's just inexplicable. Last edited by anantnehru : 12th March 2009 at 01:35.
	() Thanks

12th March 2009, 02:47	#11
Zahir BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 426 Thanked: 78 Times View My Garage	IMHO, the cab guy got what was coming to him. I'm not sure he knew what he was doing and I doubt he was trying to catch you're slipstream but the act of slipstreaming itself is a very effective way of overtaking when done right. Obviously, you must do it with adequate space to avoid any such accidents. The reason a lot of drivers tail cars especially at high speeds is because you cut down the resistance to your own car allowing you to accelarate faster by following the slipstream of the car in front of you. Then when you have an opening, you just slignshot past the car ahead. I'm not encouraging this, no one should try something like this unless they're absolutely sure of what they're doing but I do it pretty often on open roads at night when I'm in a hurry to get back. Its perfectly safe if theres no traffic and ofcourse, granted that the guy in front of you doesnt brake all of a sudden, then you're in trouble so do it at a distance. Last edited by Zahir : 12th March 2009 at 02:54.
	() Thanks

12th March 2009, 02:51	#12
blacmagic BANNED Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 221 Thanked: 12 Times	yeah, well, he created the medical emergency for himself, didnt he? serves him right. me? I prefer letting these pumped up airheads pass and then giving them some of their own medicine. it helps establish a lot of things about the other guy which aid in my decision making process. examples: a. his top sustainable speed b. his driving style c. his composure once these parameters are established, the time is right to overtake decisively. but tailgating is NEVER a good idea.
	(1) Thanks

12th March 2009, 07:51	#14
deepclutch Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Muvattupuzha Posts: 1,165 Thanked: 162 Times	I would see it like this : better drivers driving underpowered cars getting frustrated ,hence rallies up with 1 million rupees plus cars-Heck , they beat super cars in horrendous city driving conditions (not a flamebait) .
	() Thanks

12th March 2009, 08:11	#15
greenhorn Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: KL-01 Posts: 7,745 Thanked: 4,401 Times View My Garage	yup, the way maniac cabbies drive the NA indica is amazing. One day i travelled home by one , and the way the guy was ripping it was amazing. he did better speeds than i usually do through the same route , despite my car being faster. I felt like asking him for some pointers Of course , it was risky, and had a super fast appeared on any of the blind corners he overtook, we'd have been goners!
	() Thanks