[SirAlec]

does this belong to certain Mr.Sanjay Thakkar, he owns hotel in Navrangpura. He also had a HR registered 7 series.

[nisarg86]

Such a tragic accident happened. I was shocked when i read the news in Times yesterday.
And today in the evening Bunch of jokers who owns M3(white) and A4(black) were driving rashly on University Road. and his friend on R1(Blue and White) was following him.
Harshal and other ahmedabadi bhpians knows whom am i talking about.

@SirAlec. As far as i know this beemer was owned by some pharmaceutical company.

[hvkumar]

As the car was stuck under the trailer obviously it would have been dragged for a distance before the trailer could come to a stop.the trailer dragged the car for 500 metres, with its driver oblivious of the stuck vehicle, till it got detached.

The Pune-Bombay expressway had a similar accident a few weeks ago - a Scorpio dashed against a trailer - and 9 people got killed - and the trailer dragged the car for over 3 kms before the driver felt something amiss.

The car doors then jammed as they worked on hydraulic system operated by the car battery and they could not get out

“We believe that the car’s central locking system malfunctioned owing to the impact. The occupants therefore got trapped inside.

The problem with over-technology!

I have had car fires twice, and in both cases, I saved the car, the wire harness alone getting burnt out. When I am on the highway, I always keep the doors unlocked just for such eventualities - and my fire extinguisher is just below my seat. Car owners buy so many accessories, how many of you have a fire extinguisher?

am sure trailer must be missing the lower guard, which is made mandatory by govt. but 90% trucks don't have that

I am surprised the trailer driver drove away

lack of driving awareness by the driver, lack of skill to handle a car at high speed, lack of understanding of the road sense, lack of skill on the part of the truck trailer lead to the accident!

Do't think you can blame the humble unlettered truck driver for this. Yes, the truck did not have the rear protection bar, but then whose job is it to ensure compliance? Police extort enough money from the trucks to gloss over such inadequacies, you must hold the police responsible for not doing their job.

And again the car had an old V12 engine with very complex wiring, so the reasons for the fire are too many

That brings us to the most important point - change car wiring. Why is this not in the checklist of car makers for long-term maintenance. No car maker has a long-term maintenance plan for older cars. I have owned cars, all of them crossed 1L+ and I have had to evolve my own maintenance protocols, no support from my ASC.

I have changed my wire harness after 5 years in my Matiz, and earlier my Mahindra Commander, because the wires just cannot last a lifetime, and the moment you find issues with the connectors (the symptoms are very tell-tale)

Doing anything above 120 -130 Kmph is like you are buying an on line lottery for death on Indian roads

So, why blame truck drivers? Those with fancy sedans drive too fast and they are asking for trouble.

[zaks]

Too bad for the occupants of the car, may God give their dear ones the strength to cope with this loss.

I find the TOI drawing in the previous page a little suspect how can a bike going in between the car and the trailer make the car collide with the rear of the truck neatly?
Most likely they lost control of the car when speeding.

No car manufacturer will provide safety from these kinds of accidents, it's simply out of the range of permissible conditions.

[watashi75]

Originally Posted by zaks

I find the TOI drawing in the previous page a little suspect how can a bike going in between the car and the trailer make the car collide with the rear of the truck neatly?

Yes that is suspect. If it was true the bike would have been doing speeds greater than the BMW.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by zaks

I find the TOI drawing in the previous page a little suspect how can a bike going in between the car and the trailer make the car collide with the rear of the truck neatly?
Most likely they lost control of the car when speeding.

Agreed. How come a biker in middle of both vehicles help the car going into rear of truck that too at high speed ?
About speed. We have our Maurti 800 going into rear of a truck at 50 kmph+ indicated. Damage was limited to front end as dad was braking. It entered at around above 50, but due to continuous braking, the damage was limited to hood and radiator.
This car was definitely at high speed.
The biker story is baseless and trying to shed some dirt off ?
What are the proper steps taken into investigation ?
Did the truck have that bar at the rear end that helps in preventing the car from going under the truck ? Or was the bar broken by momentum of the car ?
No steps are taken in positive directions. Just new stories. I felt little bad after reading bike story. How come a reputed TOI manage this ?

Originally Posted by hvkumar

1) how many of you have a fire extinguisher?

2) am sure trailer must be missing the lower guard, which is made mandatory by govt. but 90% trucks don't have that

3) because the wires just cannot last a lifetime, and the moment you find issues with the connectors (the symptoms are very tell-tale)

4) So, why blame truck drivers? Those with fancy sedans drive too fast and they are asking for trouble.

1) Its also matter of presence of mind. Most of the people get shocked to see fire and just run away from the car. This is ofcourse natural reaction upto some extent, but I doubt if most of the car owners have presence of mind to use the fire extinguisher.

2) Make it above 95. In places like Saurashtra where generally checking is not done so well and highways are deserted, truck without rear bars is all what one manages to see. This can be a life saver. Its sad to see one more rule not being implemented.

3) I opened up Baleno seats to clean ( water jug leaked ) the floor of the cabin. You will be surprised to see the quality of wires and how they are mounted.
I was shocked to see this. I applied the insulation tape myself and moved them to corner. It was so bad that even a bags' bottom can cut the wire.

4) Correct.
a) A truck overloaded beyond limits.
b) A truck poorly maintained.
c) Stressful job as they have to cover a large distance.
d) Cabin that is very noisy and generally very very uncomfortable.

[subscrive]

"i am sure trailer must be missing the lower guard, which is made mandatory by govt. but 90% trucks don't have that. its a potential hazard to any car.
"


Will it (the guard) stop a 100+ 2 tonne vehicle?

[Spitfire]

What's with the trailer, the safety bar, the corrupt officials?? How many here think it could have saved the lives.

What about preempting the need of any of the above. What about driving responsibly? Isnt it plain commonsense?

The biggest idiot is the one behind the wheel. And he paid with his life and took away the lives of 3 others.

@7:30 PM driving at those speeds what was he thinking?

No one is to be blamed but the driver of that BMW. Unfortunately he had to pay the ultimate price for it and leave behind 4 families in mourning for the rest of their life's.

RIP to all those who died in the accident. Hope people learn and learn soon.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

... What about driving responsibly? Isnt it plain commonsense?...

I wouldn't do high speeds if I had even the smallest blip of truck/container/trailer traffic anywhere on my radar.

And no point trying to find fault with BMW for this incident. Any car, be it BMW or MB or Audi or even a VW would have met with a similar fate under such circumstances.

[pradster]

Did anyone else notice that the truck driver was let off ?
Probably not his fault, but I am not the one to judge here. My only bone here being that had the BMW been in place of the truck and a bike/auto in place of the ill fated BMW. We would have seen the driver and the passengers of the BMW arrested for sure, and had they been unfortunate enough to posses money greater than the Journo who was writing the article, the label spoilt rich folks would have been stuck on their unfortunate heads.

An unfortunate accident which reiterates the fact that on Indian roads no vehicle is safe . period.

[beejay]

Originally Posted by pradster

Did anyone else notice that the truck driver was let off ?
Probably not his fault, but I am not the one to judge here. My only bone here being that had the BMW been in place of the truck and a bike/auto in place of the ill fated BMW. We would have seen the driver and the passengers of the BMW arrested for sure, and had they been unfortunate enough to posses money greater than the Journo who was writing the article, the label spoilt rich folks would have been stuck on their unfortunate heads.

An unfortunate accident which reiterates the fact that on Indian roads no vehicle is safe . period.

+1 to that. This is very common. People who are not witness to the incident or even people who do not even have the slightest idea would brand the driver of the more expensive vehicle rich and the sole person responsible. Drunk would be a bonus.

[BeamerBoy]

Originally Posted by subscrive

"i am sure trailer must be missing the lower guard, which is made mandatory by govt. but 90% trucks don't have that. its a potential hazard to any car.
"


Will it (the guard) stop a 100+ 2 tonne vehicle?

Yes, the container trailer was not having the Rear Under run protection guard. There were no tail lights on it neither were any reflective tapes. All three are mandatory for a trailer to ply legally.

This was a 2 axle trailer. Looking at the wreck, it appars that the car submarined underneath the trailer. All 3 suspension anchorages were torn off (read massive impact). The windshield glass was on the trailer top. The passenger bubble was totally crumpled. Basically A piller is touching the B pillar & there is only half a meter gap between B & C pillar. So, it was the bubble that took the first impact. No chance of the front row passengers to survive. The body of the car went underneath the trailer eventually to be stopped by the rear axle. The impact here was so high that the front chassis was totally destroyed.

Call it Commercial Vehicle Standards in India.

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l

1 A motorcycle swerves between the BMW and the trailer on Ognaj highway on Friday

2 The car driver loses control and rams into the rear of the trailer

If that's the case then it'll be the second case within a week where a stray motorcycle caused havoc. Just 3 days back there was an accident in Mysore road due to such stunts by a biker. And seeing the way some of these people ride their bike like mad on the highway it's not impossible. I may sound insensitive but I don't think that I'll ever want to save that moronic biker and to put other's lives in peril at his cost. I'm just sick and tired of seeing how badly some of these people ride their bikes so recklessly.
And about how the car may've lost control, may be the BMW driver braked hard(panic braking)seeing the biker and as it's a old car you never know how the dynamics of the car is. So it may have swerved and hit the Trailer.
Anyway, may the departed rest in piece. Sad to see such loss of life due to someone else's stupidity.

[rohan_fonseca]

As from the pics it was really weird that the plastics and even metal was charred but the wiring harness' are almost intact. As for the biker theory it does not sound valid if it was not a sports bike doing high speeds. May the souls RIP.

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I have had car fires twice, and in both cases, I saved the car, the wire harness alone getting burnt out. When I am on the highway, I always keep the doors unlocked just for such eventualities - and my fire extinguisher is just below my seat. Car owners buy so many accessories, how many of you have a fire extinguisher?

I have, and more than extinguishing the fire, I intend to use it to break open the windshield in such cases. I also keep the filer of puncture repair kit within my reach all the time. this one to be precise.



I have heard of a group of indians in US who pressed accelerator instead of brake, landed in a small lake in front of parking and drowned slowly while still trying to get out of the car which got locked. Their call to 911 was recorded and was quite long.