[etrast75]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

http://www.bangaloremirror.com/banga...w/50430281.cms

In this accident, I do not know whom to blame more; BBMP for weird design or rider for riding with no helmet and under possible alcohol influence.

The blame in my opinion has to fall on the rider for this unfortunate incident. I have seen far too many people riding these powerful bikes with no regards for others on the roads. The way they weave in and out of traffic at high speeds not only puts them in danger but also others in danger.
Couple of days ago, I was driving in my car between agara and iblur in ORR. There was a slow moving car on the right lane and so I was forced to overtake it from the left. The road in front of the slow moving car was empty and I wanted to get back on the right lane since I had to take a turn towards sarjapur road. I checked my left mirror before overtaking the slow car and the right mirror before moving back into the right lane. In the split second between me checking the mirror and then moving the car to the right lane, a bike driven in very high speed (of course the rider has no helmet) swerved from the far left of the road to the far right of the road and squeezed between me and the slow moving car. If my car has been even a foot further right, I definitely would have hit the bike ad the impact would have been deadly for the riders since there is traffic on both sides of the road.
It was just pure luck that my car did not hit the bike. Imagine the trouble for me if the bike had hit my car and something unfortunate had happened to the people driving the bike. I did everything right and still could have been party in an deadly accident.
I now stay away whenever I see the KTM and CBRs on the road. The people driving those bikers think they are invincible and can weave in and out of traffic at high speed.
If you as a parent buy one of these bikes to your kids (especially if they are college going), you are signing their death warrant in my opinion. I have no idea what goes on inside the heads of these people.

[rjstyles69]

Well today was a real bummer at 6:30am on the Cable stayed bridge in KR Puram. There was a minor jam at the top and I was wondering what could have been the problem and I was in for a rude shock on reaching the bottle neck.

Heaps of garbage dumped along the bridge, leaving only one lane for traffic towards Devasandra. Looked like at-least 2 truck loads of garbage was dumped on the bridge.

It sure dint look like a spill but something that was done deliberately.

[ambivalent_98]

A sight I have been seeing for the past couple of days. The service road (aka Funnel Road) going from Ecospace towards Bellandur was lathered with tar in the usual incompetent manner. There is water logging exactly opposite to the last gate of Ecospace and as usual the tar patches are partially "Gone with the water". This has caused huge potholes and their hugeness is due to the hideous repair job done by whoever put the tar. Now its a bumpy ride with even big buses scared of taking that side of the road and moving to the left resulting in slow moving traffic on already what is probably the most glaring example of "Flyover ke side-effects" (pun intended). I could not take a pic of this but the usual folk who takes this Funnel road will know exactly what I am talking about.
So I think its probably a first in which a road repair job is causing a problem

[binand]

Originally Posted by etrast75

Couple of days ago, I was driving in my car between agara and iblur in ORR. There was a slow moving car on the right lane and so I was forced to overtake it from the left. The road in front of the slow moving car was empty and I wanted to get back on the right lane since I had to take a turn towards sarjapur road [...]

I did everything right and still could have been party in an deadly accident.

Really? You did everything right?

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by etrast75

......I was driving in my car between agara and iblur in ORR. There was a slow moving car on the right lane and so I was forced to overtake it from the left. The road in front of the slow moving car was empty and I wanted to get back on the right lane since I had to take a turn towards sarjapur road.....

You could've easily avoided the whole incident by sticking to the correct lane behind the lane-hogger, you needed to turn right just a bit ahead anyway.

The other car and the biker may both be bad drivers, but you nearly cost yourself dearly (by your own admission) due to your own impatience.

[etrast75]

Originally Posted by binand

Really? You did everything right?

Within the bounds of Indian traffic madness, I did everything right as far as I am concerned. The car in front of me was driving very slow (probably 20 kmph) on the right most lane. The road in front of the car was empty. There were no vehicles to my left . Please don't tell me I am supposed to drive behind a slow moving vehicle traveling in the wrong lane for kilometers together and I should not overtake from the left with due care. I might as well walk.

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

You could've easily avoided the whole incident by sticking to the correct lane behind the car, you needed to turn right just a bit ahead anyway.

The other car and the biker may both be bad drivers, but you nearly cost yourself dearly (by your own admission) due to your own impatience.

My turn was at least a kilometer away.
The next time a fully loaded tata ace decides to move slowly in the right lane, I would love to see all cars driving faithfully behind it and not trying to overtake it from the left carefully.
If I had even caught a glimpse of the bike, I would have just stayed put and waited till he passed because I have seen too many of them on the roads and know what they are capable of doing. I did not even get a sight of the bike when I overtook the car and moved back in.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by etrast75

Within the bounds of Indian traffic madness.....

My turn was at least a kilometer away.......

If I had even caught a glimpse of the bike, I would have just stayed put and waited till he passed because I have seen too many of them on the roads and know what they are capable of doing. I did not even get a sight of the bike when I overtook the car and moved back in.

I did not and will not say you were right or wrong in what you did, but here are the facts.

You had a choice between risking losing a few minutes by your own estimation (a kilometer at 20 kmph is ~3 minutes) and risking an untoward incident that could've cost you a LOT more. You chose the latter, out of your own judgment.

Within the bounds of Indian traffic madness, would you rather risk losing a few minutes or a good chunk of your life because some idiot with a death-wish may be in the 'apparently clear' vicinity? You live with the choices you make, and its consequences. Sounds paranoid for a minor traffic maneuver, sure, but within the bounds of Indian traffic madness, paranoia can make a life & death difference.

Still not judging what you did, BTW, we've all done it sometime

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

but within the bounds of Indian traffic madness, paranoia can make a life & death difference.

I find audio books (humor/friction) to be a great stress buster. Have been using them for years now. Works very well esp a PG Wodehouse or a Jerome K Jerome or a fast paced fiction!

PS: It actually swings the other way, and you start thinking, how come you reached your destination so early?

[binand]

Originally Posted by etrast75

Please don't tell me I am supposed to drive behind a slow moving vehicle traveling in the wrong lane.

I will not tell you that - I'm not a trainer. Your driver education is supposed to tell you that.

Originally Posted by etrast75

The next time a fully loaded tata ace decides to move slowly in the right lane, I would love to see all cars driving faithfully behind it and not trying to overtake it from the left carefully.

Your driver education should have also taught you about the difference between lane-switching on a multi-lane road and overtaking from the left.

I do agree with everyone that driver education in India leaves a lot to be desired.

[SR71-Blackbird]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

http://www.bangaloremirror.com/banga...w/50430281.cms

In this accident, I do not know whom to blame more; BBMP for weird design or rider for riding with no helmet and under possible alcohol influence.

I think the fault entirely lies with the rider here! I find nothing weird about the flyover there and the curve there is visible before one approaches it.

On the other hand bikers here, especially the ones on superbikes are becoming reckless with every passing day! I face multiple instances everyday on the ORR where I have to take evasive action including emergency braking to avoid contact so that I don't run them over.

Last Sunday, I almost had a head on collision with a bike going in the opposite lane near a speed breaker because he saw a small gap in the speed breaker in my lane and swerved directly in front of my car to sneak into the gap. I had to slam the brakes to avoid running over him!

Also if you notice, most of these reckless super bike riders don't even care about something as basic as helmets or rear view mirrors. They either don't have any mirrors or they are adjusted in way that they face each other!

I just don't understand how one can take so much risk and put their lives on the line just to save their backside from going over a bump or to reach their destination a few minutes early.

[TorqueyTechie]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

You had a choice between risking losing a few minutes by your own estimation (a kilometer at 20 kmph is ~3 minutes) and risking an untoward incident that could've cost you a LOT more. You chose the latter, out of your own judgment.

Still not judging what you did, BTW, we've all done it sometime

Originally Posted by binand

I will not tell you that - I'm not a trainer. Your driver education is supposed to tell you that.

Your driver education should have also taught you about the difference between lane-switching on a multi-lane road and overtaking from the left.

I do agree with everyone that driver education in India leaves a lot to be desired.

Seriously, do you really think what etrast75 was wrong? Yes, he did overtake from left but I doubt any of the people here (including you both as well as me) would not have done the same. I have seen many people mentioning about how people drive on extreme right in slow speeds and how they have overtaken from left.

binand, driver education does teach all the basics right to all the people but in the end its upto each individual. Ideally the slow moving vehicle should not have been on the extreme right itself. The biker would have to allow the person overtaking to complete his maneuver and then can overtake if so he wishes.

Atleast I believe in this scenario what etrast75 did was right (yes I would have done the same and I believe majority as well).

[adnaps]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

Atleast I believe in this scenario what etrast75 did was right (yes I would have done the same and I believe majority as well).

Partially agree.. I would have most probably done what etrast75 did. However the risk is mine and I would have no one to blame but myself if something had gone wrong.

[hothatchaway]

Regarding the bit on overtaking from the left, of course if you refer to any driver's manual thou shalt not overtake from the left, no debate on that. Hence it is my biggest bugbear in Bangalore traffic (am sure the scene is no different in any other city) is commercial vehicles and sundry miss daisies pottering along the fast lane at half the average traffic speed. If I were to be a tad kind to them, I realize that the left lanes are a free for all with two wheelers weaving their magic and buses stopping as they please, often a few feet away from the designated bus stop. But the reality is that there is minimal lane discipline on our roads and the kind of lanes you should be choosing depending on the speeds that you are doing. That and not knowing that the indicators are there for a purpose and are not aftermarket party lights.

I also agree that the consequences of your choices are yours alone. If you overtake from the left, tailgate so that other motorists do not steal those elusive distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you and other sundry misdemeanors, you should also evaluate the cost of judging a maneuver incorrectly.

[etrast75]

Here is the video of the incident I described earlier.

https://youtu.be/uwuoz5Fj5bk

Look at the bike weave from right to left in front of me. He had done the same behind me and that is why I could not see him.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

Seriously, do you really think what etrast75 was wrong?....

I didn't say he did right or wrong, did I?

Indian driving involves rule-bending everyday even if unintentionally, but that doesn't mean we're no longer responsible for the consequences.

Originally Posted by etrast75

Here is the video of the incident I described earlier........

Look at the bike weave from right to left in front of me. He had done the same behind me and that is why I could not see him.

Now that's interesting. You mentioned watching your ORVMs before making the move, but did you check your IRVM? Going by your video, it's pretty obvious that you missed this guy because he was in your right ORVM's blind-spot due to his erratic overtaking habits. Overtaking from the left may be a situational necessity, but not watching your mirrors (all of them) could be fatal.

P.S. There's a thread here that has some great tips on adjusting mirrors to minimize/eliminate blind spots. Worth a read. I corrected my own preferred mirror setting after reading that thread.