Santro v/s BMW X5 v/s Safari v/s Bolero v/s Volvo 5000

VictorSinha · 22nd November 2009, 11:49

I want to share a small piece of incident that happened with me a few days back.

I was on a "surprising" mood. I wanted to surprise my Mom and Dad. I was working in Bhubaneshwar and decided to take my car all the way to my Hometown - Asansol in West Bengal.

So I started at around 3 AM in the morning. The fog was so so so string that even anything at 2 feet away was out and out invisible to me. But I was prepared for this. I planned this event few months ago. I knew there would be fog so I equipped my headlights with Osram NightBreaker and added fog lams and changed the Fog lamps to Osram high power 60W bulbs(imported assembly not leagal in India or Europe) too.

So as soon as I started I knew starting now is a bad decision. But as soon as I turned my headlamps I could see for around 10ft on the road. And I was soon at 60kmph.

On the way I saw a MW X5, Safari, Bolero all crawling at 20-30 KMPH due to zero visibility. Also the best think X5 had projector headlights which has the natural tendency to scatter heavily in Fog and in this dense fog where you need to keep your wiper working at the highest speed X5 was literally blind. All of these were following a State Govt Volvo 5000 bus which was again crawling like a baby and sounding like a Hippo.

I zoomed past them at 60 KMPH and I had a laugh. What happened next was the best moment of my life with my Red Darling.

All the other cars turned of their lights(in shame) put on parking light and started following my path keep a gap of 6-7 feet among themselves and I was literally leading the pack at 69-70 KMPH. Others even then also were simply not able to keep up.

That day I felt like a king and my love for my Red Darling(My red Santro) has overwhelmed me.

It was a 600KM ride that day. I say a lot of thnigs that day. Starting from accidents and deaths to breathtaking beauty. I will share all.

And by the way My Santro is a 9 year old baby. Santro LX with retrofitted Power Windows, Central Locking, Fog Lamps. Planning to add EPS to it soon.

Till then Good Bye.

MX6 · 22nd November 2009, 12:35

If it's not legal in india why have it victor?

VictorSinha · 22nd November 2009, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by MX6

If it's not legal in india why have it victor?

Yes I have dismantled it now...but I really liked it that day. It is very powerful or too much powerful in City Driving.

Blur · 23rd November 2009, 10:06

Umm... Victor... I know just how "empowering" it might have felt, to have all those "superior" vehicles follow you. Have had an experience like that with an Octavia. (It was an unknown road for him, I guess, and he overtook us only to start panic braking every alternate minute. Soon, we, in an Alto, overtook him back and led him all the way through.)

But driving on in that near blinding fog wasn't a decision full of smarts man. Sure, you had those ILLEGAL lights, but you never know... Driving on our highways is risky as it is.

Next time, don't opt for the ego boost.

Be safe.

tanwaramit · 23rd November 2009, 12:40

Driving with Zero visibility is very risky. For you it may be good, but you dont know how is it for others on the road. Remember it takes anyone of the two for an accident.

Be careful and drive safe.

esteemer · 24th November 2009, 22:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanwaramit

Driving with Zero visibility is very risky. For you it may be good, but you dont know how is it for others on the road. Remember it takes anyone of the two for an accident.

Be careful and drive safe.

Exactly.

All said and done, your happiness is clearly reflected in the post.

PatchyBoy · 25th November 2009, 03:13

While it might have felt really good to lead all those "superior" cars, I think it is foolhardy. I was once on my way to Hyderabad from B'lore and was blinded by fog between Yelahanka and Devanhalli. The problem was, I cannot even pull over and switch on my hazard lights. All the cab guys headed to the Airport were driving with their hazard lamps on

If I pulled over and switched on my hazard lights, it will be only a matter of time before someone rams into me. At the first opportunity I got to get off the main road, I did just that and waited for the fog to clear. Trust me, it is just not worth it risking your life just for an ego trip.

Rajan

BlackPearl · 25th November 2009, 03:38

We understand your happiness, but as others have mentioned, it was too much of a risk. I have innumerable experiences with dense fog on the highways and I have always tried to follow a heavier vehicle as they disperse the fog more than smaller vehicles. Morover I think the higher the driver sits, the better the visibility as the fog is thickest near the ground, though I may be wrong. Good to hear that you had reached safely, but please think before doing this again in future.

phamilyman · 25th November 2009, 08:00

Actually, its a TON more fun doing it on a bike

I'd not raindown on your thread but I agree and completely relate to what you're saying.

btw 2008 santro (as per signature) or 2000?

Rollin' Thunda · 25th November 2009, 08:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by VictorSinha

All the other cars turned of their lights(in shame) put on parking light and started following my path keep a gap of 6-7 feet among themselves and I was literally leading the pack at 69-70 KMPH. Others even then also were simply not able to keep up.

That day I felt like a king and my love for my Red Darling(My red Santro) has overwhelmed me.

The MINIMUM following time should be two seconds. So at 72kmph you should have maintained a distance of 40 meters (= 2x 20m/s) between cars. So even if you all maintained distances of 6-7 meters (6-7 ft seems too incredible) at 70kmph, you should all offer thanks to the deity that you are alive. All it would have taken is a broken-down trunk on the road and you could have ended up in smoking pile of metal with one dead king and his many dead followers.The others "who could not keep-up" would have been relating the tale on the Team-BHP forum.

vkochar · 25th November 2009, 12:28

If I had owned a BMW X5 I would have gladly kept behind another vehicle as I do not want to take anything head on.

That is what happens on Foggy routes - everyone waits to get as behind as possible. The one leading is the at the riskiest position

Iluvcars · 27th November 2009, 21:30

VictorSinha, you did a risky job that was not called for. Drive safe, please!

jkdas · 27th November 2009, 22:53

One side of the coin

Drive safe.

EPS on Santro? How?

.anshuman · 27th November 2009, 22:59

During fog days i find it safer to follow someone rather than leading the group. It does not make sense on overtaking on roads which have extremely low visiblity.

Safety comes first for me, such ego related issues are a strict no no for me.

VictorSinha · 1st December 2009, 22:47

Hmmm....I seem to have got a good amount of bashing.

. Yeah I understood it. I will never do that again.

Here on that day if my trip another funny incident happened. Due to the dense fog I missed a speedbraker(multiple ones) near a tool booth and to my horror my Wiper stopped working. In that fog without wiper means I need to wait for 2 hours to dawn then only I can start. I was so frustrated and angry that I just slammed the boot of the car and the wiper started working again.

And as you guys said there was indeed a truck with all lights off standing in the middle of road. It was actually a 2 lane bridge over a huge river. I was doing 50. Suddenly I saw something black at around 10-12 feet away and I jammed the brakes and started sounding my horn to alert the following cars. Luckily I had pulled quite front by that time and no car was within 20-25 ft. So that was a close save. I drove slowly for 1 km after that. Then again I started picking speed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Actually, its a TON more fun doing it on a bike

I'd not raindown on your thread but I agree and completely relate to what you're saying.

btw 2008 santro (as per signature) or 2000?

Yes it was a 2000 model Santro...but I bought it in 2008.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkdas

One side of the coin

Drive safe.

EPS on Santro? How?

No I dont have EPS on my Santro. It was the first model of Santro launched in India. It has only AC and nothing more.

22nd November 2009, 11:49	#1
VictorSinha BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 81 Thanked: Once	Santro v/s BMW X5 v/s Safari v/s Bolero v/s Volvo 5000 I want to share a small piece of incident that happened with me a few days back. I was on a "surprising" mood. I wanted to surprise my Mom and Dad. I was working in Bhubaneshwar and decided to take my car all the way to my Hometown - Asansol in West Bengal. So I started at around 3 AM in the morning. The fog was so so so string that even anything at 2 feet away was out and out invisible to me. But I was prepared for this. I planned this event few months ago. I knew there would be fog so I equipped my headlights with Osram NightBreaker and added fog lams and changed the Fog lamps to Osram high power 60W bulbs(imported assembly not leagal in India or Europe) too. So as soon as I started I knew starting now is a bad decision. But as soon as I turned my headlamps I could see for around 10ft on the road. And I was soon at 60kmph. On the way I saw a MW X5, Safari, Bolero all crawling at 20-30 KMPH due to zero visibility. Also the best think X5 had projector headlights which has the natural tendency to scatter heavily in Fog and in this dense fog where you need to keep your wiper working at the highest speed X5 was literally blind. All of these were following a State Govt Volvo 5000 bus which was again crawling like a baby and sounding like a Hippo. I zoomed past them at 60 KMPH and I had a laugh. What happened next was the best moment of my life with my Red Darling. All the other cars turned of their lights(in shame) put on parking light and started following my path keep a gap of 6-7 feet among themselves and I was literally leading the pack at 69-70 KMPH. Others even then also were simply not able to keep up. That day I felt like a king and my love for my Red Darling(My red Santro) has overwhelmed me. It was a 600KM ride that day. I say a lot of thnigs that day. Starting from accidents and deaths to breathtaking beauty. I will share all. And by the way My Santro is a 9 year old baby. Santro LX with retrofitted Power Windows, Central Locking, Fog Lamps. Planning to add EPS to it soon. Till then Good Bye.
	() Thanks

22nd November 2009, 12:35	#2
MX6 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: City of seven islands. Posts: 2,877 Thanked: 231 Times	If it's not legal in india why have it victor?
	() Thanks

23rd November 2009, 10:06	#4
Blur BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 173 Thanked: 19 Times	Umm... Victor... I know just how "empowering" it might have felt, to have all those "superior" vehicles follow you. Have had an experience like that with an Octavia. (It was an unknown road for him, I guess, and he overtook us only to start panic braking every alternate minute. Soon, we, in an Alto, overtook him back and led him all the way through.) But driving on in that near blinding fog wasn't a decision full of smarts man. Sure, you had those ILLEGAL lights, but you never know... Driving on our highways is risky as it is. Next time, don't opt for the ego boost. Be safe.
	() Thanks

23rd November 2009, 12:40	#5
tanwaramit Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Dilwalon ki Dilli Posts: 1,930 Thanked: 497 Times	Driving with Zero visibility is very risky. For you it may be good, but you dont know how is it for others on the road. Remember it takes anyone of the two for an accident. Be careful and drive safe.
	() Thanks

25th November 2009, 03:13	#7
PatchyBoy BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Goa Posts: 917 Thanked: 2,023 Times View My Garage	While it might have felt really good to lead all those "superior" cars, I think it is foolhardy. I was once on my way to Hyderabad from B'lore and was blinded by fog between Yelahanka and Devanhalli. The problem was, I cannot even pull over and switch on my hazard lights. All the cab guys headed to the Airport were driving with their hazard lamps on If I pulled over and switched on my hazard lights, it will be only a matter of time before someone rams into me. At the first opportunity I got to get off the main road, I did just that and waited for the fog to clear. Trust me, it is just not worth it risking your life just for an ego trip. Rajan
	() Thanks

25th November 2009, 03:38	#8
BlackPearl Team-BHP Support Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Calcutta/London Posts: 3,608 Thanked: 16,998 Times View My Garage	We understand your happiness, but as others have mentioned, it was too much of a risk. I have innumerable experiences with dense fog on the highways and I have always tried to follow a heavier vehicle as they disperse the fog more than smaller vehicles. Morover I think the higher the driver sits, the better the visibility as the fog is thickest near the ground, though I may be wrong. Good to hear that you had reached safely, but please think before doing this again in future.
	() Thanks

25th November 2009, 08:00	#9
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,968 Thanked: 4,642 Times	Actually, its a TON more fun doing it on a bike I'd not raindown on your thread but I agree and completely relate to what you're saying. btw 2008 santro (as per signature) or 2000?
	() Thanks

25th November 2009, 12:28	#11
vkochar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Delhi / Agra / London Posts: 2,146 Thanked: 819 Times View My Garage	If I had owned a BMW X5 I would have gladly kept behind another vehicle as I do not want to take anything head on. That is what happens on Foggy routes - everyone waits to get as behind as possible. The one leading is the at the riskiest position
	() Thanks

27th November 2009, 21:30	#12
Iluvcars BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Bangalore / Toronto, Canada Posts: 155 Thanked: 9 Times	VictorSinha, you did a risky job that was not called for. Drive safe, please!
	() Thanks

27th November 2009, 22:53	#13
jkdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Thiruvananthapu Posts: 9,687 Thanked: 1,492 Times View My Garage	One side of the coin Drive safe. EPS on Santro? How?
	() Thanks

27th November 2009, 22:59	#14
.anshuman Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Good-Gaon Posts: 7,763 Thanked: 11,064 Times View My Garage	During fog days i find it safer to follow someone rather than leading the group. It does not make sense on overtaking on roads which have extremely low visiblity. Safety comes first for me, such ego related issues are a strict no no for me.
	() Thanks