[maddy42]

Sorry for the family of the Ferrari owner on the loss of his life. Hope the teen gets better and lives a long and healthy life.



Coming to the reasons for the crash i can find three main reasons:
1) Terrible road designs with no Common sense placed on the same. Any tom idiot or harry can just erect a Pole, Flexboard or even dig up our roads and no one can complain. Till the time a contractor is not held culpable for terrible road design or we actually have a agency looking at designing a smooth freeway or highway or even a country road like the DOT agency in the US we will continue to have a death trap.

An exit to or from a highway cannot be in a T junction, it has to be more fluid, thats the reason you offer a seperate lane and get the vehicle to slow down before moving to the off ramp, similarly onramps are meant to be able to give you some speed before you get on the highway. Show me one place on any of our highway system where this is very well done?

2) Trucks in our country are a low capacity high torque diesel engine meant to carry loads. It is a Donkey, not a horse, takes ages to speed up, slow down and the driver no wonder has to pray to all religions Gods and Godesses before venturing out in the road. Blaming a overworked underpaid truck driver is akin to missing the bulls eye in the argument.

3) After these two factors comes our very famous magnificent Ferrari. Beautiful piece of engineering designed by a multiple smoke break taking Italian and meant to be able to let a Rich human being push the limits of speed and orgasms on a race track. Even there we have accidents on split second moves done by other race cars. With great power comes great responsibility. Drive within your limits. Its not speeding which causes you to die, but coming to a stop suddenly does.

Lastly was watching a video of the supercar drive in Kolkatta and i have to say for the Black Mustang driver who wanted to overtake everything in his sight. Calm down buddy, there is no need to meet Yamraj so quick. A drive is not a race, we know you got a powerful car, drive it sensibly, being rash will not only kill you but ensure a couple of slaps on your face before you die by the folks you end up crashing into.

We ride in groups out here on weekend and have to ask a couple of riders to not show up, coz their wheelies causes crashes and cops to tail us.

Maddy.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by Victor-whiskey

We can take many valuable learnings from this but most importantly, what if we are right and the other is wrong. As in this case, the truck driver is at fault(source: times of India https://m.timesofindia.com/city/kolk...w/64441857.cms). We may educate ourselves but equally important is to educate the rest of the fraternity with whom we share our road space .
Stay safe

Did we read the same article? How did you conclude that the “truck driver is at fault”. All the truck did, according to that ToI piece, is slow down, which “forced” the Ferrari to turn right and crash into the divider. That makes it the Ferrari driver’s fault.

Also, when you are driving a car that is capable of insane speeds, you need to take responsibility for your safety and that of those around you. There is a reason most first world countries cap street speed limits at 100-120 kmph, even when you can “safely” go much faster.

I feel bad for Mr Roy and that innocent teenager fighting for her life but there is such a thing as common sense. My flatmate who hails from Calcutta and to whom I narrated this episode commented wryly that “A Ferrari in Calcutta” would be a great title for a book, since the image it presents is so incongruous.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by i74js

Please see my signatures; I am from Pune too. My simple submission is if we as residents of the city have not done anything against such protests (very similar to the way we discuss good or bad governments at clubs or in our drawing rooms), it was a surrogate participation from our side. A culturally awake city should have played its role by not letting such things happen.

Most of us are too busy in our routine commutes to pay attention to such idiotic protests. Let alone protesting against the protest. Giving undue attention to them is unnecessary, it only gives them what they want: publicity.

If we do not join their protests, it already indicates that I do not support their cause. Your or my absence from the protests does not indicate our support in any way.

Originally Posted by Victor-whiskey

As in this case, the truck driver is at fault.. We may educate ourselves but equally important is to educate the rest of the fraternity with whom we share our road space.

Originally Posted by noopster

Did we read the same article? How did you conclude that the “truck driver is at fault”. All the truck did, according to that ToI piece, is slow down, which “forced” the Ferrari to turn right and crash into the divider. That makes it the Ferrari driver’s fault.

From what I know of road traffic rules, in case of any rear ending it is the driver of the tailing vehicle who is at fault. It is his/ her responsibility to maintain a safe distance (based on their own speed) to avoid any late/ last minute collisions or sudden unindicated (and unplanned) intrusions into the next lane.
If the Ferrari could not be stopped in time, either the driver did not spot the truck or was too fast or too near to take any evasive action or stop on time.
I do not see how the truck driver can be blamed here.

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

That makes a lot of sense, but then is it just an assumption that these vehicles are crash worthy? Just because they are made by Ferrari?

I am not sure of that; perhaps they conduct their equivalent tests within or some other agency would do it.
In this case, the airbags were activated and so were the roll over barriers. The car cannot do much to protect drivers from a metal rod impaling. I don't think they plan for metal rods existing/ protruding on the roadside.

[Chetan_Rao]

A small detail lost in the wider debate.

This group wasn't driving on this road for the first time (there are/were videos of their prior drives on social media along this route), so bad road design notwithstanding, I don't think anyone can reasonably claim an element of surprise w.r.t. bad road design in this particular instance. A lot of things could've caused and potentially averted the tragedy, knowledge of the specific route (or lack of it) was a major factor that seems to be overlooked.

A related question, since I've never driven anything close to a supercar: Do such drives involve recce/spotting runs beforehand? If not, isn't it dangerous to go driving such machines on roads one's probably never seen before? It's relevant esp. in India, where a badly designed unmarked speedbreaker, wrongly graded curve for the speeds involved or just an unspotted undulation could launch a supercar into a fatal crash given they barely have any practical ground clearance to begin with.

[Fishtail]

Only because of the inefficient state machinery they were able to drive 2X (or more) the speed limit and post and boast about those repeatedly. They took extreme risks and eventually their luck ran out.

You live by the sword...and...

These people are mostly businessmen. They know how the state government works.

Sorry if this sounds insensitive.

[NiInJa]

Any updates on how well is the young lady recovering ?

[R2D2]

9 pages and counting. Makes me wonder - would we be discussing this type of a road accident in this much detail had there NOT been a Ferrari in the picture? Food for thought, no?

[Fishtail]

Just saw this on MSN
http://www.msn.com/en-in/news/newsin...RVN&ocid=ientp

[SupratikDebnath]

Originally Posted by basuroy

What is worse is the man who crashed the ferrari had a 17 year old child (daughter of his friend who was part of the supercar cavalcade ) as co passenger and still was driving so recklessly at high speeds .

I am from Kolkata and very familiar with all the highways here and none of them are safe for speeds in excess of 100 except certain stretches of NH-2 and certain roads around New Town (Rajarhat) . But I have seen supercars like Porsche doing speed well above 150 on the flyovers and other city roads - one incident happened only day before yesterday when a supercar ( looked like a jaguar ) overtook me dangerously on Ma flyover at what appeared to be 200kmph speed , I was riding my duke 390 at around 80 and the windblast from the sportscar almost threw me off balance .

Maa flyover has speed limited to 60 kmph. Please watch out for the speed guns!

[Nalin1]

Phew! A lot of people have said a lot of things. Let me also pitch in.

Firstly let us hope the family comes to terms with this tragedy and wish the injured a quick recovery.

A Ferrari or a Figo, an Audi or an Alto, a Maruti or a Mercedez. No car has a mind of its own and does not crash on its own (if any of its mechanicals malfunction, then it is a different topic). The driver and the driver alone is totally responsible to the 'T'. Yes, we can say the moron in front/back/side did not follow rules, the civic authority did not design the road properly, the car has too much power for Indian roads etc. Each and everything has to be handled by the driver well enough to reach his destination safely.

And another word that is always thrown around is 'control'. The driver lost control and crashed. Well, if a driver loses control, then he never had control in the first place!

When do we ever feel in control? The moment we feel that the car is controlling us and not the other way around is when I feel the red line is crossed.

When do we feel that the red line is crossed? That completely differs from individual to individual. Personally I have felt that at a certain speed and for others the number might be different. Whatever it is, crossing the red line means completely at lady luck's discretion!

[basuroy]

Originally Posted by SupratikDebnath

Maa flyover has speed limited to 60 kmph. Please watch out for the speed guns!

Thanks , I didn't know that but 60 poses a risk in itself when everything else on that flyover is doing 80 or more . It is a risky flyover due to uneven camber but cars , especially when the traffic is low (as was the case that day ) , often drive over 100kmph speed on that flyover . And I feel extremely uncomfortable riding slowly by the outside edge ( the de facto lane for slow moving two wheelers ).

[avishar]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

Any updates on how well is the young lady recovering ?

Today's paper mentioned that she had undergone minor surgery to her right leg was put on traction on Thursday. Doctors said that her condition is still critical and remains on ventilator support.

Meanwhile, Club GT spoke about the accident today on their Facebook page.

Everyday hundreds of accidents happen in this country. Are they all sportscars? Or just sportscars only face accidents?
In today's time even a normal hatchback drives between 120-140 on the highways and Shibaji was just at 125 and that too after accelerating , the rpm meter shows 6200 rpm which clearly proves that, had been he tried to brake the rpm must have come down below 2k.
Hundreds of accidents happen on trains everyday around the world, people fall off the windows, balconies does others stop living on the upper floors and should people start blaming why they lived at such heights?

Would you blame the people facing accidents in normal cars that why he went on the highway? Trucks run at 60-70 even then most of the accidents happen with them or because of them. Would you stop going on the highways? Would you stop going in trains? So many plane accidents have happened, why dont you blame the passengers or the pilots that why they were travelling by plane and why dont you yourself stop flying? Buying a sportscar does not indicate he is racing neither it indicates he was at an abnormal speed. Even at normal speeds the accidents might happen. With kids sitting beside you and cars moving in a convoy only the ****heads can think or comment like this. These are road legal cars and not track cars , meant to be driven on roads , not in the sky. Its not always the high speeds that excites, driving them at even optimum speeds gives you immense pleasure because of their handling and initial punch.

You can't change your destiny. Stop being frustrated and blaming others . Start appreciating the good work and try to get inspired by their success rather than trying to get popular on social media by giving your unwanted suggestions and comments.
Shibaji was a great guy and a person who understood his responsibilities and valued his life. The good people are not meant to stay in this cruel world for long. God has created a better place for them. This is Naraklok where people are born to do their deeds and go back to Parlok once the work is over. **Dedicated to few crackpots.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by avishar

Meanwhile, Club GT spoke about the accident today on their Facebook page.

Dear BHP-ians, please do not comment on this snippet of facebook post from club GT. We must respect the emotion that had to be overcome to write this post. Club GT did not need to write something like this, they said what they had to say, without saying, by removing the videos from the facebook account, immediately after the news started spreading.

[haldar_siliguri]

Originally Posted by Fishtail

Have a look at one of their earlier Sunday drives. See around the 2.30 min mark how they overtake

If this is the kind of highway driving that the Club owners partake in, then however tragic and unfortunate an accident can be, it would not at all be surprising. I am sorry but some of those overtakes are actually asking for it, especially on the kind of mixed use highways that we have.

[Bala_blr]

Originally Posted by haldar_siliguri

If this is the kind of highway driving that the Club owners partake in, then however tragic and unfortunate an accident can be, it would not at all be surprising. I am sorry but some of those overtakes are actually asking for it, especially on the kind of mixed use highways that we have.

If anyone from that group is reading this thread, please note - Driving like whats in the video is reckless and is dangerous to others as well not only you. The guy in the black Mustang must have his license and car taken away. Seriously, this kind of driving has no justification. Forget fast cars, we need a proper feedback system for driving licenses. If you break rules, points must be added, you get a certain number of points, your insurance must be hiked, you go insane with points, your car and your license must be confiscated. Thats how the developed world works. We also need to have incremental licensing, good driving records must be the pass to driving more powerful cars.