What Can We Do To Improve Road Safety Awareness?

[Username]

5. The following is a bit difficult to do in Mumbai. When you want to take a U-turn, do NOT start turning until you know you can finish making the U-turn. The problem is if you are waiting for a U-turn with your car at a 45 angle and if a truck decides to rear end you you will end up on the other side of the road with oncoming traffic. Now if your car were straight and waiting for a U-turn and if a truck rear ends you you will only be pushed straight ahead and not onto the other side of the road. I understand it's a bit idealistic in Mumbai but on interstate highways I don''t think you should leave your car standing with half a U turn.

Well ,enough of free time today. Will post later. Comments appreciated.

Nice. Thanks for sharing, will tell this to everyone I know. Most won't follow it(or my other advises, like seat belts) though.

 

[Starlight]

Some more unwarranted advice:

On NH-8 (Mumbai Gujarat), has anyone noticed the remarkable change in the behavior of truck drivers once they pass the Maharashtra Gujarat border? I mean, I hardly ever see a truck in the passing lane (rightmost lane). Everyone's in the middle lane or on the left. Can anyone confirm if fines are regularly imposed on that stretch of road leading towards Vapi, Gujarat?

The exception here is the stretch along Daman? I know it's the only place in Gujarat where alcohol can legally be sold but why do they have to be maniacs? Here, I will make it a point to watch my left mirror intently when making way for someone to overtake me from the right. Invariably, a jerk will ignore my left indicator and overtake me from the third lane as I am moving to the second lane to let him overtake me. I think I need to be extra careful near beaches

 

[Starlight]

My problem with Speeding:
Speeding is at least as much about one’s confidence in other people’s driving abilities as it is about confidence in yours.

I have regularly seen people in Mumbai not keeping to their lanes on a curve at barely 35 kph on the Bandra Kurla Link road which is one of the better roads in Mumbai. Those lane markers are not for show. Curve or no curve, you are supposed to stick to your lane. If you can’t control your car at 35 kph, you shouldn’t be driving.

Similar is the case on Mumbai-Pune Expressway. There are a couple of curves (banked ones at that) after Lonavala towards Mumbai. Every single time I have seen a driver on my right cutting across from the first to the second lane just because he was unable to keep his car in the first lane because he was approaching the right-hand curve faster than he should have.

As a friend once told me, “I would rather drive at 150 mph on the Autobahn than drive over 80 kph in a city like Mumbai because I know if I crash on the Autobahn, apart from the fact that I’d be dead, I wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of finding out who caused the accident because 9/10 times, it’d be me!”

 

[Bopanna]

Talking about corporate responsibility for road safety, here is how VW India's twitter account is seen egging on a tweet boasting of overspeeding. The least VW India can do is not to congratulate someone who is gloating about doing unsafe speeds on Indian roads ...

 

[350Z]

Such a sweet way to bring the issue of potholes to the attention of concerned authorities. This was done by some unknown activists in Kolomiya, Ukraine.

​

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[parth1231]

@Starlight, I take this highway for mi office drive daily near Vadodara and yes your observation is true.
Most of the truck drivers here either drive in second lane or go back to thei lane after overtaking .

 

[rsrs_in]

Reduce traffice in metros by establising some means to restrict volumes of cars being bought. This may sound off beat, but fact is roads & streets are overflowing with vehicles. No place to walk with cars parked all over internal streets and roads.

Reduce the auto licenses to half and similarly taxis too - they keep asking for price hike and want to take consumers only where themselves want to go.