Bharat Rakshak

That maybe true out of the cities. But inside the city, there are lights on the road and there really is no need for a hi beam to spot potholes etc. Besides, it is really useless when the other guy is also hi beaming on you..when you can't see any damn thing because of the glare, what is the point in hi beam.

I do think that some of these new drivers don't really know that they are supposed to go on lo beam on certain conditions and supposed to put on hi beam on certain conditions. I would not be surprised if they have never ever turned it to lo beam ever. It is always on hi beam.

Problem is may Indian drivers probably on Bikes and cars don't know about Road rules and simple physics, geometry etc, forget High beam low beam, see the number that take a right turn from right hand corner for the road, a vehicle coming on the other side of the road they are turning too will have no space to go. See how they race and brake hard before a signal.

Seems to me that there is something lacking in mass education, media etc, where standing in line and following rules and being helpful to others is considered as being idoitic.

I think having regular checks for Licenses by cops with FInes and sizure of Vehicles along with putting the law in RTO's that people need to pass the electronic tests on thier own and good driving tests where alll the road use knowledge is tested is the key for giving people a License. Again it should be road use knowledge, not making people do 8 in reverse.

sounds good by its own, but do add the following:



Driving on a rainy night in an Indian urban road is a nightmare, despite all the sodium lamps. There are no reflectors marking dead-end walls or even posts that are left in the lanes after the last widening, for example.

So hi-beam as a mental crutch is not going to go away, until there is confidence in the safety aspects over a few years.

Lack of sports or field activities mean most Indians especially urban dwellers do not get chance to exercise their coordination and reflexes and that shows them up in very poor light especially when they are driving. Also another key feature is misplaced aggression when none is required.

Community exercises are needed to develop a sense of community and a sense of society and a semblance of coordination with another human being on the road, being someone we have never met but can move in sync with everyone else. Sometimes I feel muslims often make better social drivers because of their indulging in a communal exercise of bowing down and getting up together which gets them in sync with their fellow community. After visiting oil droplet, became acutely aware of this.

High beam issue is not limited to highways/poorly lit roads but is a common sight wherever you go in India including well lit roads of metros. High beam inherently beams more light and hence the default option/preferred choice. Most people are unaware what high/low beam stands for, for them high beam means just more light. It is irritating to drive at night since almost all oncoming cars use high beam. When I was a new driver, I used to think that it's my moral responsibility to correct my brethren. I used to flash my headlights to register my displeasure but till date barring 1-2 instances, none bothered to lower their lights but instead most sped up thinking that you want to negotiate the narrow patch of road/blockade before them. Now it's no more flashing but "Have some high beam sir" only.

Cheers....

You can have world class infrastructure but, without basic civic sense and maintenance all that is worth naught.
I have noticed that cabbies and rickshaws flaunt the rules the most, because they have a deal going on with the pandus, which encourages them to do whatever they want with impunity.

All other drivers break the law because the cabbies / rickshaws do it. IMHO this enforcement should start with the cabbies by simply suspending their licenses and then extending it to others. Its not that Indians can't follow rules, the moment they step out of India they get in line its only when they are home they feel that they can get away with murder.

Around the same time when I was in Mumbai, the pandu brigade was clamping down on drunk driving and the fine was to spend a night in jail. According to some friends that was very effective.

In Delhi, the low floor buses have created nuisance on roads. Erratic driving and cutting lanes has become the norm for these buses. Earlier the DTC buses lacked power steering which made them a lot predictable but now the contracted drivers drive the huge buses as if they are driving a car.

same here in BLR. plus being rear engined, higher T:W and quieter means you dont hear any noise as like a mighty ship they creep up silent and fast beside you.

People don't care about fines and are happy to pay. Decrepit systems means there is no possibility to penalise repeat offenders with a higher penalty.

On the MPEW people are routinely driving modern cars on modern roads with Neanderthal driving skills at 140 kmph. The concept of maintaining a safety bubble around you, knowledge about braking distance (3 second rule - double this n wet conditions), situational awareness (continuously scanning rear view mirrors), anticipating traffic conditions is non existent because firstly the driver training & then the enforcement is poor.

Blind spot check over the shoulder, what are you talking about? I have very good car and rear view mirror shows everything. You can check for yourself. See. No blind spot vindspot Anyway, my nose is in front so I can change 3 lanes in less than a metre, people behind are at fault if they slam into me.

If all argument fails, then the fall back is "I have a Benz, Skoda, VW etc) its a very safe car" so I am safe. I even had an IA Armoured Regt. tank commander who was driving me in his car say ' Yaar, I am a T72 Tank commander, yeh car kya cheez hai, I know how to drive".

Belief in one's own driving ability beggars belief.

Driver training teaches use of horn to deafen and use of headlights to blind others.

There is a popular myth that used to go around and still does that An indian who drives in Indian conditions can drive anywhere in the world. Wrong.

S/he better not drive anywhere else in the world (save a few countries) unless s/he has gone through an extensive learner driver program to unlearn existing skills and learn new ones.

I have seen innumerable Schumacher's (male and female) from desh who landed overseas and had tears in theirs eyes after failing to qualify the licence tests after numerous attempts with the refrain that s/he had been driving for so many years in India so they sort of have an entitlement to a licence.

They have to be gently reminded that a driving licence is a privilege not a right (and their high and mighty connections from desh don't work here) and even if you don't value your life (having given it to fate and destiny after having the palm read by a reputable astrologer or having had a divine vision that you will live a rewarding life of 100 years) you must care for others on the road who do not have such divine and astrological protection and not just for your own family and relatives. Painful to see but they do come around.

The Hindu Coimbatore edition of 2 days ago had a news item where cases of drunken driving have decreased dramatically after penalty for the offence was increased to a stint in jail. Since this is working, the same penalty should be applied for jumping red lights and driving on the wrong side of the road. It would be a good beginning.

Enforcement must always be able to produce an environment of compliance consistently. You can't just achieve an environment that produces compliance for a point in time (safety awareness week for example) and then forget about it. You've got to be able to do it again and again forever. Self regulation does not work. (Note: Exceptions may apply.E.& O.E) Khan banks taught us this lesson clearly.

After all, in the words of the one and only Mr. Jaffery, ghost of the kicks not listening to the talks

Overheard some people talking, one of them was giving chaiwallah news that Car companies are planning to increase their prices heavily within 10 days.

Any truth in it?

bhy phor ingrezisation of this phamous muhawra

Saw the programme "Mega Factories: Tata Nano". Nicely done about the development and production line.

The showed that the two cylinders of the engine work "in-phase", ie both get to the DC at the same instant. Why is it so? That is like a bigger single cylinder engine, right? I thought they should be 180 degree apart!! Does anyone have any idea?

^^ interesting information. This probably explains the common complaint that it sounds like an auto than a car.

Most likely a cost cutting move. Since the pistons move together, they need single fuel injection system and a single ignition system. Possibly simpler crankshaft design. Tradeoff is vibration and odd engine noise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight-two_engine

bus drivers in cities are a stressed lot. They have to make their times no matter what. I usually let them cut in by slowing down, even if I am abreast. Already lost one side mirror

rahulm - even I failed my first test and this is after more than a lakh kms here. But it was a breeze driving in the UK where a lot of my massa white colleagues could not drive (they have mostly stick shift and the roundabouts and 'wrong side' of the road lol).

Well, the Nano has a balance shaft precisely for that. The Nano's engine is actually pretty smooth, if you have driven it, you will immediately know it. In fact smoother than the 3 cylinder 800 derivatives found in the Alto etc and better than the 3 cylinder in the Hyundai Eon I think.

My neighbour's nano was quiet initially on but sounds like a 80's tempo now.

I did hear generally positive reviews about nano except for the odd engine noise. Driving a nano is on the to-do list; lets see if I get a chance in the next few days when I will be in desh.

I have been on a alto k10 3 cylinder; it is a gem of an engine.

The 3 cylinder K10 derivatives (the K10 on Swift/Ritz are 4 cylinder) on the Alto and A-Star are okay. The 4 cylinder ones are great. Notice, the K10 series has a design, where the crank and the cylinder bore are "offset" . The other engine that uses such an offset cylinder bore is the Honda Unicorn's engine.

The 3 cylinder derived from the Original Maruti 800 engine (with MPFI , EGR etc added) is what I was referring to. The Nano's engine is far smoother than that one. Not to mention, that original 800 engine had a crappy gearbox. The Nano's gearbox is slick.

Nissan Duster -- An SUV in India without 7 seats is like a suggestion box in Tiananmen Square.

exciting times in already a top notch 2 wheeler industry.

BMW to link up with TVS via its Husqvarna brand?
http://www.zigwheels.com/news-features/ ... nd/13506/1




From wiki..

In July 2007, Husqvarna motorcycles was purchased by BMW for a reported 93 million euros. BMW Motorrad plans to continue operating Husqvarna Motorcycles as a separate enterprise. All development, sales and production activities, as well as the current workforce, have remained in place at its present location at Varese, in Italy.[1] BMW intends to position Husqvarna as "the two-wheeled version of what Mini is to the BMW's car division".[2]

Looks like TVS lost an opportunity to invest in KTM and Husk. This tie-up will be interesting

So I read that diesel motorcycles are next. Expect to see Gov placing a huge tax on that as well.

that will be a hard one to make and sell. Because diesels are self combusted by increasing pressure inside the chamber (which increases heat to self-combustion point) - it needs thicker walls to withstand such pressure, which increases weight. It does not really get you much better performance if you look at all parameters and compare it to the cost of parts and maintenance against the benefit of subsidized fuel. There was a diesel bullet and I have ridden those, not something I will buy for self and it is a withdrawn product in the market.

Until recently 5-7 years making Diesel engines for even small cars like 1300CC was difficult, now we have the one for Diesel Beat, hell you make a TATA ACE 16-18 HP engine with a Bullet Type Chasiss or an APE auto engine on it could be quiet a hit.

Cars have dampeners, flywheels etc to help. It will harder to put such vibration controllers in bikes. And diesels typically accelerate slower (modern diesel cars all come with turbo chargers to boost acceleration)..so driving in city would be a pain. I am still skeptical of seeing mass market diesel bikes.

Legal tangle? M&M scraps plans to sell pickup trucks in US

This is pretty sad news though not entirely unexpected. I wonder what the dealers will now do given that many of them were betting their fortunes on these pickups doing well given Mahindra's established name in the tractor market and the claims of 28 MPG (which fizzled down to 24 when it was tested in the US). It was a moment of joy when Mahindra claimed to enter the US market because it was seen as winning of the race between China and India in who would enter the market first with a competitive product.

the article says the development costs for the pickup was 100 million $, which is like 500 crores at 50 rupees a dollar. The vehicle comes off from the scorpio platform and I assume the bulk of the costs would have been in coming up with the safety tech to meet US market demands. But what explains 100 million dollars for this and the other modifications given that it costs some 400-500 crores to come up with an altogether new product from scratch for an Indian firm?

Folks a friend needs advice on whether it is worth it paying extra for Quadrajet engine in TATA Vista?

He wants to chose between:

1. Tata Vista LX TDI BS-III
[Non Quadrajet Engine, 4 Cylinder Turbo Intercooled, 1405cc, Power (PS@rpm) 71PS @4500rpm, Torque (Nm@rpm) 135Nm @2500rpm

2. Tata Indica Vista LX Quadrajet
[4 Cylinder, Comon Rail SDE, 1248cc, Power (PS@rpm) 75PS @4000rpm,
Torque (Nm@rpm) 190Nm @1750rpm

The price difference is around 45 thousand rupees.

High Torque at Low RPM. Well Well Worth it!

Whats the most reliable, cheap to run, cheap to maintain, and fun to drive small car available in India, today?

thanks.

i10, i20 and Honda Brio would Fit your requirements.

http://mahindraxuv500.com/product/pdf/X ... RE_PDF.pdf

I like the spec.. 140bhp at 12L, and hopefully they can put on auto trans or variable transmission pack.

Project Destroy Maruti - by Beijing's coolie army in India enters Phase II - more violence in Maruti, one dead., officials assaulted and seriously injured..

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 034588.cms

The workers should not listen to rapist goon traitors who have interest in this country's economy or future.

IIRC it was around 2008-9 there was a news that Bharat had exported 2.65 lakh cars becoming bigger exporter of cars than china. So china starts hitting us with reds........

Maruti's Gujarat plant couldn't come sooner.

One online source reported that the Union is alleging that one manager made a 'casteist remark' to an employee.

Anyone knows any set timeline for getting an Auto Trans version of the Mahindra XUV500 ? Is it going to happen within the next two years or will the wait be much longer.

Maruti's Gujarat plant couldn't come sooner? NaMo has plans to shift all Maruti operations to Gujarat. His motto appears to be "someone's loss Gujarat's gain"

After Tata Nano, Narendra Modi to convince Suzuki bosses to shift Maruti operations to Gujarat

The way union situation is evolving in Gurgaon in MS Plant, I would not be surprised to see MS shifting lock stock and barrel to Gujarat. And any such move will spell disaster to local economy...lot of SMEs and households run because of the multiplier effect of MS. While Rajasthan next door is pushing out on all cylinders to attract industries (and is successful too), Haryana politicians seem to think that real estate will solve all their problems.

The level of industrialization existing and planned in areas of Rajasthan close to NCR is phenomenal with areas like Neemrana and Bhiwadi emerging as center of industrial activity. And this is all set to grow in future.

And that will put all speculations of NaMo not winning next state election to rest. BTW, if I am correct Bhiwandi has many powerlooms supplying textiles.

Not sure if its just co-incidence or he planned trip to Japan after this incident. If he did it after reading all this new then he is real chaankya. In any case the event is enough to tarnish any reputation left especially among auto makers.

^^^bhiwandi is in Maharashtra while Bhiwadi I referred to is in Rajasthan..right on the border with Haryana. Bhiwadi-Tapukhara-Khuskhera (BTK) is a huge industrial complex and Rajasthan has just about added another 8,000 acres of land for industrial usage in this area.

I think Maruti should move to TN and will be at home among all the other Japanese and Korean automakers there. No need for any "imported" labor/shaber like in Gujarat. TN has ample highly skilled labor and infra and a solid engineering and ancillary base going back at least 50 years.

Come to TN. Amma will give Maruti a lot of love.