The Mumbai -Pune Expressway and its predecessor NH4 have always been a favorite of mine. From my days in SAIL, when as Assistant Personnel Officer I had to look after HR (oops then IR!) for Pune Branch, driving down to Pune was always an enjoyable trip.
And so the drive last week from Pune to Mumbai on the Express way had me settling into my seat with the seat belt strapped and staring wistfully out of the window as the car mounted the expressway. As we trundled along the straight stretch I glanced at the development taking place along the way, somewhat nostalgically remembering the terrain as it used to be before. As we approached the Kamshet bogda, I recalled having sighted a Black Necked Stork circling high over that spot. It was that time of year , first rains, smell of dry soil receiving its first gift of moisture after the dry summer. the roads were were wet and the leaves looked freshly laundered.
Entering the tunnel at 80 km/h, i noticed the driver slowing down and more vehicles ahead than warranted by the time of day / day of week and general traffic around us that day. as usual the drivers had their emergency lights on. (Inexplicably, all drivers seem to believe that switching on emergency lights in the tunnel is almost a "religious requirement"!!) This made it almost impossible to figure out if the brake lights were on or not? what speed are they traveling at ? have they halted in the tunnel?
The driver slowed down to a crawl and stopped about 30 meters from the vehicles slowing and stopping in front, as we approached what now seemed to be a a bunch of vehicles which had halted mid way down the tunnel covering all lanes.
Then it started - a series of "Dham - Dhaam - Dhaam" high decibel sounds reverberating in the closed space of the tunnel apparently from in front of us! clearly some one had slammed into the vehicle in front of them and caused a sequential pile up ahead !! We were at this time bang in the middle of the mile long tunnel. I asked the driver if he could see the vehicle flow behind us. He muttered that he could and his eyes were glued to the rearview mirror. I felt him ease into gear and start moving forward in the gap between us and the vehicles in front. As he did that, suddenly the same kind of "Dham - Dhaam - Dhaam" sounds but terrifying louder and closer - started from behind us and coming dangerously close in rapid sequence! I saw a Maruti slide sideways past my window on our left with a loud bang and sound of splintering glass and come to a halt a few yards away, nestling against the rear bumper of a vehicle in front. We had not been even touched. Another vehicle screeched to halt behind us.
The sounds stopped and for a moment there was erie silence till the shouts of people and cars came back into my ken. Intriguingly, the vehicles in front started moving from the right and soon we were going past 20 odd cars lined up along both sides of the tunnel. as we emerged at the exit of the tunnel there were 4 or 5 tow trucks pulling out vehicles from the tunnel and even more interestingly - about 20 odd cars lined up along the side of the road outside the tunnel with bonnet / bumper "injuries" typical of a multi car pile up. clearly there had been at least one pile up before we entered the tunnel, followed by another one in front of us while we were in the tunnel and third behind us!!
And so the Highway Driving Safety Assumptions questions hit me!
And so the drive last week from Pune to Mumbai on the Express way had me settling into my seat with the seat belt strapped and staring wistfully out of the window as the car mounted the expressway. As we trundled along the straight stretch I glanced at the development taking place along the way, somewhat nostalgically remembering the terrain as it used to be before. As we approached the Kamshet bogda, I recalled having sighted a Black Necked Stork circling high over that spot. It was that time of year , first rains, smell of dry soil receiving its first gift of moisture after the dry summer. the roads were were wet and the leaves looked freshly laundered.
Entering the tunnel at 80 km/h, i noticed the driver slowing down and more vehicles ahead than warranted by the time of day / day of week and general traffic around us that day. as usual the drivers had their emergency lights on. (Inexplicably, all drivers seem to believe that switching on emergency lights in the tunnel is almost a "religious requirement"!!) This made it almost impossible to figure out if the brake lights were on or not? what speed are they traveling at ? have they halted in the tunnel?
The driver slowed down to a crawl and stopped about 30 meters from the vehicles slowing and stopping in front, as we approached what now seemed to be a a bunch of vehicles which had halted mid way down the tunnel covering all lanes.
Then it started - a series of "Dham - Dhaam - Dhaam" high decibel sounds reverberating in the closed space of the tunnel apparently from in front of us! clearly some one had slammed into the vehicle in front of them and caused a sequential pile up ahead !! We were at this time bang in the middle of the mile long tunnel. I asked the driver if he could see the vehicle flow behind us. He muttered that he could and his eyes were glued to the rearview mirror. I felt him ease into gear and start moving forward in the gap between us and the vehicles in front. As he did that, suddenly the same kind of "Dham - Dhaam - Dhaam" sounds but terrifying louder and closer - started from behind us and coming dangerously close in rapid sequence! I saw a Maruti slide sideways past my window on our left with a loud bang and sound of splintering glass and come to a halt a few yards away, nestling against the rear bumper of a vehicle in front. We had not been even touched. Another vehicle screeched to halt behind us.
The sounds stopped and for a moment there was erie silence till the shouts of people and cars came back into my ken. Intriguingly, the vehicles in front started moving from the right and soon we were going past 20 odd cars lined up along both sides of the tunnel. as we emerged at the exit of the tunnel there were 4 or 5 tow trucks pulling out vehicles from the tunnel and even more interestingly - about 20 odd cars lined up along the side of the road outside the tunnel with bonnet / bumper "injuries" typical of a multi car pile up. clearly there had been at least one pile up before we entered the tunnel, followed by another one in front of us while we were in the tunnel and third behind us!!
And so the Highway Driving Safety Assumptions questions hit me!
- Good or dangerous practice to switch on emergency lights when in a tunnel (which by the way is lit up anyway!) ?
- Speed on a wet road ? especially like the Express way?
- The minimum distance between vehicles at different speeds on different surfaces?
- No way to indicate to vehicles entering the tunnel if there is a hazard inside the tunnel?
- What is the meaning of a "Driving License"?
- Can "drive" a vehicle ? as in knows the gears / steering, brakes and can control its forward etc movement?
- Knows and follows common sense safe driving? like climbing on the curb to get ahead of another vehicle that is line in the lane?
- Knows traffic rules and follows them ? like overtaking from the left or signaling before turning or lane change?
- Do we really have any "driving rules"?
- Standard protocols when an accident takes place? especially a multi-vehicle pile up ?
These were the reflections I had on the 8th of October 2015, and I have retained this Note to myself. Unedited and experienced and reflected on in the moment!
Wonder if i have learnt anything new in the near decade between that date and today? The potency to reflect on our experiences seems a powerful lever we may be missing ?
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