Two Killed On Expressway

[vishkid]

On the other hand, unless you plan to reach the stars you would not even reach the tree tops!

Yeah, how many times we hv heard that? I do believe what is actionable is the best, it sucks to be a realist sometimes.

Vishkid you completely missed the Jeremy clarkson reference!

No .. I would never miss a Jezza reference. It's just that it doesn't really make sense - the effect is something after, the cause is something before. So .. you know.

[Sampath Gunasekera]

Hope my below post is not violating any forum rules.

Today I received an e-mail from one of my friends with some unedited photos and a message by a witness.

Just selected two photos and edited one and post them here with the e-mail content as we all are drivers/passengers/owners of vehicles.

(Other photos are not suitable to post even after editing)

-------------------------------------

Subject: Fatal Accident

Dear Friends

This is an unofficial mail to make you aware the result of our negligence.

Today morning I drove to Koggala to meet the Client and on my way to Colombo via high way the car which was moving 40 meters front of me went out of the road and hit the road side rail causing two deaths on the spot.

I passed the spot and stop my car 30 meters away and ran towards the place to help someone. I was shocked to see the incident live in front of my Ice. I saw three persons thrown away and driver was stuck with the seat belt. Within 3 minutes, too many vehicles stopped and all of them want to take a photograph and no one wanted to listen to me to pull the two person stuck inside. I managed to cut the seat belt with the help of the outsider who was looking at the seen beyond the parameter. He thrown the knife when requested and I cut the seat belt and pulled the drive who was survived.

Please understand that there will be no one to help you when you face the situation like this. I never wish this thing happen to even to my enemy.

One lady was struggling and died. Another person fell from the rear door and died. I shouted everyone to put people in my vehicle to take them to the hospital but no one responded. I could not do anything. After 15 minutes, the ambulance and rescue team arrived and they also have no much training how to handle the situation.

The Maruti car packed with five occupants met a fatal accident ever seen in my whole life.

Put seat belt to the rear occupants when you drive. Do not exceed 80 Km/hr if you love yourself and others. Do not over loaded the vehicle. When you drive with the driver please observe the movement of the driver. Do not sleep when you travel with the driver. Do not let them to exceed the speed limit.

No one will help you for anything happened when you travel along the high way. The culture had changed and the people have no guts and mind to help.

Still I am thinking.

Tyronne

Edited August 14, 2013 by Sampath Gunasekera

[Davy]

Saw this mail myself... too graphic to post the images on the forum.

On the other hand, while all of us have our focus on the two people killed on the expressway, statistics show that about 4 other people could have also died elsewhere in the country on the same day due to road accidents. And some people still treat as if the expressway is some death-trap that swallows up lives.

Edited August 14, 2013 by Davy

[Amila G]

Well there was another accident this morning between Galanigama and Kahathuduwa. A double cab had toppled - looked like a Nissan. From what I heard 4 are wounded and 2 are in critical condition.

[trinity]

Saw this mail myself... too graphic to post the images on the forum.

On the other hand, while all of us have our focus on the two people killed on the expressway, statistics show that about 4 other people could have also died elsewhere in the country on the same day due to road accidents. And some people still treat as if the expressway is some death-trap that swallows up lives.

True what you say machan... i believe expressway is far safe than the other roads which we have to travel on daily basis,,, no laylands and trucks coming to your face, no stupid ass pulsar boys and tuk tuks to overtake your from left side, no push bikes and stupid ass pedestrians who walk all over the road.... its just too much peace there in the expressway.

To have an accident there is pure ignorance.. most of our people do not maintain their vehicles right. did you see the tyres of the above alto.. worn out like hell.. i remember another fatal accident happened some time back in SEW involving a lancer CB8 also had bad tyres.. car was thrown outside of the road and broken in to two... Also driving at a high speed consecutively for a longer period of time is a new thing for us sri lankan drivers.. our average speed is around 50kmph.. so we are not experienced enough to be F1 drivers in a blink of an eye... and our cars are also not equipped to do so in most of the cases..

for example i never knew about wheel balancing and its effects untill i took a ride in E01... car never wobbled during my usual drives on Galle road.. its only after i shared my experience with Auto Lanka members i learnt about it. (Now i have new tyres, wheels are balanced and car does not wobble a bit when traveled at 100)

Our people think that cuz the speedo has 180, its OK to travel @ 180.. (I also was a fool enough to think like that before i came in to my senses)..

For regular cars like ours, best speed is around 80, does fuel well, easy to drive (no added stress), much safer..

Edited August 14, 2013 by trinity

[HardHat]

-------------------------------------

Subject: Fatal Accident

I passed the spot and stop my car 30 meters away and ran towards the place to help someone. I was shocked to see the incident live in front of my Ice. I saw three persons thrown away and driver was stuck with the seat belt. Within 3 minutes, too many vehicles stopped and all of them want to take a photograph and no one wanted to listen to me to pull the two person stuck inside. I managed to cut the seat belt with the help of the outsider who was looking at the seen beyond the parameter. He thrown the knife when requested and I cut the seat belt and pulled the drive who was survived.

One lady was struggling and died. Another person fell from the rear door and died. I shouted everyone to put people in my vehicle to take them to the hospital but no one responded. I could not do anything. After 15 minutes, the ambulance and rescue team arrived and they also have no much training how to handle the situation.

Tyronne

Highly admire the good and selfless intentions of this gentleman, however in a place like E01 where there is a chance of medical and rescue teams arriving within a relatively short time, it may be best not to move the injured, unless of course there is eminent danger to their lives - like car catching fire.

administering any first aid possible in situ, like making sure that their airways are clear, may be the thing to do as incorrect moving of an injured person may make things worse.

On the other hand, people flocking around only to take photograpghs of victims is despicable.

[Charith H Jayasinghe]

Highly admire the good and selfless intentions of this gentleman, however in a place like E01 where there is a chance of medical and rescue teams arriving within a relatively short time, it may be best not to move the injured, unless of course there is eminent danger to their lives - like car catching fire.

administering any first aid possible in situ, like making sure that their airways are clear, may be the thing to do as incorrect moving of an injured person may make things worse.

On the other hand, people flocking around only to take photograpghs of victims is despicable.

Agree with you HardHat.

Be careful in RTA. You might make their condition worse by dragging them out from where they stuck.

Hope this rescue team has those Spinal Boards, Cervical collars, airways etc... but according to sampaths mail it's also a doubt.

I think it's better all the riders have some idea of basic life support and handling of a spinal injury patient in an accident.

Edited August 14, 2013 by Charith H Jayasinghe

[HardHat]

A glaring design (or construction) fault of the Armco rail is visible in this photo - it appears that the railing abruptly starts with an upright pillar after a gap. This causes any vehicle which veers off course to meet with a head-on colission with the end of the rail.

Proper application at a gap (or start of the railing) would be to angle down the rail with its end buried into the ground, so that any impact with it would not be so severe.

The purpose of the guard rail is to deflect vehicles back on to the road - not act as a dead-stop. Looks like either the engineers who designed this or contractor who erected it missed the point.

[Rumesh88]

Our people think that cuz the speedo has 180, its OK to travel @ 180.. (I also was a fool enough to think like that before i came in to my senses)..

For regular cars like ours, best speed is around 80, does fuel well, easy to drive (no added stress), much safer..

100% agree with trinity.

There had been instances I had to drive below 80 because I encountered sheets of water (not just puddles) something like 1 inch thick and stretching out endlessly along E01 during the last rainy season. Hitting such a sheet of water in a light car at 100km is a good recipe for subjecting your car to aquaplaning (NOT skidding). When that happens you need not be in a bend, but even on a straight part you would be thrown off the track and your trusted ABS would be worthless. But I saw several cars much lighter than mine overtaking me enjoying their drive cutting through the water.

Edited August 14, 2013 by Rumesh88

[whmsujith]

Well there was another accident this morning between Galanigama and Kahathuduwa. A double cab had toppled - looked like a Nissan. From what I heard 4 are wounded and 2 are in critical condition.

When I was coming to Galle, I saw it like a Misubishi 4WD double cab, I couldn't even looked at it peoperly as corps did not allow me to even slow down. It was heading towards Kottawa.

Edited August 14, 2013 by whmsujith

[SpeedyAsA]

Hope my below post is not violating any forum rules.

Today I received an e-mail from one of my friends with some unedited photos and a message by a witness.

Just selected two photos and edited one and post them here with the e-mail content as we all are drivers/passengers/owners of vehicles.

(Other photos are not suitable to post even after editing)

-------------------------------------

Subject: Fatal Accident

Dear Friends

This is an unofficial mail to make you aware the result of our negligence.

Today morning I drove to Koggala to meet the Client and on my way to Colombo via high way the car which was moving 40 meters front of me went out of the road and hit the road side rail causing two deaths on the spot.

I passed the spot and stop my car 30 meters away and ran towards the place to help someone. I was shocked to see the incident live in front of my Ice. I saw three persons thrown away and driver was stuck with the seat belt. Within 3 minutes, too many vehicles stopped and all of them want to take a photograph and no one wanted to listen to me to pull the two person stuck inside. I managed to cut the seat belt with the help of the outsider who was looking at the seen beyond the parameter. He thrown the knife when requested and I cut the seat belt and pulled the drive who was survived.

Please understand that there will be no one to help you when you face the situation like this. I never wish this thing happen to even to my enemy.

One lady was struggling and died. Another person fell from the rear door and died. I shouted everyone to put people in my vehicle to take them to the hospital but no one responded. I could not do anything. After 15 minutes, the ambulance and rescue team arrived and they also have no much training how to handle the situation.

The Maruti car packed with five occupants met a fatal accident ever seen in my whole life.

Put seat belt to the rear occupants when you drive. Do not exceed 80 Km/hr if you love yourself and others. Do not over loaded the vehicle. When you drive with the driver please observe the movement of the driver. Do not sleep when you travel with the driver. Do not let them to exceed the speed limit.

No one will help you for anything happened when you travel along the high way. The culture had changed and the people have no guts and mind to help.

Still I am thinking.

Tyronne

True Sampath. It has become a trend now when any accident happens, rush to there & take some snaps rather than helping them. Specially with those high tech phones. So sad, where those people goes to...

[SpeedyAsA]

True what you say machan... i believe expressway is far safe than the other roads which we have to travel on daily basis,,, no laylands and trucks coming to your face, no stupid ass pulsar boys and tuk tuks to overtake your from left side, no push bikes and stupid ass pedestrians who walk all over the road.... its just too much peace there in the expressway.

To have an accident there is pure ignorance.. most of our people do not maintain their vehicles right. did you see the tyres of the above alto.. worn out like hell.. i remember another fatal accident happened some time back in SEW involving a lancer CB8 also had bad tyres.. car was thrown outside of the road and broken in to two... Also driving at a high speed consecutively for a longer period of time is a new thing for us sri lankan drivers.. our average speed is around 50kmph.. so we are not experienced enough to be F1 drivers in a blink of an eye... and our cars are also not equipped to do so in most of the cases..

for example i never knew about wheel balancing and its effects untill i took a ride in E01... car never wobbled during my usual drives on Galle road.. its only after i shared my experience with Auto Lanka members i learnt about it. (Now i have new tyres, wheels are balanced and car does not wobble a bit when traveled at 100)

Our people think that cuz the speedo has 180, its OK to travel @ 180.. (I also was a fool enough to think like that before i came in to my senses)..

For regular cars like ours, best speed is around 80, does fuel well, easy to drive (no added stress), much safer..

Very true machan. We should be well aware of what are the capabilities of our car & also ourselves. Having an odometer with 180 marked is not saying that you should try & achieve it...

[VVTi]

No one will help you for anything happened when you travel along the high way. The culture had changed and the people have no guts and mind to help.

Still I am thinking.

Tyronne

It is not a matter of guts. It is just teh legal system and the general un-couthness of your average Sri Lankan prevents you from helping. I for one will NOT help anyone lying bleeding or dying on the road. Period. I have had a very very bad experience helping a hit and run victim and after that I promised myself I will NEVER EVER help a fellow Sri Lankan who has met with an accident on the road.

Your average road user is a ungrateful, opportunistic, greedy bastard. I will take my own chances if I ever face such a situation myself. But I will not help anyone. It took me 3 months and a lot of visits to cops and lawyers to get myself out of that situ.

No need to put Marmite on your butt... so to speak... Just watch and say Aneyyy... maara wadey and keep driving. Safer on the long run, for you and your family. Helping strangers in Sri Lanka is asking for trouble.

Edited August 16, 2013 by VVTi

[nano31]

Tire with worn out threads (almost bald) has minimal risk (not no risk) of slippage on DRY surface. Thread pattern mostly help to repel water from wet surface and improve cornering!

This does NOT mean bald tires are safe even if the road is dry (still road could have patches of oil/water,tire could burst or reduces cornering ability)

[nano31]

It is not a matter of guts. It is just teh legal system and the general un-couthness of your average Sri Lankan prevents you from helping. I for one will NOT help anyone lying bleeding or dying on the road. Period. I have had a very very bad experience helping a hit and run victim and after that I promised myself I will NEVER EVER help a fellow Sri Lankan who has met with an accident on the road.

Your average road user is a ungrateful, opportunistic, greedy bastard. I will take my own chances if I ever face such a situation myself. But I will not help anyone. It took me 3 months and a lot of visits to cops and lawyers to get myself out of that situ.

No need to put Marmite on your butt... so to speak... Just watch and say Aneyyy... maara wadey and keep driving. Safer on the long run, for you and your family. Helping strangers in Sri Lanka is asking for trouble.

Very true!!!!

[The Don]

I think the key thing here is keep to the speed limit (particularly if you are driving a small car), drive within your limits, take a break if you are tired and most importantly WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS!

They have saved more lives than more than any other safety devide since fitted to vehicles. So primitive but its all that stands between you and death sometimes in an accident. And without seat belts even airbags are not very effective.

Must have been quite a harrowing experience for that gentleman who witnessed the accident and tried to help. I feel sorry for him and also the families of the affected individuals.

[newone]

It is not a matter of guts. It is just teh legal system and the general un-couthness of your average Sri Lankan prevents you from helping. I for one will NOT help anyone lying bleeding or dying on the road. Period. I have had a very very bad experience helping a hit and run victim and after that I promised myself I will NEVER EVER help a fellow Sri Lankan who has met with an accident on the road.

Your average road user is a ungrateful, opportunistic, greedy bastard. I will take my own chances if I ever face such a situation myself. But I will not help anyone. It took me 3 months and a lot of visits to cops and lawyers to get myself out of that situ.

No need to put Marmite on your butt... so to speak... Just watch and say Aneyyy... maara wadey and keep driving. Safer on the long run, for you and your family. Helping strangers in Sri Lanka is asking for trouble.

This is the real story. Other wise you will face " wandinna giya dewale ihe kadan watuna" situation.

[Rumesh88]

It is not a matter of guts. It is just teh legal system and the general un-couthness of your average Sri Lankan prevents you from helping. I for one will NOT help anyone lying bleeding or dying on the road. Period. I have had a very very bad experience helping a hit and run victim and after that I promised myself I will NEVER EVER help a fellow Sri Lankan who has met with an accident on the road.

Your average road user is a ungrateful, opportunistic, greedy bastard. I will take my own chances if I ever face such a situation myself. But I will not help anyone. It took me 3 months and a lot of visits to cops and lawyers to get myself out of that situ.

No need to put Marmite on your butt... so to speak... Just watch and say Aneyyy... maara wadey and keep driving. Safer on the long run, for you and your family. Helping strangers in Sri Lanka is asking for trouble.

Well said VVTi. Not only the average road user that fits into your description but the other two parties whom you had to closely deal with in your ordeal could not have been much different (Unless they were your friends of course).

[Komisiripala]

I've seen so many cases where the Good Samaritan got raped while working in the accident service. And VVTi's story, I've heard the full account, is quite frightening!

[HardHat]

And without seat belts even airbags are not very effective.

Agree. Aparently air bags can sometimes be quite harmful to the occupants who are not wearing seat belts.

That's why they are called SRS - Supplemental Restraint System - primary restratint is always seat belts.