> --- Valmiki Faleiro wrote:
>
> > The bus suddenly gained speed and from the manner it went, it
> > was clear that something was amiss. Brakes had failed. The
> > fully loaded bus hurtled wildly. Passengers screamed. The driver
> > somehow managed every curve, avoiding vehicles down the way.
> > Finally, at the foot of the slope and its 90-degree right turn,
> > he careered the monster straight ahead, off the road, halting
> > against a tree. Every passenger rushed out, unhurt. The gallant
> > driver died, unsung, his boots on.
>
--- Gabriel de Figueiredo wrote:
>
> Touching on mechanical failures. One major mechanical failure that
> used to occasionally happen then (don't know about now), is the
> diesel engine overrun, when oil gets sucked past the piston rings,
> the revs rise rapidly without the accelerator being pressed, and
> usually ends in the "death" of the engine by blowing it to bits.
> This usually happens if there is too much oil in the crankcase.
>
Mario responds:
>
Gabriel and Valmiki,
>
Valmiki, wow, what a story about the gallant bus
driver! He probably died with his slippers on,
though. Indian bus drivers are the best drivers in
the world, for my money. Imagine wrestling those
monster buses through India's chaotic traffic, day in
and day out.
>
As I said in another post, Goa is not for the
fastidious and faint of heart. It is full of
dangerous hazards that are best left to the locals and
a few crazy expatriates like me to deal with,
especially when going from point A to point B.
>
I have been fortunate enough never to be around an
exploding diesel engine, even though I used to build
the darn things for Telco. Perhaps the message is to
stay away from old diesel buses and drive your own
car.
>
Also, regarding the title of this post, do "ROADS"
kill people, or do crazy car drivers, bike and
motorcycle riders and careless pedestrians kill
people? I always thought it was the latter, since I
consider it kind of silly to blame the road. Besides,
I always believed that the driver, seeing the
condition of the road, as well as his equipment,
should drive accordingly, whatever it takes.
>
I rented a car this year, right hand drive, stick
shift, believe it or not for Rs. 400 a day, and drove
it myself, all around Goa, from Siolim in the north to
Palolem in the south, and in and out of Panjim and
Margao. Even visited Vivian in his magnificent
hillside estate in the wilds of pristine Maina in
Succor. My biggest problem was unmarked roads, which
we handled by asking the locals for directions. A
total stranger turned out to be a cousin I had never
met, since my Grandmother is from Maina. Such fun
stuff can only happen in Goa.
I know we namby pamby NRI's who normally drive left
hand drive automatics on the wrong side of the road
are supposed to be intimidated by Indian conditions,
but I figure, if the locals can do it, someone who
lives in a superpower certainly should be able to.
What the heck, as a builder of equipment I haven't see
any equipment yet that I can't operate, and I used to
be one of the craziest of the crazy Indian drivers in
the old days. All that craziness is as close as the
cyber-files in my sub-conscious. Just have to focus
for a second, and bring it right out. After the first
car cuts me off, I'm home again. Everyone else, watch
out.
Remember, there's only ONE rule on the roads in India:
DON'T HIT ANYTHING! Anything else goes.
