Let Adversity Be a Thing of the Past
The year 2022 has flown by as I write this editorial for the December issue of Car India. We started the year with a lot of uncertainty, not knowing when the pandemic would strike again and we would have to go back into a lockdown. Now the pandemic is behind us and we may start planning for the future.
The economy is improving but the high price of fuel continues to take a toll on the sales of entry-level cars. The high-end and luxury cars, on the other hand, are doing much better. The chip shortage situation is getting better as supply is improving and the waiting period for cars now is not as long as it was six months or a year ago.
Last month I drove down to Goa. I came across quite a few places on the Pune-Bengaluru highway between Pune and Kolhapur where the road shrinks from three lanes to two lanes without a warning, particularly where three lanes get split into two on the highway, one of them going on to a service road while approaching a bridge. One must keep a good distance from the vehicle in front and have a good line of vision to see what is happening from a distance. The secret to driving on the highway is to look way ahead and brake well in advance to avoid rear-ending if someone stops in front of you or getting pushed into a barrier.
We witnessed a 30-plus car and truck pile-up accident on the Pune bypass on the Bengaluru highway recently. Fortunately, there were no fatalities but quite a few people were seriously injured. The accident spot is on an acute descent where people tend to switch off their vehicles to save fuel. In doing so, there is no engine braking and the brakes get overheated and fail, which seems to be the main cause of such accidents.
EDITOR – ASPI BHATHENA
