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The Indian Transport Ministry estimates that the number of fatalities from road accidents could climb 50% to 150,000 a year by 2015 due to the rapid growth of vehicle ownership in the country. The World Bank estimates that at current levels (100,000 per year), India’s mortality rate is 14 for every 10,000 vehicles — seven times that of the developed world. Annual passenger vehicle sales in India are expected to reach two million units by 2010, double the current number, largely thanks to the massive increase in the number of affordable vehicles. The Tata Nano — at $2,500, the world’s cheapest new car — will make up a quarter of that increase alone; 250,000 of them will be built per year. galleryPost('TataNano', 3, 'Tata Nano'); Lax safety and licensing standards and an insufficient infrastructure, combined with heavy and varied traffic (cars share the roads with trucks, rickshaws, motorcycles, mopeds, animals, pedestrians, vendors, carts and bicyclists) are largely...
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And the parade of wrecked Lamborghini LP640s continues as we peek in on a crash that happened in England between the ragin' bull and a now FUBAR'd Yamaha XJR1300. Without more detail there's no way to tell who was really at fault here or to know the condition of the motorcycle driver, but we do know that's going to be a hefty bill for the repairs on the Lambo. Looks like every panel on the right side is buggered in some way and that front left wheel seems to indicate its suspension is much worse for the wear. We'd advocate a "Save the LP640's" t-shirt, but it just doesn't roll off the tongue as well, and we're apathetic about the fate of a footballer's car anyway. galleryPost('lp640bikewreck', 6, 'That Has Got To Sting'); [ Autoblog.nl via Autogespot ]
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We're not sure exactly what series of events led to the remains of the Bentley Continental GT you see here, but it was probably the most excitement this piece of prime real estate in Krasnoyarsk, Russia has ever seen. We sometimes shed a tear when we see a mangled supercar, but for this Continential, not so much. Think about it: This was never a proper Bentley in the slab-sided, blower-equipped V8, rear-wheel-drive sense. No, the Continental GT has always been more of a new-money playboy's car, and as such, they should be expected to be crashed spectacularly much to the amusement of others. It's the circle of life... or something like that. So, to whomever ran this high-dollar motorcar into the Russian countryside, job well done. galleryPost('bentbentley', 3, 'Bent Bentley'); [via englishrussia ]
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With a Twilight Zone -like eeriness, these photos show a compilation of accidents, all happening at one particular intersection in Russia. As with the Bermuda Triangle, there's no definitive reason why the spot has attracted so much chaos; in fact, every municipality probably has an intersection or two with a similar appetite for accidents. But rarely do you find one documented so...thoroughly. galleryPost('russiaanomaly', 6, 'The Russia Triangle'); [via englishrussia ]
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Apparently, the law of equivalent exchange is alive and well, for just as one Ferrari Enzo is rebuilt , an Audi R8 is destroyed... or at least it's really, really waterlogged. These pictures come from the Netherlands, where the straight, flat, canal-lined roads ultimately proved too challenging for the guy test driving this particular R8. That's right, the guy who boogered this one up was testing the car and lost control while driving at speeds up to an alleged 125 MPH. Dutch law calls this a total loss, so we're thinking this is the perfect time to dream up a more gonzo use for the 420 HP, 4.2-liter V8 at the heart of this beast. Now if only someone will get Wert to stop crying . galleryPost('wetaudir8', 6, 'Save The R8s'); [ AutoJunk.nl via Carscoop ]
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newVideoPlayer("/Semi-Truck-Smash.flv", 494, 371,""); You have to wonder, at what point during this brief clip does the driver of the semi think, "This is a bad idea?" Is it before or after the railroad crossing gates close around him; before or after he tries to back his way out; before or after he tries to cross in front of a speeding train? Whatever the unknowable answer to that question is, the more amusing one is how long did it take him to clean his shorts out when it was all over? [ YouTube ]
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In a sad follow-up to a story we brought you during our 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise coverage, the Ford GT-powered Ford Five Hundred built by Washtenaw Community College students was involved in an accident returning home from the Saturday event. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but newspaper reports of the incident state that the trailer containing the Five Hundred and a motorcycle swerved out of control and flipped, requiring both vehicles to be "cut from the trailer." To WCC and the entire automotive community, we mourn your loss today. Perhaps a GT500KR-powered Focus project would make you feel better. [ MLive ; Thanks, Mike the Dog ]
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Indian Autos Blog , the lovers of all things automotive on the subcontinent, claim the smash-up of this Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 was the most expensive car crash in India's history. Whether or not that's true isn't really clear, but we're more interested in determining the "why." Perhaps the driver was just trying to imitate Bruce Wayne's intentional bull bashing. Then again, maybe he just lost control due to the bright yellow paint's magnetic traits. ( Hat tip to Raja! ) galleryPost('indialambocrash', 4, 'Mumbai Mayhem'); [ VKmag via Indian Autos Blog ]
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newVideoPlayer("/Gumball3000_Jackknife_476.flv", 506, 423,""); Is the mere sight of a bunch of Italian supercars sufficient to turn a once-orderly California freeway into a maelstrom of destruction? That was the SigAlert report on a jackknifed SUV/trailer combo on I-5 in Orange County yesterday. However, the video above taken from the in-car dash-cam of one of the Gumballers may prove otherwise. ( Hat tip to Alex ! ) [ Team Polizei ]
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An inquest into the death of Welsh gym owner Gerald Mellin has found the businessman decapitated himself in his Aston Martin DB7 after an argument with his estranged wife. According to the court, Mellin tied one end of a rope to a tree, climbed into his DB7 and wrapped the other end around his neck. Mellin then jammed the pedal down on the $173,000 car, driving into a busy main road, forcing other drivers to watch his horrific death. Police found his headless body still in the driving seat and his head on the back seat. But what caused Millen to kill himself with such heinous vehicular methodology? Well, according to Mrs Mellin: "We had split up and been to court. He wanted me to walk away from the farmhouse and the business and leave me with nothing...so we met in a pub after a court hearing and he started having a tantrum. As we made our way back to our cars he opened the boot and said: "There's my rope, that's what I'm going to kill myself with." I told him...
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Potential idiot parents take note — the 2008 BMW M3 is a finely crafted, high-performance, German-engineered rocket sled. It is not a present to buy for your LA-area 19-year-old. When parents like you buy cars like M3s for your kids, things like this happen — they pile a couple of guys in the car, then take it out for high-speed foolishness. At the peak of teenage testosterone, they will hit the "M button," rocket up a hill, lose control, jump a curb and bash into a house. galleryPost('sidewaysbmw', 3, 'Teeny Basher Wrecks BMW M3'); You do not have to one-up your idiot neighbors. In fact, do not buy your son a car at all. If you do, buy him a clapped-out 80's-era Volvo. We know you think your son deserves all the best, but he also doesn't deserve to turn into that idiot teen who gets ridiculed on the internet for crashing expensive BMW's into peoples houses — or for ramping off the end of a runway berm , killing everyone in the car...
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Top Gear Magazine was recently having some fun on the Isle of Man with a Nissan GT-R , but the playtime ended unexpectedly when the driver of the GT-R slammed on the brakes. That would be fine in any normal car, but Godzilla came to a halt so abruptly that the Audi R8 behind it just couldn't stop quickly enough. [ GT-R Blog ]
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Details are sketchy, but sometime during the morning of July 15th, a 22-year-old male in a Mercedes McLaren SLR lost control of the vehicle and died in the resulting catastrophic crash. The massive debris field scattered across the Qatari desert suggests the car was traveling at very high speed, rendering any amount of carbon-fiber protection useless. ( Also, we'd like to point out while we do not believe SLR Guy was to blame for the destruction of this particular SLR, without more information we're unable to further speculate. — Ed. ) galleryPost('slraccident', 6, 'Deadly McLaren SLR Accident'); ( Hat tip to Jason! ) [ LamboPower via Cardomain ]
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newVideoPlayer("/hoodclingrage.flv", 494, 400,""); This video shows a cyclist clinging to the hood of a car, allegedly driven by a man later charged with kidnapping, second-degree attempted assault, driving under the influence of intoxicants, third-degree criminal mischief and reckless driving in connection with the incident. According to the story, the cyclist yelled "slow down!" after which the driver went back to hit him. But is it real? Someone must have been really sharp with their camera-phone (which they evidently decided to hold with both hands) to grab this one. So, what do you think really happened here? [via KATU ] Hat tip to blankfocus !
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Ely 'Lucky' Grills, a Brisbane-area koala, came face to face with the grille of a Lexus at 62 MPH, and, aside from getting his head stuck in the grille, was no worse for wear after being removed by rescue workers. A passing motorist noticed the koala dangling limp from the front of the car and flagged down the driver, who had been unaware of Lucky's misfortune. We've never been to the home of hoonage, so we don't really know what Australia's roadside fatality rate on koalas looks like. But we assume it's a lot like armadillos in Texas and raccoons in Michigan — rare in the city, but not uncommon out in the sticks. Gail Gipp, manager of the Sunshine Coast's Australian Wildlife Hospital, said of the little marsupial, "He just shook his head and started to come around. Being hit at that speed, it is amazing he survived. He just clung on. He has a lovely placid, relaxed nature and I think that definitely helped him." Ely was taken to the Wildlife...
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