Gayatri Joshi accident: 5 lessons to learn from horror Lamborghini-Ferrari crash

The extremely unfortunate incident involving a Lamborghini, a Ferrari and a recreational vehicle (RV) has become a major talking point the world over for multiple reasons. Captured on cam, the incident led to the death of an elderly Swiss couple and also involved noted Bollywood actress Gayatri Joshi and her husband Vikas Oberoi.

The incident took place in the Italian island of Sardinia where local reports suggest a number of supercars were part of a convoy tour. In a video of the entire incident that has now gone viral on social media, a Ferrari F8 Tributo and a Ferrari Roma overtake a vehicle whose occupants were filming the cars. Both the Ferraris then line up behind a slow-moving RV. Soon after, a White and a Blue Laborghini Huracan too overtake the point-of-view vehicle and slot themselves behind the Ferraris. But while the two Ferraris and the White Huracan eventually manage to overtake the RV, the Blue Huracan had to wait a bit longer. It was in this supercar that Joshi and her husband were reportedly in.

Just as the Lamborghini began to make its move to overtake the RV, a third Ferrari - a California comes rushing in from behind to overtake both the Lamborghini and the RV in one sweeping move. It does not happen and the two supercars collide. The Huracan collides with the RV, seding it airborne for a few moments, while the California reportedly flipped and caught fire. The elderly couple in the car died.

Unfortunate and tragic as the entire incident is, there are some very important lessons to be learnt from it for motorists anywhere in the world. Here are the key points:

• A continuous painted line in the middle of the road means no overtaking. Every single supercar in the video above is guilty of flouting this rule/driving etiquette. Overtaking is allowed only on stretches of roads where there are dotted line indicators in the middle.
• This was a narrow stretch of two-way road with no divider in the middle. It is clear from the video that the supercars were driving rashly. The case of the Blue Lamborghini Huracan, in particular, is stark because at one point, it narrowly misses a two-wheeler coming in from the opposite direction. It is extremely important to know the right time - and judge the space - to overtake a vehicle ahead. The distance to the incoming traffic and its speed needs to be ascertained for sure before overtaking.
• The Red Ferrari California rushes forward on the incoming lane which is anyway risky and illegal in most countries. Again, this is especially so because of the solid marker in the middle. From the video - pause to check at 37-seconds' mark , it is also clear that the Huracan had already started crossing the middle marker and the Ferrari driver should have acknowledged the intentions and braked.
• The Huracan driver may be equally at fault because he ought to have checked his left side mirror before trying to maneuver around the van. It may be that he was preoccupied with checking incoming traffic but left back check could have averted the eventual crash.
• A conventional car or an RV has as much right on a road as a supercar does. While it is not known if this particular stretch has a maximum or minimum speed limit, a bit of patience from the supercar drivers could have had this experience end on a different and much more pleasant way.

The power of hindsight is that it offers key lessons. The entire accident is under investigation by local cops in Italy and the minutest of details are not yet known. That said, the above lessons could still go a long way in ensuring road safety - in Italy, India or anywhere else in the world.