[SDP]

Originally Posted by noopster

I had no idea this many of our members were religious. Practically everyone has credited the divine being with Frontosa's miraculous escape.
....

Precisely what I was thinking. I couldn't have put it so well. Thanks.
Religion and faith is a tricky and sensitive topic. So stayed away from commenting about God's role.

Originally Posted by noopster

...
But spare a thought to the poor car that gave up its life- so to speak- to keep him safe. The structural strength of the Polo surely had a part to play in this story having a relatively happy ending?

Airbag deployment is not the be-all and end-all. A lot of things go into making cars "safe". While you should certainly get a satisfactory response from VW on why the airbags did not deploy in this instance, asking members to recommend a "safer car" is a little unfair, I think- considering the Polo did its job...

The Polo indeed seems to have done its part well. If at all, I would blame the Yokos.

[parsh]

Originally Posted by noopster

I had no idea this many of our members were religious. Practically everyone has credited the divine being with Frontosa's miraculous escape.

I am sure you meant it in the right spirits. I would say lets just respect and leave it to the faith of people expressing it and I say this myself being an atheist.

Originally Posted by noopster

But spare a thought to the poor car that gave up its life- so to speak- to keep him safe. The structural strength of the Polo surely had a part to play in this story having a relatively happy ending?

Originally Posted by SDP

The Polo indeed seems to have done its part well. If at all, I would blame the Yokos.

Absolutely. The Polo seems to have lived well to its strength in all the ordeal. As I said earlier and put the Yoko chart, the S-Drive Yokos could be to certain extent responsible for slippery performance aqua/hydro-planing, C-Drives could have worked better.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by noopster

But spare a thought to the poor car that gave up its life- so to speak- to keep him safe. The structural strength of the Polo surely had a part to play in this story having a relatively happy ending?

The car does look totally mangled to me. Incidentally the least deformed point is where the driver was sitting. Anybody present in the co passenger seat wouldn't have much chance. Considering this, i would think that the body shell/super structure is as good or as bad as any other modern car.

[funkykar]

@Guna: These were the exact thoughts that I got when I saw the pics! Its pure luck by chance that the driver seat area was not mangled. If any other occupants were in the car, they surely wouldnt have been lucky at all.

I presume that the crane did not do too much damage while fishing the car out

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by bblost

This sounds so much like the PIT maneuver used by Cops to bring a chase to an end.

The way to protect yourself is to accelerate away and not brake.

I may be wrong. Have never been in such a situation myself and this is bookish knowledge.

Exactly my thoughts when i read it. Here is my thesis:
- The rains played a part in reducing the friction on the road
- The truck did a PIT maneuver on you. Why? Maybe it was too fast (i have been cribbing about trucks being really fast for the past 6-7 years since I clocked a truck overtaking me when i was doing 95 on my pulsar!), saw you at the last moment. Probably you slowed down too fast and the truck couldn't brake/swerve in time. Or probably he was a complete moron. We will never know for sure.
- The braking was the almost-fatal mistake on your part. Braking by default is front-biased in our cars. The trucks nudge + more front pressure in a turn = car rear stepping out and thus going into an unrecoverable spin. Even then, I suspect accelerating could have saved you since it tends to "straighten" out the vehicle and gain back traction.

Of course, i can only say about your guardian angels being on your side, else such an accident normally does not leave survivors given the shape of your car.

If I were you and I were afraid of this, I would buy the Eeco (CNG?). Dead serious. oh, and I would spend a weekend at a car race school to learn some advanced driving techniques. or with some rallyists who can advise on such nuances.

[Tejas Ingle]

You had a narrow (read blade-thick narrow) escape. Congratulations for your new life. Surely, German engineering was insufficient without a Divine intervention to save your life.

Originally Posted by sumit_jain_usa

Mercedes Infomred that the driver & his co-passenger was not wearing seat belts which led to non-deployment of airbags.

Now i also have a query with the distinguised & senior guys & other members of the forum as well about this fact that if we dont wear a seat belt & we are travelling above 60/70/80 kmph will the Airbags deploy or will it not?

Thanks

Air bags are called SRS Air bags. SRS stands for SECONDARY RESTRAIN SYSTEM. Your primary restrain system is your seat-belt.
If you are not wearing the seat-belt and you are too close to air bag before they deploy, air bag itself can kill you due to the force of deployment. It gets fully inflated within a fraction of a second.
Hence it is necessary that you are wearing your seat-belts for the air bags to be deployed.
Also, the air bag won't deploy if there is no sufficiently bad frontal impact (for front air bags). Front airbags wont open however bad the side impact or a rear impact is. In high end cars there are systems which will deploy air bag only if the seat is occupied by an adult (sensors) as they can be harmful for kids.
There have also been instances where there was frontal impact on A pillar and the air bags did not deploy. In this case, it is a machine after all and not a personality. It calculates the extent of impact based on the signals from sensors. If the impact is only on A pillar, it bends easily and the sensors do not sense the impact or the jerk. So the air bags don't deploy.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by Frontosa

No they couldnt catch the truck as all cops at that place had assembled to save me, and I guess when I told them yesterday about the truck they came to know otherwise they had no clue.
Yes I was wearing seat belts.
Now regarding the tyres having uneven wear... I am not sure I understand looking at the pics. Are you saying the right side of the picture circled has better grip than the left side? Also the car had normal air not nitrogen this time and was at 32 PSI.. I checked before driving that day.

Who can confirm if the right and left fenders have airbag sensors? I know even airbags even after deploying could have gotten busted with this impact, but I'm just trying to analyze if this is something VW can check and whether I should pursue with them to check - whether its worth it, not for the past incident thats gone but if at all it helps make their cars more foolproof in turn benefiting a common man in future.

Also does the 5 star NCAP Euro crash rating help? I know this post Morten exercise is futile but I am considering a safer car for around 10 lacs, I thought of duster but it has only 3 star rating + its door dont shut with a thud. So lets see I will read about all that here on tbhp. But any quick suggestions are welcome And moreover I'm trying to learn more on how to buy safer cars and how to keep them more safer for e.g. by checking the threads of the uneven tyre wear out. So please keep your comments pouring in - It all helps me bring smile in this new 2nd life

Man, Frontosa, you have been through hell and back, I would suggest you live and drive carefully and give thanks to the almighty for saving your life. I cannot understand you talking about buying another car with even more safety features, especially in this thread. See, your VW's solid body (or whatever) did very little to save your life (looking at the pictures), what difference do you think spending more money is going to get you ? Even if you were a goat, you would have been cooked, probably God has other plans for your life, so think about it carefully and "listen to your inner voice".

[Frontosa]

Dear Friends, appreciate all your thoughts, including the part "what about the God in this modern age " Whatever one wants to call whether its just luck or whether only the drivers part of the car is less deformed compared to others, & if other co passengers if at all in that same car wouldnt have been so lucky etc. I've gone mentally through all these combinations myself. Infact I shudder to think what if I would have taken my family that day etc. (But I also think if there was any divine help it may have extended to them as well, even those parts may not have gotten so deformed -who knows)

Also whether other cars would have been better or not - and what would have happened if I was for e.g. in maruti etc. Who knows it would have been possible that even in a Wagon R toppling I would have been safe - but as you will all agree there is absolutely no way of predicting that outcome (unless ofcourse a camera had recorded and put in a simulation software). Here in this thread I'm neither trying to bring about a religious/Godly uproar wave nor am I boosting or trying to show off a German car. I'm only narrating the incident as is and trying to see all view points. So there is no bias anywhere.

Having said that, irrespective of the turn of events from the point the truck hit me, I was safe in the car I was driving and I clearly remember me praying to God the minute I was put in a spin. Hence the title of the thread was that way as part of my personal feeling So yes the Polo is crumbled like an amoeba, now whether other car would have crumbled so much or more or less is left for interpretation.

On my way back to Mumbai when I clicked these pics, we were all trying to push the metal on the car the B pillars etc with a lot of strength (not me but other friends & cousins) and it didnt budge on the car. (we were just trying to feel that stuff) Hence in my first post I mentioned the Polo build quality must have contributed atleast 10%.

Yea I understand its a little unfair to ask a safer car because this one for me, as Polo did its job - for this particular scenario. Ofcourse this scenario will never be repeated and considering the family and other things I thought of moving a segment up as I can afford for a slightly more safer car & a bigger car if at all - or atleast of the similar strength. If it doesnt I will stick with a new Polo.

Now this also shows that if I was overtly religious I shouldnt be bothered about car safety and safe driving norms and discuss technial matters on Team-BHP because God would protect me (haha)

P,S: The car is in BU Bhandari VW workshop, Pune and the insurance company is waiting repair estimates as part of the process although its a write off. I'm waiting for VW to give its formal report as they will carry out detailed inspection and have asked me for some more pics and scenario. I directed them to this thread on forum!

Some concluding points if I may say:

1. I should have accelerated rather than braking - so if there are any advanced driving courses near Mumbai please direct me, I would like to learn.

2. More careful in the rains (always room for improvement) & otherwise as well

3. Yoko S-drives or any performance tyres not to be used for more than 15K kms. (Atleast a threshold level for me) - do periodic checks.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by Frontosa

I'm waiting for VW to give its formal report as they will carry out detailed inspection and have asked me for some more pics and scenario. I directed them to this thread on forum!

That might work against you. Pics show almost bald tires and there is discussion around the same as well.

Can be used by Insurance company to prolong the case or to not pay whole IDV.

[Warwithwheels]

Quoting this from the ownership thread of POLO

Originally Posted by Frontosa

Now many will really call me a mad-man for paying 8 lacs OTR for a Hatch with 1.2 liter, 3 pot engine ? Correct? You could have gotten a fully loaded Ford, Hyundai, Fabia etc etc.....

Not anymore!

Premium feel inside, No nonsense design
Great ride quality and handling
Strong build, the music of the doors when they shut, the car assures that you are safe in
Stand out looks from outside
Ergonomically correct
Seating posture and leg room especially for front seats, well you know why back is not so imp
VW snob value maybe? Not sure , I don't feel anything about that

Glad that the POLO has lived upto your expectations! You just can't ask for more.

If I may suggest, do upgrade to a Vento/Jetta depending on your budget for the car. There can be no better choice IMO. Please keep us posted on your decision.

[funkykar]

Originally Posted by Frontosa

But any quick suggestions are welcome And moreover I'm trying to learn more on how to buy safer cars and how to keep them more safer for e.g. by checking the threads of the uneven tyre wear out. So please keep your comments pouring in - It all helps me bring smile in this new 2nd life

You may want to consider the Fiat Linea TJet+ or the MJD

Dont know the safety ratings and all, but its built like a VAULT!

I was too amazed when I saw this: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ml#post1422879

[honeybee]

Frontosa, touching upon a little-explored angle of the story: How did the highway police and the support crew learn of your accident? From your narration it appears that they arrived at the scene just as you extricated yourself from the car. Were they alerted by someone about the accident who saw it? Or were they watching it by some chance and rushed to the spot?

Since the car fell into the gorge, post-fact, i.e. after it fell down it's difficult for a passer-by to know it's lying down there with someone trapped inside.

[phamilyman]

My friend, what you need is heightened situational awareness and advanced emergency driving skills - but please don't speak as if you lack anything. Most people in your situation would've done the exact same thing. So don't beat yourself up mentally over it.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

My friend, what you need is heightened situational awareness and advanced emergency driving skills - but please don't speak as if you lack anything. Most people in your situation would've done the exact same thing. So don't beat yourself up mentally over it.

+1

In fact you were doing lot better than a many of the drivers on the road today.
Regarding tyres, I think periodic check is fine but most of us will not go for another pair if TWI is fine.

[Figopian]

Frontosa, man!! I still can't believe a man who was driving the car which has seen in the first page of this thread has started this thread!!! You had limitless luck with you at that moment and thank god you are safe and sound.
You mentioned about the support you got from highway patrol police, that is really heartening, thanks for sharing.
Regarding Lonavala police, no surprises there regarding their behaviour.

You may want to add one point to your concluding thoughts though - As you said, you were in the right most lane at speed of 80 on that turn. Were you overtaking someone? If not, shouldn't you be on the middle lane? If you were overtaking, I think that is something best avoided on such turns especially during monsoons. I am sorry if you feel this is un-called for at this juncture, but honestly, the thought came across my mind when I was reading all your story in the last 15-30 mins.

Thanks for all the information in this thread, this has shed some light on what not to do (including someone's experience on why not use one hand on steering wheel, exactly the same that I do which I will correct henceforth), the tyres, the myths about ABS/Airbags, etc. Really helpful for me.