[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by rockporiom

+1 to what you said. In fact i think that our traffic conditions have degraded since the roads are more or less the same but the number of vehicles on them have increased. The police informed me that the accent was doing 130

130km/h with no abs or airbags and not wearing seatbelts. That guy seriously had some guts to do that.

First of all, congratulations to you - such a random accident could've been fatal or debilitating for your father as well - another second more and a sideways impact would've been much worse (something Indian cars often cannot handle). Its a really unfortunate soup for no fault of your dad's but something life can be really unfair. Hope he recovers completely ahead of schedule.

That said, when no one was at the site of the accident - even your father recollected only a sudden bang, to assume that the other dead person was doing 130 kph is pure speculation - which is rather unbecoming of the police as well.

[BoneCollector]

Had read about this accident on another thread. I'm really glad that your Dad is safe considering the magnitude of the accident. Airbags are a must have in today's scenario.
Wishing him a speedy recovery.

[lancer_rit]

Very scary and unfortunate incident. Wish your father a speedy and full recovery.
Another case in point for wearing seatbelts, and safety features like Airbags when going for a new car. Good of your dad to buckle up esp since in a car with front airbags, it would have been far worse if someone is not wearing the seat belts!

[sudev]

Reading this gives goose bumps, no wonder your father feels scared.

From pics it seems that the Accent impacted the left side more after crossing over the median.

One rule that I try to follow on multi lane divided highways is never drive in the fast lane as far as possible. Seen quite a few accidents like this ones where the vehicle - including bus and truck - have jumped median on to the oncoming side. Horrific consequences. Middle or outer lane means that you get a bit of reaction time.

[rockporiom]

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

Very scary and unfortunate incident. Wish your father a speedy and full recovery.
Another case in point for wearing seatbelts, and safety features like Airbags when going for a new car. Good of your dad to buckle up esp since in a car with front airbags, it would have been far worse if someone is not wearing the seat belts!

Its plain and simple my dad wouldn't have survived without seatbelts. Further the airbags also deactivate when the seat belt is not worn so he would have had absolutely no safety.

Five things saved my dad namely:

1. Crumple zones
2. Seat belts
3. Airbags
4. Head restraint
5. Collapsible steering

Originally Posted by sudev

Reading this gives goose bumps, no wonder your father feels scared.

From pics it seems that the Accent impacted the left side more after crossing over the median.

One rule that I try to follow on multi lane divided highways is never drive in the fast lane as far as possible. Seen quite a few accidents like this ones where the vehicle - including bus and truck - have jumped median on to the oncoming side. Horrific consequences. Middle or outer lane means that you get a bit of reaction time..

My dad also says the same thing that even if he had 2 seconds he would have done something to reduce the damage but that guy just pounced on our car like a cheetah on its prey. He feels guilty for not being able to do anything and sometimes gets up in the middle of the night because of the scenes of the accident that haunt him.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

First of all, congratulations to you - such a random accident could've been fatal or debilitating for your father as well - another second more and a sideways impact would've been much worse (something Indian cars often cannot handle). Its a really unfortunate soup for no fault of your dad's but something life can be really unfair. Hope he recovers completely ahead of schedule.

That said, when no one was at the site of the accident - even your father recollected only a sudden bang, to assume that the other dead person was doing 130 kph is pure speculation - which is rather unbecoming of the police as well.

There were some villagers there taking their "bhed bakariya" for a walk when this accident happened. It is possible they might also have given a statement leading the police to believe the same. They were the first to arrive at the scene and get everyone out of the accent by breaking windows since doors wouldn't open.

My dad asked them to tie a cloth since he was bleeding like hell. The worst part is there was a fully equipped fist aid kit in the dashboard which no one used

[saket77]

Had read about your ordeal in the other thread too. Thankfully your dad is going to be okay soon, but very sorry & sad for the lives lost in the other car. I have repeatedly said in many threads that no road in India is good enough for speeds above 120KMPH. The surface may be fine but other things may crop up like people, opposite traffic, stray cattle, urchins, sudden potholes and what not. And nothing is more relaxing & rejuvenating than a comfortable & relaxed drive. How often we forget that for petrol heads, its more the journey which matters than the destination mostly and we miss it by pushing things to limit.

Anyway, your D'zire is a total loss case and no point discussing repairs. Also, read in the other thread that you have almost booked or probably already booked a D'zire again. Wish you good luck & convey our regards to your father. Wish him a speedy recovery, both physical & psychological.

Regards.

[charanreddy]

Sorry to hear about the accident. Wishing your father a speedy recovery.

One thing that TeamBHP has instilled in me is to wear Seat Bealts every single time. So much that I refuse to drive my parents / better half when they are not buckled up. Wish I had the moolah to get ABS and Airbags when I bought my Beat. Incidents like these are very frightening, but serve in letting the better sense prevail when we get the urge to do a 130+ on a highway next time.

[chaudh2s]

This is what a 5 star NCAP (dezire) can do to your safety as against a 1.5 star NCAP(accent). But, still surprised to see how your dad broke his leg, when the majority of the impact seems to be on the passenger side. Further, 3 point seatbelts and anti submarine seats must have resisted him sliding forward. Looks like there was intrusion of engine components from firewall into the cabin.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by chaudh2s

This is what a 5 star NCAP (dezire) can do to your safety as against a 1.5 star NCAP(accent). But, still surprised to see how your dad broke his leg, when the majority of the impact seems to be on the passenger side. Further, 3 point seatbelts and anti submarine seats must have resisted him sliding forward. Looks like there was intrusion of engine components from firewall into the cabin.

If I read correctly (in other thread), the clutch pedal poked in his foot.

[JediKnight]

Originally Posted by GTO

The next time I meet an idiot who wants to save $$$ and skip the airbags, I'm going to show him this thread.

Do you think air bag was the primary protection device in this accident ?
Wouldn't the seat belt anyway prevent the driver from hitting the steering/windscreen.

[akabhp]

This is really a scary and unfortunate event. I wish your dad a speedy recovery both physically and mentally.
But I really salute you for sharing your pain and all this information with us, it clearly sends out a message that while buying a car safety features are must, if you are short on budget then better wait for some more time and save some money, but buy a car only with safety features.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by JediKnight

Do you think air bag was the primary protection device in this accident ?
Wouldn't the seat belt anyway prevent the driver from hitting the steering/windscreen.

Sorry to bump up a question meant for GTO; but Airbags are never a 'replacement' for seat belts. Airbags are always an SRS - Supplemental Restraint System and not 'primary'.

The primary system includes the car's construction like the crumple zones, impact protection bars, collapsible steering columns & seat belts. Seat belt pre-tensioners though, are a part of SRS.

When accidents occur at high speeds, seat belts alone cannot keep the occupants from hitting the dashboard or steering. In such cases, air bags deploy to increase the chances of survival and minimizing the injuries to the occupants. It is only the synergy of the system as a whole which will make the occupants the safest with highest chance of survival and not dependence on only the seat belts or airbags alone.

Regards,
Saket

[revintup]

Wish your dad a speedy recovery and RIP to the souls who departed. May God give strength to their family.

Originally Posted by rockporiom

My I.D.V is 7.35 lakhs with 0 dep and they offered me 6.25 lakhs to which I was furious and told him was he out of his mind 1.10 lakhs off for a 2 month old car he explained it as depreciation for 2 months

Since it is a 0 depreciation policy, why were you not eligible for the full IDV of 7.35 lakhs?

Or am I missing something here? I was of the understanding that all you have to pay is a processing fee of Rs 1000 or so during a claim. I have 0 depreciation policy on two of my cars.

[rakesh_r]

Sad to hear about the accident but more than glad to note your dad survived.I drive a 2010 swift vdi.I had an option to go with ABS but wanted to cut down on cost as the vdi had exceeded my budget.Looking at the current scenario i am more inclined to replace and buy a car with ABS+Airbag.My next car would be with an ABS and airbag combo for sure.

[chaudh2s]

In addition to as saket77 said, seatbelts donot hold the occupants tightly, they yield beyond a certain pressure. There are load limiters in seatbelts, which prevents the pressure on the occupants chest to increase beyond a certain safe level. Once this pressure is reached, the seat belts yield. If seat belts donot have load limiters, the pressure from the belt itself (due to momentum of body) will crush the rib cage. Moreover, the head is free to move forward and is not restrained by a seat belt. This is when air bags come into picture and cushion the body hurtling forward towards steering/dashboard.
This is the reason why they say, donot put any sharp/hard object in your shirt pocket while driving. It might add to your injuries in the event of a crash by pressing against your body.