[rockporiom]

It's 7:30 am and my phone rings showing an unknown number. Being a sunday I was in half sleep and usually reject unknown numbers but thanks to trucaller that it showed it as a govt number. Picked it up and after what I heard all my sleep vanished and I was completely awake.

here is what I heard:

Caller: Adi!

Me: kaun?

Caller: its daddy

Me: whose number is this where are you?

Dad: Adi, I have met with an accident on SUN city road. A car coming from wrong side banged me. The car is smashed.

Me: What!? Which car did you take!?

Dad: dzire. The car is smashed and I have a fracture my leg is twisted I need to reach the hospital.

Me: Call 108 A.S.A.P

Dad: Reach fast.


Hearing all this grabbed the keys of the kizashi and just as I was about to go mom stopped and almost collapsed on hearing what I said. Finally she came to her senses and called up our neighbour who is useful in such a situation dealing with cops and locals. we went in two cars my k and his ertiga to the accident spot.

remember the sun city I highlighted well that was for a reason. I had heard it wrong. On reaching sun city I could find no crowd gathering or any accident. Called up dad and was shocked to learn that it was at SCIENCE city which is in opposite direction. Took a U- turn and rushed for the accident spot which was 3 kms away. As soon as I reached close saw that it was on the other side of the road and could only see a white accent partially from my side due to bushes on the highway divider and a huge crowd.

Took a U- turn and what I saw made me cold for a minute. The car was completely smashed the airbags were deployed and dad was sitting in the drivers seat with two bodies lying on the road and one old man shivering on the road bleeding profusely from his forehead. The bystanders had called 108 which was on its way. Dad was bleeding from his ankle which was twisted. We put him in the 108 that arrived soon and got him admitted in the hospital. His ankle bone had split into 9 pieces. He now has an external fixture which will be removed within 20 days.

Let the pics do the talking for now:
My 2 months old Dzire zdi smashed






What had happened?
it seems that an accent coming from the other side swerved in order to avoid a pig that came in his way. On swerving he hit the divider knocked 3 bushes down and landed on my car at triple digit speeds. My dad was at 60 km/h. The driver and his mother died on the spot and the father survived with a broken jaw, cracked skull and damaged spine leaving him paralysed. It was all over the news.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIqn...e_gdata_player

And next day in the TOI




What saved my dad were seat belts which held him in place. My dad remembers a loud engine roar then a bang and then the airbag in his face. Can't even imagine what would have happened what would have happened if it wasn't a ZDI.

Dad is now on the road to recovery and will be able to live normally from march 2014. By live normally I meant will be able to drive again.

The pic of the accent




Aftermath
Both cars were impounded by the police since someone had died. A police guy came to the hospital and took my dad's statement. We registered an F.I.R against the driver of the car since it was a formality otherwise they could do a case on us. I can also claim third party this way.

What about the car?
The car was towed away after fitness test to the service center. They said that I should opt for total loss since the car is far too damaged and I would also lose my warranty after repair.

the repair estimate came to a whooping 8.2 lakhs. I contacted bajaj allianz who sent their surveyor.

A week later I get a call from them that they have put a cash loss on my car as according to them the repair estimate would come 4 lakhs as they weren't giving me a new bodyshell nor a new engine but just the lower part of it.

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 and said the best he can do is 6.75 lakhs. This means I have to pay 30k to clear my laon and additional 10k to clear the parking and estimate charge.

The service center guy says that if he opens the engine the car will be declared a total loss since he knows that the whole engine is finished and the insurance company thinks its just the lower part that is damaged.

This is how the insurance companies liability works out

Cash loss
Buyer: 4 lakhs
insurance co: 2.75 lakhs

Repair
Insurance co: 3.5 lakhs
Me: 50k

So I am trying to bargain with them at this point of time for the best possible deal. Pics of the estimate from service center below.

*UPDATE* on 4th December 2013:

Bargained bit more by making a sad face. They agreed for 7.1 lakhs. This clears my loan and gives me 3k excess yahoo. Sometimes the sad face works out.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by rockporiom

What saved my dad were seat belts which held him in place. My dad remembers a loud engine roar then a bang and then the airbag in his face. Can't even imagine what would have happened what would have happened if it wasn't a ZDI.

Happy to hear that your Father is safe, but equally sorry about the occupants in the oncoming car.

The next time I meet an idiot who wants to save $$$ and skip the airbags, I'm going to show him this thread. They say, you need airbags only once in your life. When you do, it's the difference between a cracked skull and walking away alive.

This is the scariest type of accident, where a car from the opposite side jumps the median and comes right at you. Little one can do then, except hope you're in a safe car.

[rockporiom]

Originally Posted by GTO

Happy to hear that your Father is safe, but equally sorry about the occupants in the oncoming car.

The next time I meet an idiot who wants to save $$$ and skip the airbags, I'm going to show him this thread. They say, you need airbags only once in your life. When you do, it's the difference between a cracked skull and walking away alive.

This is the scariest type of accident, where a car from the opposite side jumps the median and comes right at you. Little one can do then, except hope you're in a safe car.

Was very difficult to convince dad to start driving after he is well. But i still feel he will need counselling because he shivers when he sits in a car

Can't believe how people avoid airbags for saving money for some audio upgrades or something of that sort.

Some people even don't wear seatbelts. My neighbour whom I stated in the post never wore seatbelts but has now started wearing them after the crash. Stupid excuses such as I drive slow or I am going nearby don't work.

[geronimo]

Scary to read about the accident. Thank god and your foresight to have bought a car with airbags. I know of folks who would've rather bought a low end non airbag version of a higher end car.

Wish your father a speedy recovery, and hope your insurance troubles get sorted out.

[abeerbagul]

Hope your father has a speedy recovery.

I noticed that in your car, the head restraint is missing from the drivers seat. Did it break off in the accident due to the force of the impact of the other car or due to the airbag opening?

[rockporiom]

Thanks guys for all your wishes.

Originally Posted by abeerbagul

Hope your father has a speedy recovery.

I noticed that in your car, the head restraint is missing from the drivers seat. Did it break off in the accident due to the force of the impact of the other car or due to the airbag opening?

Bang on mate. The headrest broke off and went to the rear seat due to the impact from the airbags. If it was not for the head rest my dad would also have had neck injuries. The impact from the airbag broke the passenger seat and it became flat. It has become freely moving now.

Originally Posted by geronimo

Scary to read about the accident. Thank god and your foresight to have bought a car with airbags. I know of folks who would've rather bought a low end non airbag version of a higher end car.

Wish your father a speedy recovery, and hope your insurance troubles get sorted out.

Actually I should thank team bhp because of whom I made a firm decision that we either buy a car with abs and airbags or not buy a car at all.

One thing is for sure dad will never buy a car without airbag.

[samish_g]

This is a scary incident indeed.
Wish your father a speedy recovery.
I must sheepishly admit that I too belong to that group of people who "bargained" for a car without ABS and Airbags.
Definitely this thread is an eye opener that no matter how careful you are, you may still be at the receiving end for someone else's "fault". Better be SAFE than SORRY!!
I say "fault" because, it is unwise to put life of others in danger in the process of saving an animal.
My next car will definitely be with Airbags and ABS.

Regards,

Samish

[sagarpadaki]

Truly an eye opening thread on how air bags can save lives.

I always suggest people who come to me for advice on car purchase to buy the car that has the max safety features within their budget and next look towards other features. Most of the time it so happens that people want to buy a higher segment car with little or no safety features than buy a lower segment car with all safety features. This is mainly to show others or have a feel good factor of having a bigger car than a safer car.

[rockporiom]

Originally Posted by samish_g

This is a scary incident indeed.
Wish your father a speedy recovery.
I must sheepishly admit that I too belong to that group of people who "bargained" for a car without ABS and Airbags.
Definitely this thread is an eye opener that no matter how careful you are, you may still be at the receiving end for someone else's "fault". Better be SAFE than SORRY!!
I say "fault" because, it is unwise to put life of others in danger in the process of saving an animal.
My next car will definitely be with Airbags and ABS.

Regards,

Samish

Better late than never

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Truly an eye opening thread on how air bags can save lives.

I always suggest people who come to me for advice on car purchase to buy the car that has the max safety features within their budget and next look towards other features. Most of the time it so happens that people want to buy a higher segment car with little or no safety features than buy a lower segment car with all safety features. This is mainly to show others or have a feel good factor of having a bigger car than a safer car.

I have one such namoona a diamond. This guy was so stupid that he was ditching the swift zdi for a dzire ldi because dzire is a three box car and has a dual tone interior can you simply believe that. If I had not intervened he had almost convinced his dad to go for the Ldi. Later they finally decided to stretch their budget and go for dzire zdi.

[abeerbagul]

With international models of cars being launched in India in the past 4 - 5 years, the average speed on the highway has increased dramatically, but our road conditions, manners and lack of safety perceptions have remained the same.

It was ok to buy an unsafe maruti zen / fiat uno / hyundai santro when average speeds on the highway was 40kmph and top speeds were 80 kmph.

Now average speeds are creeping towards 70 kmph and top speeds hitting 120, but the traffic conditions have not improved at all.

It is better to buy a top end safe model and drive it at 50% of its potential, saving the rest 50% capability as a safety barrier against morons.

[rockporiom]

Originally Posted by abeerbagul

With international models of cars being launched in India in the past 4 - 5 years, the average speed on the highway has increased dramatically, but our road conditions, manners and lack of safety perceptions have remained the same.

It was ok to buy an unsafe maruti zen / fiat uno / hyundai santro when average speeds on the highway was 40kmph and top speeds were 80 kmph.

Now average speeds are creeping towards 70 kmph and top speeds hitting 120, but the traffic conditions have not improved at all.

It is better to buy a top end safe model and drive it at 50% of its potential, saving the rest 50% capability as a safety barrier against morons.

+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.

[AbhishekB86]

Hope your dad recovers soon. Cars will come and go but life is precious. It's been preached time and again to run over an animal rather than risk all the people in your car, vehicles opposite you, behind you etc etc. Guess the deceased didn't follow the advise given by seasoned drivers. RIP to the departed and a speedy recovery for your father.

[DRIV3R]

Good that the DZire saved a life! Wishing a speedy recovery to your dad.

It's news to me that the airbag impact is so powerful to blow up a headrest and break a seat! I know that they may cause minor burns and all that but this is something I learnt. Is there an option to turn off the passenger airbag? It would be wise to turn it off when we drive alone.

And how did the police manage to deduce the speed of the Accent? Is it based on any scientific research or actual facts?

So, which is the replacement car, the DZire you were talking about or the upcoming new Swift?

[Octane_Power]

rockporiom, I am glad your dad is fine and recovering fast.
"Sar salaamat toh pagdi hazaar" ..
In such incidents we can look at the brighter side that even though there is a financial loss, our loved-one is safe.
And it is indeed disheartening to see one's 2 month old car being called a total loss.

Hope this gets people to wear seatbelts even in city limits, as a result reducing further such deaths.

-Bhargav

[rockporiom]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Good that the DZire saved a life! Wishing a speedy recovery to your dad.

It's news to me that the airbag impact is so powerful to blow up a headrest and break a seat! I know that they may cause minor burns and all that but this is something I learnt. Is there an option to turn off the passenger airbag? It would be wise to turn it off when we drive alone.

And how did the police manage to deduce the speed of the Accent? Is it based on any scientific research or actual facts?

So, which is the replacement car, the DZire you were talking about or the upcoming new Swift?

No man it won't be the one I was talking about because it was far too damaged to be called as showroom condition with scratches and and rough idling and noisy A/c. Waiting for the new dzire to launch next year.

in some cars it is possible to turn off the passenger airbag but even if I had the option I would rather keep it on all the time. I don't want to be responsible for the passengers death/injury in case I forget to on the passenger airbag.

I prefer the systems which activate airbag by sensing weight on passenger seat.

According to the cops and R.T.O inspection guys the car would have to do at least those sorts of speeds to jump a divider that high. In fact the divider just has a scratch which means he caught air as soon as he touched the divider and landed on the left of my car turning it to face the other side. The impact speed would be slightly lower than that though.