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Old 27th March 2017, 16:57   #31
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Re: God's Grace! Seatbelts, child seat & safe car - An accident survivor's tale

You were extremely lucky that there was no fast moving vehicle on the opposite carriageway. It could have turned much worse.

But from your description, I sense the fast lane was free. What happened after you moved to the fast lane?
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Old 27th March 2017, 17:08   #32
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Re: God's Grace! Seatbelts, child seat & safe car - An accident survivor's tale

So glad to know that you and your family are safe. Thank Lord for that. By looking at the pictures it was a close call. Everything in life can be replaced except a life itself. God bless you and your family.
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Old 27th March 2017, 17:14   #33
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Re: God's Grace: Seat Belts & Child Seat! Safe Car - A Survivor's Tale.

Quote:
Originally Posted by arun_josie View Post
Lessons, I think in such situation it is always better to brake to stop than changing lanes abruptly.
I agree in general. But in this case, with the speed he was carrying, there was still high risk of the car launching into air. I've personally experienced this at 60 kmph due to an uneven bridge on Kolar-Vijayapura road. Its difficult to control a vehicle once it launches off the ground ! I eventually skidded trying to stop, did a 180 and eventually stopped after the front fender hit the side of a stationary cart. We were (me, my wife and our then 2 year old daughter) all belted up, and survived that incident without a drop of blood spilled.

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Originally Posted by arun_josie View Post
Note: I think the title should be edited to include "Child Seat" as well to highlights its importance.
Amen to that. Child seats have played a major part in the outcome
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Old 27th March 2017, 17:32   #34
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Re: God's Grace! Seatbelts, child seat & safe car - An accident survivor's tale

Glad to know that you and your family are safe and sound.

Sound engineering and the use of proper equipment [child seat and seat belts] are the heroes here.

I may be going a bit off target but I hope that these kind of survivor stories reach more and more Indians, so that they can understand the significance of seat belts and a well engineered car. Because of the market demand previously safe brands have also started cutting corners in safety to make their product cheaper and have started providing other infotainment/luxury features to appeal more to the market.

To summarize, we are the market and we are the one's driving the feature list on a product, if we start demanding safety, even tin-can school vans can be made so much safer.
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Old 27th March 2017, 17:33   #35
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Re: God's Grace! Seatbelts, child seat & safe car - An accident survivor's tale

Hey Ravi, so glad to hear that everyone is fine with no injuries. Thanks a lot for sharing this experience. Seat belts are the primary safety feature in all cars. Everything is secondary. 8 out of 10 times I make my family buckle up in the back but this will make me do it 10/10 times.

I read through your description but its still not very clear to me how the roof got damaged from the rear? Doesn't seem like your car rolled over.
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Old 27th March 2017, 18:00   #36
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Re: God's Grace! Seatbelts, child seat & safe car - An accident survivor's tale

Thank God you and your family are safe. Your post has been very informative. I would have never thought that stray tyres will be lying around in the middle of the road, until now. Many thanks for sharing your experience as it will make me at least aware and wary of such scenarios.
In retrospect, would you or could you have reacted differently?
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Old 27th March 2017, 19:17   #37
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Re: God's Grace! Seatbelts, child seat & safe car - An accident survivor's tale

Sharing this to facebook. I would request fellow bhp-ians to share this on various other fora. We can raise awareness among many folks who do not take adequate precautions before a journey. I'm guilty of not belting up at the rear on a few occasions in the past. This serves as an adequate deterrant. My take-aways:
1. Always belt-up, front and rear.
2. Do not keep sharp objects like knives, or anything which can cause injury to passengers inside the cabin.
3. Invest in a structurally sound car.
4. Buy a kid's seat.
5. And always, do not exceed speeds at which you are in absolute control.
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Old 27th March 2017, 19:23   #38
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Re: God's Grace! Seatbelts, child seat & safe car - An accident survivor's tale

Quote:
Originally Posted by ravib View Post
(1) GOD's GRACE SAVED US
(2) SEAT BELTS SAVED US
(3) SAFE CAR SAVED US
Glad you and your family are safe. Thanks for sharing this most difficult experience. I will share this thread with friends and family.
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Old 27th March 2017, 19:33   #39
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Re: God's Grace! Seatbelts, child seat & safe car - An accident survivor's tale

Glad to hear that you and your family have been in a crash and survived with minimal injuries.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ravib View Post
I was speeding at roughly 100 kmph to 110 kmph.
Quote:
Originally Posted by carwatcher View Post
I would also like to specifically point that had your speed been 80-90 compared to 100-110 as mentioned by you, you would've been in far better control.
What is the official posted speed limit in the zone where the crash happened?
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Old 27th March 2017, 19:49   #40
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Re: God's Grace! Seatbelts, child seat & safe car - An accident survivor's tale

First off, glad that your family and you are safe. Secondly, glad that there was no other loss of life or limb, which would have made this memory harrowing. Third, glad that you shared this for the benefit of others.

My wife and I were similarly fortunate. From our experience, it would be good for your family and you to slowly but surely work your way back to driving safely and confidently. Please seek help in prayers or counseling (or both) to soothe all your nerves and nurse back your confidence and eagerness to travel. And buy the same car that kept you safe or something even safer. For live we must...

God bless!
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Old 27th March 2017, 20:34   #41
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Re: God's Grace ! Seat Belts ! Safe Car - A survivor's tale.

Quote:
Originally Posted by black_rider View Post
I too feel someone hit you from behind when you changed lanes to avoid that deserted tire. Most probably a bus or a truck. Nothing else can explain that damage on rear right. That hit must've been the reason for loud sound and eventually pushing you off to the other side. I doubt that your right front tire would blow out when you're turning right. Loads would be higher on the left when turning right, isn't it?
Looking at the pictures again, there is mud and branches on the hatch were the body has caved in, so I don't think it was a case of rear ending. Will wait for the OP to know how that happened.
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Old 27th March 2017, 22:24   #42
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Re: God's Grace! Seatbelts, child seat & safe car - An accident survivor's tale

Thank God you and your family are all safe. After looking at the pictures anyone can conclude and say this as truly the god grace. Thanks for sharing. Though I have the habit of buckling-up and I insist in my car for passenger seat, one important aspect which I missed many time is rear seat belts. From now on - Everyone has to wear seat belts on highways, no matter front or back seat.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ravib View Post
Related Thread: Link

the road slightly climbs up and only then we can see the surface of the road. As I was in the middle lane, the moment I climbed up, I suddenly saw a huge lorry/truck tyre in middle lane of the highway.
This is another important learning for me. Push the pedal or maintain the speed only till we see. Its safe to assume no-roads beyond what we see.. Even if that means coming to a dead slow or a complete halt. Its painful to see how people will leave anything on road and anywhere including stones, bricks, pots, branches and now tyre on the middle lane .

Hope you all recover from the mental trauma soon and get back to normal routine. Also, hope you get a new safe car soon. Do keep us posted on your buying experience and initial ownership .

Regards
SE
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Old 27th March 2017, 22:25   #43
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Re: God's Grace! Seatbelts, child seat & safe car - An accident survivor's tale

Ravi, good to know that all are fine and no one is hurt.

3+ years ago, I had to undergo the same trauma of losing our stead - the good old Figo in an accident in ORR. A private bus was on a rampage and hit us in the left rear, that catapulted us towards the median and in no time we were air-borne, toppled thrice, could still recollect going past a electric lighting pole in the median while we were 'on a roll' and landed upside down. Both me and my wife, walked out of the car with not a single scratch on us and as you had rightly pointed out it was the seat belt that had held us in position.

It was a difficult phase to move on from the thoughts, but by God's grace we were able to put this behind and got us another safer ride that is doing its duty now. It also presented itself as an opportunity for us to upgrade from a hatch to a sedan.

On that eventful day every passer-by who came to our rescue, the traffic cops, the colleagues and mates who saw the crumpled remains of what was our ride until then, were shocked and surprised to see us come unscathed. Thanks to seat-belts that held us like a cocoon while the ride sacrificed itself for our safety.

No words can explain the importance of seat-belts and safety bells-n-whistles, in comparison to a touch-screen infotainment or fancy gimmicks, unless one has experienced the unfortunate turn of events. Its the fortunate buckled-up, who have lived up to tell the tale. From then on a safe car was our priority and a child car seat was the first car accessory that we got for our dear one.

Wish you and your family all the strength to leave the scars of this accident behind and move on.
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Old 27th March 2017, 23:06   #44
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Re: God's Grace! Seatbelts, child seat & safe car - An accident survivor's tale

Quote:
Originally Posted by haria View Post
I think on Friday / Saturday multiple accidents have occurred in that stretch. I saw couple of badly mangled car on Saturday afternoon while going to thiruvannamalai (in SETC Bus). I remember the bus swerving multiple times to avoid stones/branches left behind on the road by vehicles which had broken down.

I don't know what makes some people leave these kind of junk/stuff on the middle of the roads which can cause dangerous accidents. This idiots who leave these items on the highway should be penalized

Yep. Seat belts are a real life saver and should be worn by all passengers. Curious about one thing : Did you climb over the lorry tire ? Or was there a blow-out on one of the tires ? was this the reason why you lost control ? Didn't ABS Kick in which usually prevents a skid ?

And bro, you are really lucky that there were no vehicles coming from the opposite lane. So many accidents happen/are reported about people crashing on vehicles which have jumped the median.

God , Common sense and Good Car in that order - Yep, Absolutely agree with you in the order and reasons on your narrow escape.

Thank God that you and you and your family came out of that without any injuries.
Thanks @haria. Yes unfortunately in india, people don't think about how dangerous is to throw things out of window or leaving debris on the road. Even a simple water bottle with some water is enough to make a two wheeler fellow to lose balance. My friend and i ensured that after my car was attached to two vehicle, we cleared the debris left on the road, so that same mistake doesn't happen in opposite side lane.

Quote:
Originally Posted by narayans80 View Post
Wow! Your accident also shows how important rear hatch design is. It looks your steed landed face up on the divider The cabin doesn't even look like one that's taken a major hit and that's what's saved you and your family.

I hope you and your family get over it soon mentally and are back on the road soon
Thanks @narayans80

Quote:
Originally Posted by knaveen View Post
Didn't know it was this bad. Scary indeed, goes to show things can go wrong at anytime irrespective of drivers abilities. Great decision to opt for the variant with safety kit and baby car seat was invaluable in this case.

Thank God you and your family are safe.
Thanks @knaveen

Quote:
Originally Posted by kiku007 View Post
Thanks to many things that worked your way, you are safe. Appreciate you sharing the incident along with photos. Kudos to you for investing on safety!

I hope this helps in a few more people putting the money where their mouth/keystrokes are and invest on Baby Seat / Child Booster seat. People thought I was crazy to use a Child Booster seat in India for my daughter. BECAUSE its not a rule in India right? But the same people will use these seats abroad and complain how their child is not cooperating.

Resident investigators will probably guide you on how/why the car flipped.
Thanks @kiku007. Safety and security are non-negotiable things. I remember reading GTO's comment several years ago which reads something like this. People in india invest on fancy artificial leather seats, loud music system and car decoration items, and miss out the essential safety things and end up with broken skull or broken arms/limbs. However glad that in recent times, the trend is changing that car manufacturers are making Airbags and ABS as standard fitting in all variants , but we still have a long way to go.
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Old 27th March 2017, 23:16   #45
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Re: God's Grace! Seatbelts, child seat & safe car - An accident survivor's tale

Quote:
Originally Posted by BLACKBLADE View Post
Thank God. Happy to know that you and your beloved family is safe . True that we tend to think that accidents can't happen to us, until one day, when destiny has other plans. One more time the importance of wearing seat belt has been proven.This thread definitely stands as a testimony to that.

I take three learnings from this incident.

Wishing you and your family love and peace.

Cheers ! Love and Live to Drive !!
Thanks @BLACKBLADE. Yes, good deeds will help some day at some point when we are in need. World is not so mean always. Agree.

Quote:
Originally Posted by arun_josie View Post
Thank God you all are safe!

I would have done this route umpteen times and so I could visualize the stretch that you are talking about. I am always extra cautious here to make sure there is no stranded vehicles just after the climb, but a tyre is something we will least expect.

Lessons, I think in such situation it is always better to brake to stop than changing lanes abruptly.

Note: I think the title should be edited to include "Child Seat" as well to highlights its importance.
Thanks @arun_josie. Yes, a tyre was least expected which is unfortunate thing. Thanks for the right thought to update the thread title. Yes, it totally makes sense and i see moderators have updated it as well. Even i had driven in this route countless times, but yea every day is not same day as i said earlier. We need to exercise caution every single time, no matter how experienced drivers we are or how familiar we knew that route.

Quote:
Originally Posted by vijayvelprakash View Post
This is the first thread I opened this morning and was shocked when reading your lines. Happy that you and your family are safe.

This is the route I used a lot and will be using more. I never expected a truck tyre to be left on the middle of a highway. I had to read your lines twice to make sure. Was it a truck or truck tyre? What more should we expect and watch out for?

I was planning to get a child seat for my year old daughter and I should better get it quickly. But I am not sure if I can get her buckled up in her seat for a city ride forget about the 6 hour highway drive.
Thanks @vijayvelprakash. Yes, please get the car seat quickly. I am using car seat for my daughter since she was 8 months old and was able to sit in the seat with height adjustable seat belts. Please don't delay any further. They will get used to it over time.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tharian View Post
You are one lucky chap along with your family.

Is the caving in on the hatch due to hitting something on the divider? Before I read the post and saw the pictures, it looked like some vehicle rear ended you and then you lost control and jumped the divider.

Good presence of mind as well from you to handle the situation well.
Thanks @tharian. The vehicle hit the divider and was flipped and rear right took all the weight as the car was almost in vertical position at a point as i heard the villagers saying it. No one rear ended as the traffic was low at that time.

Quote:
Originally Posted by srishiva View Post
By God's grace only your vehicle was involved and hope you and your family recovers from this.
Thanks @srishiva
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