[Peregrine]

It happened on a Dull Saturday Morning (6th Sept). Wife and me were going to Pune from Mumbai on the expressway in my 4 month old Swift. She was driving and i was in the passenger seat. Something i said and she looked towards me and 1 second later the Car crashed into the central divider railing. The speed must be between 80 and 90. The impact pushed us in the middle lane. She tried to correct the direction but ended up over compensating and again we were hurtling towards the central divider. Only the railing had finished and there was a ditch we crossed the ditch and went to opther side. Our right front and back left tyres had burst. We went on the oncoming lane and the car began to swerve . Thankfully, there was no vehicle coming towards us from that side. After 1 full rotation, the car came to a halt in the middle of the road. She somehow put it in first gear and we stopped at the side of the road. Right side of the car was badly damaged and front headlights and bumper were smashed. thankfully, BOTH Of us were UNHURT and without a SCRATCH.

Our Car had to be towed to Pune. The damages will take more than 20 days and around 10-15k on may part (rest in insurance) to be rectified. This was the closest i have come to fearing for my life. When the car was going to the other side, i was just praying that there be no vehicle otherwise at expressway speeds we were done for. Both of us are still shaken.

Some important lessons i've learnt -

1. NEVER EVER take your eyes off the ROAD. "Chuka Dhyan gayi jaan" is not just a slogan guys.

2. Dont ever disturb the driver . I blame myself for this as i was indulging in some idle chit chat.

3. If you are on cruise speed, drive in the middle lane. Overtaking gives an adrenaline rush which keeps us alert hence chances of concentration wavering is less. But , cruising can be monotonous and boring.

4. ALWAYS have seat belts ON. They can save lives as they indeed saved ours. the inspite of the strong impact from the railing, we were not thrown around.

5. DRIVE at SAFE speeds. Speed thrills but can be fatal .

At the end of the day, both of us are tremendously relived that it was the car which was damaged while we escaped unhurt. Things could have been much worse !!

[vnabhi]

Thank your stars! Thanks for sharing.

[fieroid]

You are one lucky man.
The point on Overtaking is very true. It can keep you alert and safe. However its not a great idea to overtake in a really risky manner.

Drive safe man.

[suman]

Glad to hear you guys came out of this safe. One golden rule that I try & always follow (and I have also learnt the hard way) is - NEVER look at anyone on your side (or in another car on your side) while you're driving; even in slow moving traffic, chances are that you'll bang into something in front (which may have slowed down or stopped since you last looked at it)

[dadu]

Very unfortunate incident but lucky you got away unhurt, thank god for it.


All your observations and lessons learnt are correct.

[Maverick1977]

Good to learn that the Swift has the capability of taking such an impact. One our close friend was killed on the express way a few months back in his Zen. In fact he was not even at fault, since he was waiting patiently at the end of the long queue of cars when a transport vehicle smashed his car from behind. Sad that he didnt survive because Zen is made of steel as thin & useless as paper.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by suman

Glad to hear you guys came out of this safe. One golden rule that I try & always follow (and I have also learnt the hard way) is - NEVER look at anyone on your side (or in another car on your side) while you're driving; even in slow moving traffic, chances are that you'll bang into something in front (which may have slowed down or stopped since you last looked at it)

Agree with you Suman. What i've noticed is that most of us pick up this habit of looking sideways especially on Highways as the traffic is less. I also used to drive like this. But, Even one moments lack of attention can be fatal. Hopefully, I will not repeat this and stick to this golden rule.

[KSM-Vtec]

Good to know that the 2 of you are safe. Take care.

[cooldude1988765]

You are one lucky person to survive a hit at 80-90.
OT: maverick sorry about your friend.

[abhinav.gupta88]

Sad to hear Maverick

and peregine, its lucky that you survived a crash at a high speed.
Wish you all the best and drive carefully

[Dicky_GT]

Touchwood both of you came out scratchless. These are good lessons to newbie's like me. will take care.

[hrag]

Glad to hear you're both safe. We often learn lessons the hard way. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[mobike008]

That must have been a horrible experience. Please learn from it. I am still paying for a similar mistake by going around courts et.all.

And, my mistake was same, took my eyes of the road for a second to fiddle with my music system. Man, such small mistakes can really change your life.

Take care and drive always with full concentration.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Music systems really do cost lives.

And the manufactures insist on making them ever more complex and ever more fiddly.

[aerohit]

Considering the circumstances, and considering you hit a divider and this speed -

I have a feeling your car is TOTALLED (which means - chassis/frame bent)

which means - something that cannot be fixed and should not be fixed, because car will never run straight again.