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Old 25th August 2012, 12:47   #181
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

Had I seen the photos alone I wouldn't have believed that someone would have walked out of that car. Thanks to VW.
Though many of us (including me) blame German cars for high maintenance costs, these incidents prove that we may be penny wise and pound foolish in overlooking safety. Not withstanding any NCAP rating I feel the Japanese / Koreans may not have taken the impact so well.
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Old 25th August 2012, 12:52   #182
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

Well, this is one of the most frightening after accident pics Ive seen and thank god for being there.

I am sure when god brings into it , he brings you through it so good luck.

As for a new vehicle, if you still believe Polo saved you, a new one is around the corner and you can wait a bit to grab it .
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Old 25th August 2012, 16:22   #183
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

Quote:
Originally Posted by anjan_c2007 View Post
I also believe that the extreme right lanes need to be vacated for the seven and a half tonne or heavier monsters or the self proclaimed "Kings of the Road". We have so many expressways/ 4 lane highways but our driving manners are still primitive. The roads are the best places as they say where one can adjudge animal-like behavior in humans and learn many lessons in psychology.
Hence, we law abiding drivers need to stay away from the speedier lanes. I would further go on to proclaim that we must try and maintain speeds of 60-70 kmph on such death traps. I may invite criticism here. Because a car is much in control @ 60-70 kmph.It becomes a bit out of our control at higher speeds. We drive at 100 kmph plus speeds (sorry not you, you only reached 80 kmph) and though our cars are designed to stop during emergencies, we must not forget that many fellow traffic users exhibit animal-like behavior and may pose a grave danger to us.
Agree very much that the right lane should be used only for overtaking & then one should promptly return to the central lane. Driving in the central lane has one advantage - one can dart to either right or left if the vehicle in front of u has a problem.

Another golden rule I follow is to reduce speed by 30% or more, from what I would normally do on that stretch, when it is raining.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Frontosa View Post
These are some of the exact questions which are now helping me. I'm not sure if I understand this correctly the term "Aquaplaning".
I will try describing how I was feeling. When the roads are moist and there is absolutely no water logging on the road I can feel the car drive like expected, that is the tyres are rolling stuck on the road surface. Sometimes I felt that when there is a little higher amount of water logged, maybe like a depth of 2mm or 5 mm .. (not water logging) OR even a stream of water flowing, and when I drove past it, there is sudden loss of that noise the tyres make. I feel for that half a second that the car is gliding or even floating. This has been happening on my Yoko S drives I guess from the day I got it I suppose. Is this what is Aquaplaning, is this normal or is this bad? Does it mean at that stage when the noise has gone the grip on the road has gone as well? This may probably be my first major clue as to why the car skid as soon as i applied brakes.
You are really lucky to have survived the second part of the accident. Most cars today are designed to absorb accidents in the following decreasing order: front impact (most safety); rear impact (moderate safety); side impact (low to moderate safety-varies from car to car but 80Kmph is ok for an european car); Rollover (only the B-pillar helps). Almost no car has much strength in its roof panel - so when your car fell down the drain upside down your luck & accumulated good wishes is what has saved you.

During the first rains, or rains after a break, all the muck on the road turns to slush. If a few drops of oil are also present you will aquaplane - irrespective of whether you have new or old tyres. New tyres will only help in recovering from the slip faster. Also be very careful in areas having dense vegetation nearby. The fallen leaves & resin droppings from the trees themselves create a sticky goo. If this is washed on to the road it is as good as oil being on the road & you will spin.

Now sit back & contemplate on where you want to go with your life. Do you need to dance to such tight deadlines that you have to drive at 80kmph in the rain-that too on an expressway that even when dry is safe at that speed only in the straight stretches?
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Old 25th August 2012, 16:23   #184
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

I am stunned to see the pictures and looks like God wanted you to feel young and reset your age in your new life....

Appreciate that you have been able to recount each and every moment of the incident and share it with us. Am sure these would be an eye opener for each one of us to be extra cautious.

When I keep seeing cars where ABS is offered as optional I keep wondering why these are not standard and when looking at the cost differential if these are really required.

Wish all cars come by default with ABS/EBD/ESP etc etc....
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Old 25th August 2012, 21:06   #185
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

Quote:
Originally Posted by hocuspocus View Post

- After the accident, did you happen to notice if the Polo had fuel auto cutoff/Fire Prevention System(FPS) enabled? If yes, Did it work?

- The RCC wall which you hit and fell into the canal is hardly 2 feet high compared to the road surface (as i could make out from the pic attached). Isn't this a disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately or unfortunately, it was you inside a sturdy car that fell into it. Had it been a two wheeler, I couldn't imagine the result. Also, as per me, it should have a covering of some sort(maybe grill) in order to avoid anyone falling inside it.

Cheers !
Hello! these are well raised points.
1. Although I deliberately removed the ignition key, the car had turned off. when i came out of the car there was no engine noise, absolutely no noise, except that the lights were flashing. I expected more noise and for a moment thought whether I'm in shock so couldnt hear or was the engine broken. I didnt think its an automatic safety feature that stops the engine. I thought it was broken - nevertheless I pulled out the ignition key to prevent car explosion if at all.

2. The RCC wall is atleast 3.5 to 4 feet high. In the pics it looks small maybe. Also there are no 2 wheelers allowed on expway.
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Old 25th August 2012, 21:07   #186
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

Stunned by reading your story and seeing those pics. This thread could be a message to all auto manufacturers in India that safety is not an option when buying a vehicle!
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Old 26th August 2012, 08:25   #187
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

Looking at the pics of the duct and the car, man, you really have gotten a second lease of life. Make the most of it.
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Old 26th August 2012, 09:15   #188
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Frontosa View Post
I dont think there are any passerbys on the exp way.
I meant other road users, by the term passers-by, and not pedestrians

Quote:
Originally Posted by wartikars View Post
...
As far as the airbags go they should have had operated and inflated. You need to contact the VW for this case. Its absurd that that the ABS also did not work properly.

I was going to buy the VW Polo but I decided against it due to its only 3 cylinder engine. But never knew that it had also such problems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hocuspocus View Post
- The RCC wall which you hit and fell into the canal is hardly 2 feet high compared to the road surface (as i could make out from the pic attached). Isn't this a disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately or unfortunately, it was you inside a sturdy car that fell into it. Had it been a two wheeler, I couldn't imagine the result. Also, as per me, it should have a covering of some sort(maybe grill) in order to avoid anyone falling inside it.

- As for airbags, it should have deployed as per me even though it was not a frontal impact but the amount of de-acceleration/impact was enough to trigger the sensors. The standard reply which you received from VW is just a mere excuse to get away into getting a claim/lawsuit.

Also, I agree with members in the forum about Aquaplaning. It's a unforeseen circumstance which is hardly noticed while driving. Aquaplaning is a silent killer for surface transport as mircrobursts are to aircrafts.

It's so sad to see carmakers treating safety as luxury and not a necessity. When same cars are exported, you can see it's loaded with safety features as compared to the Indian version.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OffDaBeemer View Post
airbags are meant to get activated when there is an impact, in this case though the impact started at the left-rear, there was a strong enough impact on the front as well to blow up the bags, so i believe the airbags weren't functional
We all must understand certain basic facts: Deployment of airbags is governed by a set of rules. If these rules were satisfied in Frontosa's case, the airbags should have deployed. So far there's no evidence all these rules were satisfied, so the airbags didn't deploy. I am sure this is what VW must have told him. Where's the question of companies taking consumers for granted and treating Indian buyers as second rate?

@wartikars, after this incident, I wonder why your faith in VW has not increased manyfold since the tough body ensured Frontosa walked out alive. Which 'problems' did you notice in the Polo from this incident?

@hocuspocus, you have raised a good point about the height of the RCC wall, although there are no two-wheelers on the e-way, however I am wondering if a higher wall would have made the car bounce off it and get back into the middle of the road, where there was a danger another vehicle would crash into it. In this case what should be the best safety device in place of the short wall?

The median between the two sides of the road: can it be designed in such a way that it will allow a vehicle to come to a stop in case of an accident without the vehicle breaching the median to go to the oncoming lane? Can it be a mud pit?
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Old 26th August 2012, 09:31   #189
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You were really lucky, frontosa. We had a toppling incident on NH8 last October near Behror. Exactly same situation, speeding truck rammed into rear left, car went to the right on its own. I stood up on the brakes, but car still hit a concrete slab that was left on the roadside by the contractors (Expansion was going on then), and toppled. Thankfully there was no ditch to fall into. The truck driver thought we were dead, left the truck and ran away. The car was turned back straight by other truck drivers.

If I am correct,your experience was similar. Then I can tell you that rain has a minor role here. It has more to do with the momentum of the truck. In my case, it was dry Rajasthan in October.
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Old 26th August 2012, 11:08   #190
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

Your experience has given me a phobia of this curve. I drove past this place a couple of days back at 60kmph. The broken wall is now covered with metal sheets.
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Old 26th August 2012, 15:54   #191
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

first of all i will say that you thank God (which I am sure you must have already a thousand times) and count your blessings and sheer luck as after seeing the car hardly anyone would say the driver was saved and had just few minor injuries! the pics are scary man! also the first pic of the ditch into which you fell, its dangerous and scary! how can they keep so less guard around such a big ditch?!
just think of it as a new life and make it even more worth while now.

Last edited by magikrider : 26th August 2012 at 15:57.
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Old 26th August 2012, 21:20   #192
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

Quote:
Originally Posted by sridhar-v View Post
side impact (low to moderate safety-varies from car to car but 80Kmph is ok for an european car);
I don't know who mislead you but atleast for swift, I have an unfortunate data point. Less than 30 kph (IIRC) impact by a tata 407 on a stationary swift (IIRC) at a red light resulted in a fatality.

I pretty much consider side impact above 20 kph to be a one way ticket.
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Old 26th August 2012, 22:12   #193
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

Quote:
Originally Posted by sridhar-v View Post
side impact (low to moderate safety-varies from car to car but 80Kmph is ok for an european car);
Quote:
Originally Posted by phamilyman View Post
I don't know who mislead you but atleast for swift, I have an unfortunate data point. Less than 30 kph (IIRC) impact by a tata 407 on a stationary swift (IIRC) at a red light resulted in a fatality.

I pretty much consider side impact above 20 kph to be a one way ticket.
Thing about the side impact is, it is the speed of the other vehicle (which is hitting your vehicle on the side) which matters and since F=ma, weight of the vehicle makes all the difference. Tata 407 hitting at 30 kmph is more impactfull then a sedan colliding @8kmph from side.
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Old 27th August 2012, 10:28   #194
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

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Originally Posted by Guna View Post
Thing about the side impact is, it is the speed of the other vehicle (which is hitting your vehicle on the side) which matters and since F=ma, weight of the vehicle makes all the difference. Tata 407 hitting at 30 kmph is more impactfull then a sedan colliding @8kmph from side.
Absolutely bang on. Yes, you're quite correct on the tata 407 angle. However, I'm not sure even if an 80 kph side impact with a sedan is survivable.

That of course remains my opinion. I have neither data nor first hand experience. I am open to any data points anyone may have on the same
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Old 27th August 2012, 11:04   #195
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Re: God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

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Originally Posted by phamilyman View Post
However, I'm not sure even if an 80 kph side impact with a sedan is survivable.
NCAP driver side "car to car" tests are done at 50 kmph. So, it is unlikely that a vehicle would be designed to be safe at 80 kmph impact (that would increse cost and would not gain any "star" in NCAP tests).

Car to Car Side impact | Euro NCAP - For safer cars crash test safety rating

Last edited by NetfreakBombay : 27th August 2012 at 11:05. Reason: added info
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