[nijelj]

Originally Posted by murajith

Savior: Seat Belt
They had been observing a Truck and i20 having road rash game for a while.
Suddenly the Truck (just ahead of ecosport) moved from slow lane to fast lane (where my brother's car was moving) and paused (literally stopped).

In 30 minutes all this happened.

A big to folks at Palakkad Casaba Police Station and also to NHAI/Toll way authorities and locals.

Tough to believe that such prompt, swift and selfless support (from Police and authorities) can happen in India.

Wow, looking at that damage, that was really a good save by the seatbelt. Also the quick reaction times by the Police, people helping out etc. is heartening.

Not to lecture here, but this can happen even if the truck guy didn't want to. Suppose he sees an animal crossing the road from the left and swerves to the right (fast lane). If the animal continues to cross the road, he will have no choice but to step on his brakes. To avoid an accident like that has happened to your brother, it is recommended to maintain a safe distance from vehicles in front. IIRC, if this had happened in US, your brother would be forced to pay for the damages to the truck.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by nijelj

To avoid an accident like that has happened to your brother, it is recommended to maintain a safe distance from vehicles in front. IIRC, if this had happened in US, your brother would be forced to pay for the damages to the truck.

Originally Posted by murajith

Suddenly the Truck (just ahead of ecosport) moved from slow lane to fast lane (where my brother's car was moving) and paused (literally stopped).

The truck driver cut in front of the ecosport and then stopped. In this event, what can anybody do? This is not a case of hitting the vehicle in front because of being too close. That is a lecture that I often give, but I don't think it applies here.

I'm amazed that murajith's brother and his passengers felt like continuing their journey: I suspect that, if I were him, I would have gone home and not been able to stop shaking for a week. Hats off to their strength and fortitude, as well as the exceptional response of the officials.

[nijelj]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The truck driver cut in front of the ecosport and then stopped. In this event, what can anybody do? This is not a case of hitting the vehicle in front because of being too close. That is a lecture that I often give, but I don't think it applies here.
.

Not going to argue with you, or blame his brother. But what you described would be an intentional act by the truck driver, to get rear ended.

But he had mentioned that his brother was aware of the 'Road Rash' game happening with an Alto by this very same truck. I would be doubly careful of passing such rash drivers, possibly waiting for a traffic light to dart forward.

Anyway, I wasn't there, so I wouldn't know what was the real situation. His brother and the surrounding people handled it very well, which is the lesson to be taken away from this post! Also, seatbelts.

[evilshantanu]

Originally Posted by murajith

Sharing the experience my brother had a day before

Great to know that your relative is safe buddy.
Forgetting the traumatic incidence can be tough as well. Spend as much time as with the family, that would help out ease things

[D C]

While a bad driver on the road alert all of us, something like this is unavoidable to a greater extend IMO. The safe following distance should be maintained with the vehicle in front of us and is not always practical to maintain safe distance with vehicles on other lanes. When a truck suddenly move to our lane and stop (for whatever reason), there is little we can do. Things like this happen very fast and that give us way less reaction time even if we are driving at 60 kmph!

I think the driver's presence of mind and seat belts saved the family. murajith - Thanks for sharing this story with us.

[charanreddy]

Thank god the passengers got out safely, looking at the state of the car, nothing short if a miracle..

And a shout out for Ford Eco Sport as a vehicle for build quality. If a vehicle can take that kind of a hit and keep their passengers safe, I am truly impressed. and Seat belts, importance of which can't be emphasized enough.

[ashua]

How come the SRS airbags did not open up on an impact such a this? The damage suggests the speed of the car was enough for the airbags to deploy.

[GeeTee TSI]

Originally Posted by murajith

Savior: Seat Belt

Emphasizes the significance of wearing REAR seat belts also!
Given that driver and to a certain extent passenger seat belts are worn by habit, rear seat belts are still a long way from being embraced.
Equally important is aligning the headrest properly, as all these systems are designed to work and protect in unison

[Doge]

Originally Posted by ashua

How come the SRS airbags did not open up on an impact such a this? The damage suggests the speed of the car was enough for the airbags to deploy.

Because this variant doesn't come with those, it is the trend variant.

[XtremeTorque]

Good to know everyone is safe. Kudos to authorities and Ford Service for a quick response, its a rare thing to see in Kerala.

This reminded me of a near miss head-on collision today evening on Ekm-Ktm road. I was on my Civic driving home and saw a KSRTC bus coming from the opposite lane. Suddenly out of nowhere a private LS bus appears from behind the KSRTC and came hurtling towards me in my lane with headlights flashing. I did a panic braking and thanks to all-disc brakes, the car came down to like 5 kmph in the blink of an eye; but the bus had no intention to slow down and its in front of me like 10-15 metres coming at me. I thought thats how I'm gonna die but somehow managed to swerve the car hard left out of road into a shop's parking space at crawling speeds and the bus passed me unscratched. Everything happened within a few seconds and after a minute of shock I continued my journey and reached home safely cursing the private bus drivers here who owns the road

[dreamliner17]

Thanks for sharing the incident murajith. Great to know that all occupants in the car are safe!

Considering the damage to the bonnet, the bonnet was helpful in absorbing the frontal impact. The higher stance in the ecosport (compared to other low slung cars) was really a boon and it bore the brunt. The seatbelts made sure that the people inside were safe. All in all, a major disaster averted

[VellVector]

Originally Posted by murajith

All 3 passengers (including my sister-in-law and niece) safe and intact, saved by the Superman-"seat belt".

It's good that your brother makes sure even the rear seat passengers wear seatbelts. Most people do not bother in the rear seat and invariably that is where you see the most injuries in an accident nowadays.

[noo.b]

Murajith thank you for sharing the incident as well as the snaps , goes a long way in showing how important the use of seatbelts really is. Happy to know how the occupants came out relatively unscathed, speaks volumes about the build quality of the eco sport too. Lastly it was amazing to see how the authorities acted so swiftly, if they could replicate this or maybe just a fraction of it around the nation our highways would be so much safer.

[The Observer]

Originally Posted by murajith

Sharing the experience my brother had a day before

Ford Ecosport TDCi

Injuries/Fatalities: Nothing significant to write about, All 3 walked out steady and safe

Savior: Seat Belt

They were driving from Thrissur to Bangalore. This happened 2 Hours into the journey, while they were in the 4 Lane highway near Palakkad.
They had been observing a Truck and i20 having road rash game for a while.
Suddenly the Truck (just ahead of ecosport) moved from slow lane to fast lane (where my brother's car was moving) and paused (literally stopped).

BANG!!!

All 3 passengers (including my sister-in-law and niece) safe and intact, saved by the Superman-"seat belt".
My brother had a minor cut around nose and sister in law had a swell on one of her thumb.


30 minutes later, All three were in a rental cab to Bangalore. They reach Bangalore safe, may be an hour late than original plan.

.

Originally Posted by XtremeTorque

Good to know everyone is safe. Kudos to authorities and Ford Service for a quick response, its a rare thing to see in Kerala.

This reminded me of a near miss head-on collision today evening on Ekm-Ktm road. I was on my Civic driving home and saw a KSRTC bus coming from the opposite lane. Suddenly out of nowhere a private LS bus appears from behind the KSRTC and came hurtling towards me in my lane with headlights flashing. I did a panic braking and thanks to all-disc brakes, the car came down to like 5 kmph in the blink of an eye; but the bus had no intention to slow down and its in front of me like 10-15 metres coming at me. I thought thats how I'm gonna die but somehow managed to swerve the car hard left out of road into a shop's parking space at crawling speeds and the bus passed me unscratched. Everything happened within a few seconds and after a minute of shock I continued my journey and reached home safely cursing the private bus drivers here who owns the road

@Murajith : Thanking the Almighty that all 3 passengers were safe after this nasty crash ! Also thanks a lot for posting these pics and sharing the incident in this forum and rightly mentioning about seat belts - would serve as a positive sign to all of us to wear seat belts without fail.

Also could you confirm the variant , ( Doge mentioned it was trend) but just asking to confirm if airbags were present ( if not its ok, but if yes, they should have deployed)

Kudos also to the locals for their timely support.

@XtremeTorque : The Kottayam - Ernakulam route via thalayolaparambu is sinewy and i have also experienced these trucks and buses ( especially the KSRTC) overtaking and would not budge even if they are bang in front of you in your lane - its a very dangerous trend and i am relieved to hear you were able to get out of the way. Once on the same route i had a Kallada Volvo, overtaking and opposite me, i was determined not to give way with the intention of forcing him to brake and stop - but the Volvo was showing no signs on budging or even braking , finally i swerved left and let the Volvo pass in the nick of time - promised myself i would never show this kind of bravado again. In any case these bus drivers who know we have no choice but get out of the way, continue this dangerous practice unabated - this need to be reported - a front camera with recording can help us if we can share the video with the authorities ( esp in Kerala - the cops are ready to fine/apprehend such drivers).

Wishing all of us a safe drive - especially in this monsoon season.

[murajith]

Originally Posted by The Observer

Also could you confirm the variant , ( Doge mentioned it was trend) but just asking to confirm if airbags were present ( if not its ok, but if yes, they should have deployed)
.

Yes, It's Trend variant of ecosport, so no airbags.