[blackasta]

Originally Posted by Amity

This is my first post on the forum. I will be writing about an accident which happened with me at the end of last year.

Welcome to the forum - and kudos for getting out of that mess in one piece.

Exactly how can someone repair that mangled piece where the entire a,b,c pillars and roof has been compromised? I feel you should push for a IDV payout. Even if those panels are replaced and welded at the service center, the structural integrity IMO shall not be same as a new car.

[prithm]

Originally Posted by Amity

This is my first post on the forum. I will be writing about an accident which happened with me at the end of last year. This may be a long post. [Moderators, sorry if there are any mistakes.]

After seeing the pics, I read through your post twice. It's a miracle that you folks survived through this ordeal.

I am very much surprised that insurance company has decided to go ahead with repair. It would be really great if you write this off and forget about it forever. Just not worth the pain and efforts.

Reliving this entire episode is more painful every time you see this beloved car of yours. If not able to part, keep it for short rides within city and as a memento which saved your lives.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by Amity

On 02.01.2019, when my brother had gone to police chowki to collect our car for sending it to service centre, that driver (around 30 years old) was sitting there. He had no remorse whatsoever and his father-in-law even said that cars are to be driven at 100-150 kmph.

If not for this forum rules, I know what I will be calling those 2 remorseless people. Unfortunately, these kind of people are a significant percentage in our country - never own up to anything, pull some connections and strings, just completely fabricate stories, doesn't care about laws or rules etc.

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by Amity

... If they received good quote, in the range of 3-4 lakhs, they will sell the car to that buyer and give us the IDV. However, if they fail to elicit response in the portal, they will approve the repair.

The way you described in chilling detail was nothing short of a blockbuster movie. The state of the car and events is really horrifying. What can anyone possibly do if a vehicle in the opposite lane at breakneck speeds suddenly crosses the divider towards their car? Almost absolutely nothing can be done during those split seconds.

This scenario seems to be becoming alarmingly frequent. Hope better sense prevails and some passive safety measures such as higher concrete dividers are implemented quickly on priority to deflect and prevent vehicles from jumping across.
As an active prevention measure, everyone must refrain from driving on the right most lane for long periods so close to the divider. The right most lane is only for overtaking not for cruising.

Every bit of your car would have been subjected to severe torsional and shear forces and the structural integrity of that car even after repair would be highly compromised.

It would have been better to accept a lesser IDV (to cover the gap if the qoute received is less than 3-4 lakhs) rather than allow them to repair the car. Continuing to use the same is definitely high risk as its intended structural integrity as per design is now permanently lost.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by Amity

This is my first post on the forum. I will be writing about an accident which happened with me at the end of last year. This may be a long post. [Moderators, sorry if there are any mistakes.]

This accident happened on the Faridabad-Gurugram Road. For those of you who don't know, let me give you a brief overview of this road. This is a four lane road with a divider, 2 lanes on each side, for which toll is charged from vehicles. This road cris crosses the Aravali Range and therefore, there are lots of twists and turns with no proper signage to alert the drivers at the turns. Mind you, this road connects the two biggest cities (both in terms of population and revenue) of Haryana and is almost always busy.

Mate your guardian angel was no else but your wife on that fateful day. I say so because it takes a lot of courage to save someone from precarious situation especially when its someone near and dear. A lot of people would either faint or lose their sense of judgement completely.

I have been in such a situation before which involved accident though I was neither a part of the accident nor any of my near and dear were involved. Just that I happened to be at that particular location. And the accident was not even 25% of what you had to face. But let me accept that for a good 2-3 mins I had a complete brain fade as to what to do next. The guy had to be sent to hospital and I did best whatever I could that day - call the police, ambulance and update his family. It was a scene straight out of the film where a cabbie knocked over a guy on a bike and he was flung 15 feet in the air before landing on his limbs and head. His helmet saved him though it was not secured and came off the when he hit the road. Luckily for him it didn't fall off when he was in air. But he broke one of his legs and had lot of external injuries. The scene kept playing in my mind for a good 2-3 mins before I could act.

You are indebted to your angel for the rest of the life. Your owe your second life to her. May god give you both the strength to mentally recover from this trauma.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by Amity

City driver escaped with very minor injuries, mostly scratches. As per the policeman, he even tried to flee the scene in his car but could not do so because of damage to his car. The policeman told me that he even tried to blame me for the accident and told them that the motorcyclist was killed because of my car. Police says that he was not drunk at the time of accident.

On 02.01.2019, when my brother had gone to police chowki to collect our car for sending it to service centre, that driver (around 30 years old) was sitting there. He had no remorse whatsoever and his father-in-law even said that cars are to be driven at 100-150 kmph.

Why not file a case against him and his insurance company for a hefty amount? It should drill some sense into his thick skull.

Your hospital and rehabilitation bill, loss of paydue to the forced leave and the mental and physical trauma together could go upto a crore. Slap a notice on that chap or best his insurance company.


Happy to know you came out alright from this mishap. This is one thing not in our hands as drivers.

[speedmiester]

@Amity, shocked to read about your accident.
Also quite relieved that you are doing great.


This is one of the clear reason why we can't skimp of build quality of the cars we buy. It is the build quality of the Creta that saved you. Most cars would have had much severe damage than this

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Amity

This is my first post on the forum. I will be writing about an accident which happened with me at the end of last year. This may be a long post.

Amity, am so glad that you survived this horrific crash & are here to tell us the story! Moving your post to a new thread.

[roy_libran]

Amity - That was a horrific episode. Am so glad to see that both you and your wife walked away from it with less impact.

Your insurance-
That car should certainly not be repaired. Please challenge the insurance company and try and negotiate a deal as close to IDV as possible.
You can threaten them with escalation > ombudsman > court action, if they don't budge. Cars have been Totalled for far lesser in the past. Look for past examples and use those to support your arguments.

Third Party insurance-
I am not sure, but please find out if it is possible to lay a claim for fulfillment of all your remaining losses from the 3rd party, including compensation.

Keep updating this thread on the progress of these discussions so that the experienced forum members can guide you.

[kiku007]

Amity - You are one lucky person for sure. Huge respect to the courage and persistence shown by your wife.

Like many of them have already said here, I'm shocked beyond belief that the Insurance Company, Hyundai and yourself have agreed to repair the vehicle.

A friend of mine had the roof of his new Scorpio caught in the side hook of a truck while moving. I hadn't seen the pictures but I understand that it wasn't even a collision. The roof got peeled a bit and the A pillar was damaged. He claimed total loss and got another new Scorpio in the exact same colour. This was almost a decade ago. The old Scorpio would have been sold with minimal repairs. But I can't even accept for your Creta to be sold to anyone.

It's your car and money at the end of the day. Good luck.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Thank God you survived. I wish you good health and happiness in the life ahead.

As others have pointed out, don't accept repairs on the body. It shall be fine if Hyundai can fit everything on a new monocoque body.

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

If not for this forum rules, I know what I will be calling those 2 remorseless people. Unfortunately, these kind of people are a significant percentage in our country - never own up to anything, pull some connections and strings, just completely fabricate stories, doesn't care about laws or rules etc.

Agree with your view Yieldway17. But this remorseless person is not going to have it easy. Not only will the biker's family sue him, the entire system of Police, Lawyers, Court is going to suck him financially and time-wise. Even if he spends money, he will be undergoing a lot of harassment. Noone will let go of an opportunity to extract money from him when he has committed such a mistake. Even though his FIL and his family may try to get him out, they too are going to curse him to have caused this harassment and financial loss.

[asingh1977]

That road is really dangerous. I used to use the 2nd half, going from Golf Course Extension-->Neelkant Hospital-->DLF. People just drive recklessly and extremely dangerously. I stopped using it a year back. Even now at times, when returning from Delhi (2-3 times per year), I use it. And am really careful. What happened to you, none of your caution would have averted it. God bless you and your family.

I myself once saw a domino-rear-end there. I was at the Golf Course light (which no one obeys), Wagon R behind me. The WR got smashed by the vehicle behind, which came running in hard. For some reason, the WR was standing with the brakes applied. So it did not move forward too much. The battering car must have been going at 10-12 km/h. That road is 4 lane, really wide, butter smooth, banks, curves, and also rises up/down. Indian drivers are not equipped, mentally, to drive on such.

People just gun-it-crazy after being frustrated inside the cities. Not safe.

[boniver]

Originally Posted by Amity

This is my first post on the forum. I will be writing about an accident which happened with me at the end of last year. This may be a long post. [Moderators, sorry if there are any mistakes.

Welcome to Team-BHP, Amity! We're glad to have you with us. That story felt horrific to read about, so I cannot even begin to fathom how painful it must have been to live through it.

Originally Posted by Amity

Even though there was no mistake on my part in the accident, I have learnt that the roads in this country are not at all safe and all you can do is take every precaution from your side and leave the rest to God.

+1 to that observation. Whenever I drive, my mother keeps telling me one thing, "Always assume that the others on the road are blind and deaf and are capable of doing anything. As the driver, it's up to you to make sure you're doing your best to cross all hurdles and reach your destination safely." This incident is an eye-opener and further emphasizes the importance of seatbelts. Forwarded this thread to my father, who still doesn't understand the necessity of a proper 3-point harness.

Regarding your car, as the others have mentioned, I'm shocked to learn that the insurance company is getting it repaired. Please do keep in mind that the structural integrity of that vehicle has been severely compromised, and no matter how good the repair job is, it just won't be as strong as it previously was. Chances are, God forbid if you were to find yourself in a similar incident some time down the line again, the car won't be able to protect you the way it did previously. I hope you'll keep the best interests of your family in mind, and reconsider your decision.

Drive safe.
Regards,
boniver

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Amity

Some photos taken by my cousin the next day at Police Chowki are attached below:

Oh man! You are blessed to be alive and writing this post! Thank fate, God, the car, whatever you believe in. After seeing these photos, I'm a believer too!

And what an amazing spouse you have, my salute to her.

Originally Posted by boniver

+1 to that observation. Whenever I drive, my mother keeps telling me one thing, "Always assume that the others on the road are blind and deaf and are capable of doing anything.

+100 to that. ANYTHING is possible on our roads. Ultra-defensive driving is key. Though, a car literally flying at you, not much can be done. Thankfully the OP was wearing his seat belt. Another valuable lesson there for us.

[Durango Dude]

God has indeed has blessed you and your wife! Wow! That's a "Great Escape" to say the least. I'm really glad you lived to tell the tale. That said don't give into the "insurance" guys who are trying to save their money. Opt for a Total Loss and pay out option, get an independent enquiry done on whether the car can be repaired and also a legal opinion.