| Collision, Airbags and Chaos - Cedia takes a hit
How many of us would have actually seen airbags deploy after a crash and the pull of seat belts against our chests as the car that we are traveling in collides with another car or an object? Well, God forbid this should happen to anyone but I got to face this scene last Sunday night where my car was involved in a serial collision on the Bangalore- Mysore highway just outside Ramanagaram.
I was with my family returning from Mysore and the time was around 11:15pm. I was driving and my brother-in-law sitting in the passenger seat. At the rear were my Mom, sister, and my 4-year-old niece. We had crossed Ramanagaram and were cruising along the highway and if I remember correctly the speed would have been somewhere around 70-80 km/hr with moderate traffic. I was leisurely driving while all of a sudden I heard a loud bang of metal crashing in front of me and before I could realize that the car in front of me had hit something, I could see a huge mass of white in my windshield and the next moment, I could feel my car crash into something with great impact. I sat stunned, as the whole car shook, jolting everyone inside and pushing the object that was in front until it came to a standstill after a few seconds. All this while, I watched the airbags deploy, some kid falling on my windshield from the car in front, and my windshield crack as my car finally stopped. There was lot of smoke inside the car and a strange smell of chemical due to the deployment of airbags. Quickly I regained my senses and got out of the car. My brother and the rest of my family were behind us in another car and they saw the whole thing happen. They quickly reached us and opened the car and got everyone out. None of us were injured except my mother who was bleeding profusely from the head. She had a huge cut on her forehead and her whole face was swollen. Outside, the scene was of utter chaos with 4 cars scattered on the road and the whole traffic coming to a standstill. I quickly sent my mom in the other car to a nearby hospital and from there she was sent to Bangalore in an ambulance after basic first aid.
This is what happened. A Maruti swift, with 5 occupants, probably drunk, going towards Mysore at high speed, jumped the median and landed on the opposite lane bang opposite a Tata sumo that was in front of me. The swift drove in the wrong direction and hit the sumo head on. Due to the impact, the sumo turned to it left and was perpendicular in front of my car. I had no time to react and banged right into the sumo’s left fender. My car pushed the sumo some distance and then stopped ahead of it. The sumo had a family and one kid was thrown out due to the impact and luckily landed on the windshield of my car and was unhurt except a few cuts on his head. The rear of the swift then hit another Santro behind me on the left lane and came to a standstill.
The damage – All 5 occupants of the swift were badly hurt and one of them died on the spot probably due to the direct impact with the sumo. The swift was badly mangled and just one glance at it told that death was certain for the poor souls in it. Luckily the remaining passengers survived with severe injuries and are/were hospitalized. My car had taken all the impact of the collision with the Tata sumo and I was unhurt due to the seat belt keeping me in place and the airbags deployed preventing any head injuries. The sumo had damages to its left fender and 3 tyres had burst. My car had taken a huge hit and I could see the radiator bent and the whole front bumper caved in. Apart from the bonnet, the driver side fender and door is scratched and dented, the left suspension is damaged. Someone from the local police station arranged for the cars to be towed away to the nearby traffic police station. I took a local bus and left for Bangalore at 5:30 am after giving my complaint and statement to the police. I had to go to Ramanagaram for 2 days continuously to get all the formalities done and get the car released.
My Mom was in hospital for 3 days and luckily she didn’t suffer and fractures except for the numerous hits she had all over the body mostly on her legs. The main injury was the huge cut on her forehead that required around 10 stitches. By the grace of God she is home now and recovering. My sister suffered injuries to her legs but nothing to worry about. My brother-in-law was ok too at the passenger side except for a burn injury he got to his hand due to the heat from the airbag. This is another interesting discussion on why the airbags automatically deflated after a while.
I got the car towed to the service station in Bangalore on Tuesday night. The initial estimate given by the service station is a staggering 7.5 lakhs for repairs and I am waiting for the insurance surveyor from ICICI Lombard to get back to me with the option of going in for the repairs or go in for total loss since the IDV of my car is less than the estimated repair costs. (IDV is around 5.5 Lakhs as it’s a 2007 model)
Now all of a sudden, I am faced with the reality that my beloved Cedia may have to be given up, as the repair costs are huge. It may not make sense to go in for repairs and I have read from the numerous posts that the car will not be the same anymore.
All said and done, I am rather proud of my car since it saved my life and took all the impact. I believe it has done its job well.
Here are some pics of the cars involved. First is my Cedia, the Tata sumo and lastly the swift that came in the wrong direction. | 
18th April 2010, 19:50
(2)
Thanks
. And yes, it wont be the same even if you repair it. Get yourself a spanking new Cedia 
