[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

More details soon

A summary of what happened on 16th October:

• 4:50am: We resume our journey from Chitvan Resort, located on NH48 near Ajmer.
• 5:15am: I overtook a Tata Safari Adventure, he was cruising at 80-90 kmph.
• 5:30am: The same Tata Safari rear ended us at Peeplai, few KMs before Beawar. I slowed down well in advance for a series of speed breaker. This being a routine trip, we are well aware of the road surface/conditions. The Tata Safari, rammed us at its cruising speed. Driver claims that he saw our car at the last minute and tried to avoid.
• Polo is hit so hard that it takes 2x 360 spins before coming to a halt facing the traffic. Panic all around. Me and dad get down from the front seats, run to get mom out. The rear left door is jammed. I throw the luggage on the road kept next to mom, get her out from the other side.
• Engine kept running, got the car on the side, dragging the rear left tyre. Had no choice.
• Immediately rushed to the Safari as I see no one coming out. There waa dust inside (both airbags worked). Got the driver out, asked if he is ok. He was in shock! Safari had 3 kids, 2 ladies and 2 gents.
• Local tea wala got out his chairs so everyone can be seated.
• 5:45am: NHAI team on-site comprising of Ambulance, Tow Crane, Police and highway patrol. They ask each and everyone if they're ok!
• 2 Passengers from Safari are shifted to Beawar Hospital. Kids were absolutely fine.
• Both, me and Safari owner call their respective RSA.
• 6:15am: Tata RSA tow truck is on-site. I am still struggling to get hold of someone on VW RSA helpline. Tried both numbers. There are 2 options: Option 1 is they will send you the link and you have to enter the details and PAY the amount. Option 2 is speak to someone at the other end, I kept choosing 2 but the call disconnects as soon as you enter 2.
• 6:30am: I take twitter, tag VW, BhartiAxa. No response whatsoever till date.
• Between all this I spoke to VW customer care multiple times, they tell me to keep trying RSA till I get hold of someone.
• 7:00am: A known sent a car and driver from Ajmer, to travel to Jaipur.
• 7:15am: I give up on VW and BhartiAXA. The driver of the tow truck which came to pickup the Safari, helped me in getting a flatbed for Polo till Jaipur.
• 8:00am: Flatbed reaches accident site. Meanwhile the safari owner and Dad went to the police station to give a written letter that we do not want to file an FIR and are settling the case outside.
• 8:30am: Polo is loaded on the flatbed. We wait for the others to arrive back from police station.
• 9:00am: Safari cannot be towed, the eBrake is locked. Car is not starting. We cannot open the hood. Tata ASC asks us to wait till they send a technician.
• 9:30am: We leave for Jaipur. The passengers of Safari are now in Ajmer except the owner. We offered help to the owner of the Safari but he insisted on us leaving for Jaipur.
• 12:30pm: I reach VW Jaipur (Tanya cars). They knew I was coming. Big thanks to BHPian Jalaj Prakash. I met the Body Shop Manager. SA was assigned and we waited for the flatbed to arrive.
• An hour later flatbed reaches, we take the car in. Job card is open.
• 3:30pm: We leave for Airport, dropped my parents. We were on way to Mumbai on a family emergency.
• 4:30pm: I meet BHPian Traveler_Nayak and BB311. Big shout out to them for getting me back to Greater Noida safely.
• 6:00pm: We departed Jaipur. Reached home at 2am.

Settlement Between Us and Safari Owner:

• They were traveling to Mumbai nonstop. Started from Delhi at night. He probably slept on the wheels. He was apologetic from the start.
• Coincidentally, the other couple traveling, stayed in the same apartment complex where we stay in Indirapuram!
• I took his insurance, RC and DL copies. Gave a letter to cops in written that we will settle this outside.
• Everyone traveling in Safari are back home in Delhi. Safe. A lady suffered a fractured shoulder. Thank god the kids are safe!
• Safari owner will pay what Insurance will bill us (the difference).

What next?

• Car is at VW Jaipur. The folks who helped us with the car arrangements from Peeplai to Jiapur have taken custody of supervising the car at Jaipur.
• I will get to know today, if it will be a total loss or not. SA tells me will be difficult for total loss as repair cost won't be more than 75% of the IDV. He is confident of getting the car back to road 15 days from arrival of parts.
• I am okay with either outcome, we made it out safe, alive, is all that matters.

Request to all, please spend that extra bucks and buy a safe car. Both, Safari and Polo absorbed the impact very well. I will leave it upto the readers to judge the speed at which Safari hit us, the impact was such that we ended up 30 ft ahead. Drive safe.

[nitkel]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

A summary of what happened on 16th October:

Great to know you all escaped unharmed! Looking at the pics, I would suggest you to push for a total loss or get it fixed and then sell the car asap. That rear is structure is crumpled heavily (even the C pillar is bent), so no matter how good the workmanship, the structure would still be weaker than original.

[fhdowntheline]

Take care @sinharishi, good that you just have a badly beat up car to worry about under the circumstances.

This also got me thinking though- no matter what quality of build you have for your car, in a typical scenario, it will most likely be the larger car that will be the better off in such incidents. If this were an accident of the Safari hitting a crossover/SUV, would the SUV have suffered so much damage?

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by nitkel

That rear is structure is crumpled heavily (even the C pillar is bent), so no matter how good the workmanship, the structure would still be weaker than original.

Chances of total loss are very bleak! The repair cost has to be more than 6.5 lakhs. If the car is repaired, the alignment is OK, it will be a tough decision to let her go.

I intend to use the car after repairs.

[Nalin1]

This is my biggest fear on National highways!. Road humps . Not dogs or cows or TVS 50s.

We really don't need such gigantic humps on a NH. Drastic reduction in speed is a recipe for disaster when most, if not all, are in excess of 80 or 90 kmph. At 5:30 a.m.? The danger is just multiplied. It is a different story on why the presence of these humps are justified.

If the guy in front has spotted the humps in time and has slowed with brake lights well lit, ZERO excuses for the one ramming him. Even more so for someone seated high in a Safari. Yes, looks like the Safari guy dozed off . Usage of hazard lights when slowing down, can alert those behind. But if he has dozed off, he is going to wake up only after the crash!.

Please do keep us updated on the ASC's advice and your final decision.

All the best!.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

A summary of what happened on 16th October:

That is a nasty crash! Glad to hear all of you are safe.

Was this a 2 lane or 3 lane section? And were you in the right lane?

Rear ending and someone jumping the divider are 2 of my biggest fears on our highways.

[sandeepmohan]

Glad to hear you, your mum and dad are safe.

Even if you do manage to get the car fixed, I'd sell the car and move on, while advising the new buyer of your car on the extent of damage. I'd push the insurer to declare this as total loss, so you don't have to pass this onto another buyer.

The boot lid, bumper are all simple part swap jobs. Where it gets tricky is the rear left fender area, leading up to the roof and even the lower sub frame. Its pretty clear the rear axle has been torn off or smashed in.

While the damage looks like a relatively easy fix, the impact would have caused several internal parts of the car to crack or weaken, which you can't see.

I am not sure if a body repair can retain the original strength and setting of parts, as the car came out of the assembly plant. There will be several compromises which you will discover only once the car is back on the road again. Why take a chance.

[GTO]

Sinharishi, glad you & family are safe, man! This is one of the reasons I still recommend the old Polo (and Altroz) for those with highway running & wanting a hatchback.

Moving your post out to a new thread .

@ BHPians, if you should spot any post in an existing thread that deserves its own new thread, please report the post and we'll move it out for greater visibility.

Thank you!

[shancz]

Glad that you guys are safe.
Quite a nasty hit. Drives home the point of safe cars ever more.
Your choice of buying a strong car has proved itself so has the concept of not wearing seatbelts in a safer car too(Safari injuries).
Wish all involved a speedy recovery.

This very situation has been my primary concern during trips. Quite a few times I have eased off the brakes and hammered through the speed breakers since I didn't like what I saw in my RVMs. Traded in potential suspension issues for immediate threat mitigation. Biggest culprits being the SUVs and the best behaved being the truckers.

Also highlights the importance of having a rear impact in the crash tests(apparently the BNVSAP is supposed to have it whenever that comes around).

[deetjohn]

Glad that everyone in both cars are safe. That's one nasty hit and good to see two solid cars protecting the people inside given the highway speeds.

Also nice to see a very cordial settlement between you and the driver of the Safari, @sinharishi! Well done. A slight sliver of good hope after a mishap. In this country, its most often anything but that.

Coming back to the Polo, as much as it hurts, it's time to move on. That's a write off in most countries and that's how it should be. But they will try to talk you out of that. Penny pinching matters more than human life here.

And if both insurance and VW is hell bent on repairs, put your foot down and ask for a full body shell replacement. That should ideally put the cost of repair above the IDV threshold and insurance will budge for a total loss.

Your car did its job and it's time to move on! All the best and I would love the see another brand new Polo in your garage. I am quite sure a taller car would have turned turtle given the impact here. Take care!

[RedTerrano]

The pics are truly horrific. I am glad there were no life threatening injuries.

Originally Posted by sinharishi

I slowed down well in advance for a series of speed breaker.

I am wondering how much is this "series" responsible for the mishap. Were they scientifically constructed? Properly painted? With advance warning signage? There are many accidents discussed here on TBHP where the usual suspect is the speed. Very rarely, other factors are highlighted.

Going by the pics, the Safari has damage to the right wheel only. This could indicate the driver did indeed tried to avoid the collision by swerving to the left.

[SS-Traveller]

How remote are the chances that one meets one's neighbour in a crash! This crash was extremely lucky for the both of you, in terms of minimal injury and no deaths. I am so thankful you and your family came through this with a broken car but no broken bones.

Looking at the description, it seems that the Safari driver engaged cruise control and dozed off, or more likely, suffered a microsleep incident at the time of the crash.

Originally Posted by sinharishi

[*]5:15am: I overtook a Tata Safari Adventure, he was cruising at 80-90 kmph.
...
The Tata Safari, rammed us at its cruising speed.
...[*]They were traveling to Mumbai nonstop. Started from Delhi at night. He probably slept on the wheels.

[abhishek46]

Glad to know that you are safe.
The Polo seems to have taken a heavy impact.

The rear structures, boot, even the axles are gone.
But, the good thing is that the structure did it's job, i.e. to protect you and your family from injuries.

The vehicle can be repaired, but the core issue would be the structure.

[bharanidharang]

Thank God all from both cars are safe. As everyone says, see if you can push for an outright 'total loss'. You cannot bring this back to original fit, finish along with being safe car.

Both the cars have taken the hit well and crumbled properly. Gives confidence on these cars in terms of accidents. I am surprised that Tata RSA was within the scene in 45 mins from accident and you struggling with VW RSA. Says a lot about support system.

[pannags]

Firstly, and most importantly, happy to know that you and your family are safe. Thank god for that.

Both cars have stood the impact well and speak for how important it is to choose safety over creature comforts.