[theMAG]

Its most likely that the car driver was either distracted or drowsy to brake. Anyway glad that your relatives were unharmed.

[rks]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Watch this and you will realise what could have happened

I agree with the analysis in this video. But the child seat and seat belts should be of a proven design from a reputed manufacturer (maybe with an official seal of approval?). Half-baked designs can do more harm than good, as was the case shown with the child seat not properly secured.

[pankaj_sachdeva]

GTO, Sad to know about the accident & glad to know that your family is safe. But please as other members pointed out, get Child seats for your niece. Every safety measures counts in an accident.

[MaserQ]

Scary, but thank God your niece is ok. A pointer for the car manufacturers - quality child seats have to be an optional safety feature.

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

the driver probably dozed off. It is quite common in city roads these days. They work 16 hour shifts to earn double the salary. This is just not right. Glad that this incident did not hurt anyone seriously.

These sleepy killers need to taken off the road. The problem is that there is no way to police these things at the moment. Responsibility lies with the taxi operators/rental companies.

[nkapoor777]

I think child seats are the single most important safety feature if you have an infant travelling in your vehicle. Sadly, we Indians don't pay any attention to the safety of our children whom we love the most. Child seats should be made mandatory in the country just like the western countries.

GTO: Glad to hear that everyone is fine after the incident.

"You don't need to make a mistake to get killed on the road. Someone else might just do the needful for you."

[gendarmee]

Nice snaps with a Motorola mobile phone GTO.
Good to hear that no one was hurt.
Looks like the Innova hardly took anything compared to the corolla.
would probably take in lakhs to get that corolla to run again.

Nowadays, one doesn't have to resist from committing mistakes but save our selves from mistakes committed by people driving around.
My car got trashed from the back 2 days back, at a Red signal!

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by rks

I have not seen how child seat belts work. But I am not 100% sure whether seat-belts would have been a blessing in this case. For two-year-olds can easily get a serious neck injury when they are restrained by seat-belts.

shild seats are nothing but smaller seats suited for kids, with more anchor points (normally 5). normal seat belts can not hold a kid's body well in case of a crash.

also, infants (< 6 months) are supposed to be in rear facing seat to avoid neck injury, i am assuming it's because most crashes are frontal (into stationary objects). if rear ended, it would have opposite effects.

[Xehaust]

Rear enders are on the rise i guess. 2 days back some truck rear ended my brothers accent at a signal. Well, i guess he just misjudged the braking distance by an inch or so as not much damage, only the rear bumper is broken a bit.

The problem here is, How to prevent getting rear ended???

[Firebird]

Thats scary...good to know all are safe....it does look like the handbrake disengaged proved to be savior for Inova rear.

Originally Posted by Xehaust

Rear enders are on the rise i guess. 2 days back some truck rear ended my brothers accent at a signal. Well, i guess he just misjudged the braking distance by an inch or so as not much damage, only the rear bumper is broken a bit.

was that silver accent? Saw one badly rear ended at the start of the flyover.

[Xehaust]

Yes, it is a silver acccent Firebird with 5 spoke alloys.
Out of curiosity, was the trucker at fault? I mean, how can you not see a car in front of you

[headers]

Good no one is hurt.. It amazes me how one could just bang into the back of a car at a traffic light..

I often keep my eyes on the RVM for those nasty buses that come too close and brake to scare you. Also keep some space in front to crawl after they come close just to give myslef more space.

I'd have slapped the driver of the corolla and handed him to the police..the least we could do knowing how the systems work in our country.


I didnt follow the handbrake bit..pls elaborate

[rks]

Originally Posted by headers

I didnt follow the handbrake bit..pls elaborate

Since the Innova did not have the handbrake engaged while idling in neutral at the signal, it moved forward upon being rear-ended and collided with another vehicle in front. The abrupt stoppage due to this second impact threw the child forward. If handbrake was engaged, the Innova would not have moved forward and the child would have remained in her seat. The rear portion of the Innova would probably have taken greater damage if handbrake was engaged.

[PatienceWins]

Glad to know that the passengers were safe.

We had a similar experience 12 years back. We were waiting for signal in our Maruti 800. Another 800 came very fast and banged from behind. He did not apply brakes at all. The car shook violently.

Compared to Corolla's damage, the Innova's rear damage is trivial. Innova seems to be a sturdy vehicle.

I like the name of the thread. Toyota Vs Toyota

[headers]

Originally Posted by rks

Since the Innova did not have the handbrake engaged while idling in neutral at the signal, it moved forward upon being rear-ended and collided with another vehicle in front. The abrupt stoppage due to this second impact threw the child forward. If handbrake was engaged, the Innova would not have moved forward and the child would have remained in her seat. The rear portion of the Innova would probably have taken greater damage if handbrake was engaged.

rks, thanks for the info..but the handbrake locks only the rear wheels in most cars..Even if all 4 wheels are locked and there is a collision from the rear - most probably the vehicle will move forward unless the speeds are very very slow.

I once witnessed a 4 car collision here in Chennai wherein the last guy came at say 25kmph or so and just didnt brake..this resulted in a movie kind of collision with all the front three cars having both their ends crumpled.. I was in the next lane to witness this.

thanks again for the clarificaiton, cheers

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by headers

I'd have slapped the driver of the corolla and handed him to the police..

and I would kill anybody who slapped me on the road. not to mention, cite "self defence" as a reason.

isn't that how it starts?