[atkraju]

Finally, a dog chooses my swift to commit suicide. I can’t blame the dog, because dogs like all the cars that are in my family. This has happened with my Baleno and the Alto VXi we had.


The real story goes like this:
9-May-2008, 7:30 PM to 10:15: We had gone for a team dinner for a restaurant near Sony world Junction, Koramangala. After the dinner I dropped few of my colleagues near forum and was travelling with 2 others friends to my house. Then on the way, I dropped my friend near Vijayanagar. Then was going to Kengeri via Mysore road to drop another Friend and at the same time the dog decided that it had to meet the God and thought that my immaculate Swift was the best vehicle to commit to suicide.


10:28 PM: On the mysore road, I crossed the TATA-FIAT showroom and was travelling at 90KMPH. There was Qualis going in the left lane, so I overtook and was on the right lane, close to the divider. I was in the 5th Gear and the Turbo had kicked, so the speed was picking up fast and I was near 100KMPH. The road ahead was empty and there was nobody, so I was maintaining 100KMPH.


Around 10:30 PM: The Road was straight and I was nearing R.V college. Then suddenly I see a dog which had come from the other side of the divider and was waiting over there.


Final Moments:
Note: The road is a 4 lane one with divider in between. The road is flat, smooth one with no potholes.


3 seconds: The dog thinks that it has to cross the road and he leaves the divider and it starts walking. I see it and lifted my leg from the accelerator and planted my leg on the brake pedal. Slightly squeezed the brake pedal, hoping that the dog will cross the road.


1 second: The dog crosses the right lane and has reached the middle of the road and stops over there and is staring at my swift. I thought that it will not come into my lane and was contempt with the light brake. Was hoping that dog will not dare to come to my lane.


D-Moment: The dog starts to move back to the divider and I thought that there is no escape for my swift. The dog has choosen it to commit suicide and I have to go with it. I could not go to the right because of the divider and could not steer left because if I do it then I will hit the dog in the centre and it will be more disastrous, So ensured that I hit the dog at the left end of the bumper. Finally, I hit the dog and for a second I was numb. Then regained my composure and saw the rear view mirror and could not see the dog. I knew it was dead but not sure of where it flew and fell.


Afterwards: The vehicle was ok and there were no crackling sounds, the headlights were perfectly alright. So did not stop and was proceeded to Kengeri. On the way, I pressed the horn and the sound was different, then I sensed that the bumper is damaged more than what I had thought. I dropped my friend at kengeri and got down to inspect the bumper and saw that the left portion is damaged a lot. The other parts of the bumper were intact and were holding the body and hence the bumper did not fall off.


Then came back home at 10:50PM and showed the damage to my dad and then went to sleep. Next morning, I got up a bit late and dad informed that the garage is full of the coolant which had leaked from the Swift. Then we called up the Garage and the person came to pick it up. He filled up water in the coolant reservoir and drove the Swift to the Garage.


After some time, I drove to garage in my Baleno. The Swift was already on the ramp and I could see the bottom damage.


The final outcome:

1. The bumper is broken and has to be replaced fully.
2. The radiator’s, bottom part has a crack and the coolant has leaked off. This has to be replaced.
3. Have to check the AC compressor and leakage.

The final cost of repair and replacements will be 23K approx. Have to show it to the insurance guys on Monday and then the repair work will start. Will get the vehicle back on Tuesday evening.


Till then, I will enjoy driving my Baleno. May the Dog’s soul rest in peace. Hoping that no other dog will find my Swift too tempting to commit the suicide.


Pictures of the damage are given below:

[ajmat]

Bad luck

At least you hit the dog on the corner. Lucky that your engine did not overheat

[googly]

oh thats a big damage and quite expensive too:(

i too hit a dog once on pathankot-dalhousie road, speed must be around 80-90kmph, it was late evening and i had just overtook a qualis, a dog came running out of nowhere from the right side of road and i just couldnt brake or steer because it was a single lane road, i hit the dog with the middle of my car, it flew to the left side of the road, did stop the car few metres ahead, couldnt find the dog, but found only a minor crack on my wagonR bumper...just 2 inches of crack.

Dog might have survived, because could not find its body there, but it was hell of an experience...saw though windshield the dog flied across the road with the impact of collision. was feeling very guilty and brought a labrador for myself upon returning back

[revved_up]

Tough luck buddy.. somethings are out of our control.
May the dog's soul rest in peace. Looking at the damage on your car, it really makes me shiver what would have happened to the dog. But again its not your fault and you did the best you could.

Hope your car returns to its immaculate self ASAP.

[Cyrus43]

May the pooch have a good afterlife. It must have been a harrowing experience for you...

[hyper123]

Oh my, that is quite a lot of damage. Estimate of 23K?!! Hope the insurance covers most of it. It must be a horrible time for you right now, hope you get the car back soon.

[Jaggu]

Ouch that was a nasty hit, the reinforcement bar has pierced through the bumper.

AC grill should have survived since the grill is at a higher level compared to the radiator.

I had to replace one bumper and mud guard trim in my ol esteem thanks to a dog, but at much slower speed hit.

Poor creature.

[kjdesigns_2000]

Originally Posted by hyper123

Oh my, that is quite a lot of damage. Estimate of 23K?!! Hope the insurance covers most of it. It must be a horrible time for you right now, hope you get the car back soon.

Bumpers are plastics so i think only 50% is covered by insurance.

[joe angelo]

i had similar incidents too... have seen some also!! hit a dog when i was driving my old 800,just heard some cracking bones,but the dog ran away!! saw some cars hitting dogs, but they came out less injured!! actually dogs doenst lose its life just by hitting a medium speed cars!! we feels like the dog is dead!! if there is minor injury dogs could heal soon!! if hit by a truck or bus, then it rests in peace!!!

[Jaggu]

thank god they are cheap too (bumpre) some 1800 bucks, painting will be more costly and covered in insurance.

[LLL]

One more reason to get a SUV/MUV

2-3 years back, on GT road, a dog decided to jump on the road, realised it was suicidal and turned right back in our path ( we were in a sumo) . The driver braked hard but the dog still managed to come under the tyre. We felt the dogs bones breaking under the tyre, and did not have the courage to turn back and look at the remains. We just drove on but the day was ruined and those sad memories remain till date.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Dan, its tough even killing a small thing with the car. I think (couldn't find any evidence, even though I stopped and looked) that I killed a cat once. I'm a cat lover, and I well understand the realtionships English people have with their cats because I am one. I still sometimes cringe, and just hope it may have passed between the wheels. But it was like one of those times when you and another try to avoid each other on the pavement. I saw it crossing, so I slowed down. It saw me; it slowed down too...

I am always amazed at the road sense that dogs here have but, it doesn't always work out.

Hey... I'm sorry about the car too.

[atkraju]

The approx estimate for the repairs is 23K. Its high because of the radiator, which has to be replaced. Anyhow, waiting till Monday to hear from the insurance guys on the amount that will be approved for repair.

1. The bumper cost is aprox 2K, then painting and the labor charges for fixing it.
2. I am not sure of the radiator cost. But a new one had to be fixed and then the coolant has to filled and the labor charges for it.
3. The AC compressor has to be checked. Have to check if there has been any leakage of the gas.

The lower arm and the front left tyre are good. Also, no damages to other parts.

This is my second dog hit. The first one was, when my Baleno was new. A dog came from nowhere and i had no time to react and had to go over it. Before that same thing had happened with my Alto VXi.

The garage owner was telling me that dogs like my cars, every new car we buy, a dog has to be scarified for it

[tsk1979]

Wow, so much damage. Expensive dog I must say.
Good Fiesta comes with a dog bar.
Like Australians have bull bars, we need dog bars.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by atkraju

This is my second dog hit. The first one was, when my Baleno was new. A dog came from nowhere and i had no time to react and had to go over it. Before that same thing had happened with my Alto VXi.

The garage owner was telling me that dogs like my cars, every new car we buy, a dog has to be scarified for it

Sorry for the unnecessary expenditure mate !!

But i sincerely hope Maneka Gandhi ain't reading this.