That unlucky night

ImmortalZ · 22nd September 2009, 16:21

While I do appreciate your sentiments on keeping that car, the A pillar is pretty much mush. It saved your life once, but it will have trouble doing it again if you get into another accident.

Just a thought.

NFS2024 · 22nd September 2009, 16:26

Brother, you were damn lucky, get well soon man !

Now the unlucky part. A young close colleague of my mine died in a car accident early yesterday morning and given below is what i heard acbout the accident.

My colleague was traveling as a passenger in the front seat of his friend’s car at the time of the accident. It appears that the car lost control while trying to negotiate a sharp turn on a narrow village road connecting Hosur Road and Sarjapur Road and went off the road, falling about 15 feet in height. He may not have been wearing a seat belt, and the window may have been open. It appears that he was half thrown out of the car during the accident, and finally, was trapped beneath the car as it halted.

This road as i know is not a highway but a narrow kuccha road. How unlucky can one get...!

Akadian · 22nd September 2009, 16:54

I read a newspaper article recently that said that the biggest killer of young people worldwide as of today is road accidents. We all need to take note of this statistic as we are on some road or the other almost everyday. Having said that, Mr Chauhan definitely seems to have had time on his side. As they say, the time of departure from this world is fixed for each and every one of us and that time was not the one fixed for him or for the others traveling with him.

Interestingly, one of the companies I worked for, Schlumberger had reached the same conclusion as that newspaper article. They said that the biggest danger to the life of Schlumberger employees worldwide (mind it, not just in India) was road accidents or driving-related incidents. As a result of this conclusion, they had an interesting company policy on driving or even traveling by a company car. If the driver drove off without letting each and every passenger don the seat belt, he could be fired. Any company car in India could not exceed 70 kmph and violations of this rule were recorded in a black-box, which was fitted in all company vehicles. The driver used to lose some part of his bonus for each violation. So on and so forth. It was a huge list and just to qualify for driving a company car, you had to take an elaborate commentary drive test.

Anyway, get well soon my friend. You have to traverse many more miles

hellstar · 22nd September 2009, 16:59

First i am not sorry , and from what you have managed to read from your limited posts neither are you about the incident .

But my friend there are limits to everything and knowing that limit basically differenciates between life and death. and there is no margin for error. Rain , fatigue, road conditions etc are things to which the limits can easily be read . I seriously suggest that instead of writing off this incident as a cruel twist of fate , start gauging as to where you could have corrected to avoid this.

That being said you get well soon and thank the gods that you are here to tell us the story.

passion4cars · 22nd September 2009, 17:34

Hi ,

I think you should rename your post - The LUCKY Night !!
as most of our members will agree - all of you , indeed are lucky to be alive & without any MAJOR injuries . Thank your lucky stars & god , do visit a temple or whatever place you go for your religious prayers .

aaggoswami · 22nd September 2009, 19:09

1) The car has taken the hit well considering your description. The car's body has lost overall stiffness and its best not to repair the car. The original strength will not come back.

2) Speeds. Today I am back from a 300+ kms journey in Baleno. Saw a Corsa crash and will soon be putting up images in accidents in India thread. Point is, this crash happened on SH6 that has very smooth roads that are also wide. The place where corsa crashed, its clear that such a wide and smooth road cannot be responsible for accident, and its driver's fault.

So here too, IMHO its your fault that you were doing 100+ kmph on conditions that were bad. First it was dark, next rain and you added dose of serious high speeds. By indian standards, night = not more than 100 kmph. Add rain and this becomes 80 kmph max.

You were well beyond that limit. Consider yourself lucky that you are in a position to describe this incident.

sabsubs · 22nd September 2009, 19:54

Hey, how are you doing now? Hope that you are on the path of recovery. 110 to 140 and occasional 160 KMPH is totally no no on Indian roads. My suggestion is to never cross 90 on any car. You may not know what would happen, some cycle/scooter or some pedestrians might cross the road when we are doing 120 KMPH and above and we need to be more careful and accidents do happen within fraction of a second. Be more cautious when you drive next time. Get well soon.

archat68 · 22nd September 2009, 21:40

Thats a scary incident. Get well soon. But the fault was yours. However you've learnt your lesson in a hard way. Be careful in future.

null · 22nd September 2009, 22:30

Lucky you. Get well soon & remember never to overspeed again.

Be happy that you are safe because of that particular car build. Pl. encourage yourself & everyone around you to be drive safe & control their adrenalin rush to press the gas pedal meaninglessly.

I just wonder how nasty could it have been if it were to be some other car than Baleno.

Thad E Ginathom · 23rd September 2009, 00:03

I guess you're going to get pages of this, and I guess you know that, but...

Reading your initial posts, I had a picture of two- or three-lane highway. When I saw the picture of the road I was shocked that you were speeding, even in the dark, never mind the rain, on that lane. Daft.

What was very, very seriously not daft was that you were all belted in. If just one person had said they didn't believe in set belts, or they weren't needed for rear seats, then I doubt if you'd be posting this at all, because I guess the grief would be too much.

That is quite a chunk you took out of that poor tree! For that alone, you deserved some police hassle

It is one thing to lecture. I remember one day, when I was driving exactly at the speed limit for that stretch of British road (100kph) when I learnt, the hard way, that it was too fast for safety. No broken bones, though, in either car.

I is great that you and your mates are all alive and relatively well. I hope you recover really soon from your injuries --- but please don't forget them, you need a big driving-style update

Take it easy....

Don't strain that arm, but do tell us the rest of the story as soon as you can!

coolboy007 · 23rd September 2009, 00:19

Well,
That road photo you posted, the road looks damn narrow. Wont say the same thing again but hope you learnt some lesson now which will make you a good driver. Atleast you were honest enough to tell us that you were doing insane speeds in rainy weather.

Its your luck and the car that saved you, you were very lucky to survive such a shunt. Destiny forces us to do stupid things, speeding was one in your case.
Same kind of accident happened last year with us, we were coming from HP in our Scorpio and in hills dad doesnt allow me to drive much. That particular day, 30 mins before accident i had told dad to use both hands for steering which he didnt listen to. A sharp curve came, 1 hand rotation wasnt enough, car skidded, went into a ditch, toppled left side came back, spun, thanks to high centre of gravity toppled 3 times again, all 4 of us came out unharmped thanks to the car especially (were wearing seat belts). Scorpio took it all upon it, as you were in baleno it didnt topple after spinning but still 1 toppled was enough to hurt you

Man your life is precious, be careful from now, i know the sentimental impact of such a major accident as i witnessed it last year. Dad couldnt sleep for days, with a guilt that he could have killed his whole family because of his 1 mistake of holding steering with one hand. Your friends were also there with you and good that noone was hurt.

Regarding repairing the car, am strictly against it though i know it will be tough to part with the car. I also got my Scorpio repaired but now only use it in city as the body was damaged from everywhere. For highways, bought another car. If possible claim a TL and you can get a second hand baleno from the market.

Give rest to your hand and keep updating us, regarding police hassles, we pay them for that only. These pandus dont know anythign else.

aZa · 23rd September 2009, 02:18

Get well soon! And yes thinking about the pain caused to family members and loved ones of everyone in the car, Next time drive slow and be alert!

harishnayak · 23rd September 2009, 06:03

Dude , you're lucky to walk away and tell the story. Please drive carefully.

hrag · 23rd September 2009, 06:12

Glad you & your passengers are not badly hurt. Hats off to you for being honest!

Why is everybody pouncing on him? People are understandably concerned but at least he has the honesty to tell us how he was driving and what exactly happened in terms of impact and damage.

watashi75 · 23rd September 2009, 07:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by hrag

Why is everybody pouncing on him? People are understandably concerned but at least he has the honesty to tell us how he was driving and what exactly happened in terms of impact and damage.

Please don't forget that he put other people's lives at stake too.

22nd September 2009, 16:21	#46
ImmortalZ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,179 Thanked: 488 Times View My Garage	While I do appreciate your sentiments on keeping that car, the A pillar is pretty much mush. It saved your life once, but it will have trouble doing it again if you get into another accident. Just a thought.
	() Thanks

22nd September 2009, 16:26	#47
NFS2024 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 840 Thanked: 444 Times	Not so Lucky..! Brother, you were damn lucky, get well soon man ! Now the unlucky part. A young close colleague of my mine died in a car accident early yesterday morning and given below is what i heard acbout the accident. My colleague was traveling as a passenger in the front seat of his friend’s car at the time of the accident. It appears that the car lost control while trying to negotiate a sharp turn on a narrow village road connecting Hosur Road and Sarjapur Road and went off the road, falling about 15 feet in height. He may not have been wearing a seat belt, and the window may have been open. It appears that he was half thrown out of the car during the accident, and finally, was trapped beneath the car as it halted. This road as i know is not a highway but a narrow kuccha road. How unlucky can one get...!
	() Thanks

22nd September 2009, 16:54	#48
Akadian BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Karnal Posts: 264 Thanked: 5 Times	I read a newspaper article recently that said that the biggest killer of young people worldwide as of today is road accidents. We all need to take note of this statistic as we are on some road or the other almost everyday. Having said that, Mr Chauhan definitely seems to have had time on his side. As they say, the time of departure from this world is fixed for each and every one of us and that time was not the one fixed for him or for the others traveling with him. Interestingly, one of the companies I worked for, Schlumberger had reached the same conclusion as that newspaper article. They said that the biggest danger to the life of Schlumberger employees worldwide (mind it, not just in India) was road accidents or driving-related incidents. As a result of this conclusion, they had an interesting company policy on driving or even traveling by a company car. If the driver drove off without letting each and every passenger don the seat belt, he could be fired. Any company car in India could not exceed 70 kmph and violations of this rule were recorded in a black-box, which was fitted in all company vehicles. The driver used to lose some part of his bonus for each violation. So on and so forth. It was a huge list and just to qualify for driving a company car, you had to take an elaborate commentary drive test. Anyway, get well soon my friend. You have to traverse many more miles
	(1) Thanks

22nd September 2009, 16:59	#49
hellstar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,072 Thanked: 44 Times	First i am not sorry , and from what you have managed to read from your limited posts neither are you about the incident . But my friend there are limits to everything and knowing that limit basically differenciates between life and death. and there is no margin for error. Rain , fatigue, road conditions etc are things to which the limits can easily be read . I seriously suggest that instead of writing off this incident as a cruel twist of fate , start gauging as to where you could have corrected to avoid this. That being said you get well soon and thank the gods that you are here to tell us the story.
	() Thanks

22nd September 2009, 17:34	#50
passion4cars BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Melbourne Posts: 156 Thanked: 6 Times	Hi , I think you should rename your post - The LUCKY Night !! as most of our members will agree - all of you , indeed are lucky to be alive & without any MAJOR injuries . Thank your lucky stars & god , do visit a temple or whatever place you go for your religious prayers .
	() Thanks

22nd September 2009, 19:09	#51
aaggoswami Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Vadodara Posts: 4,982 Thanked: 2,931 Times	1) The car has taken the hit well considering your description. The car's body has lost overall stiffness and its best not to repair the car. The original strength will not come back. 2) Speeds. Today I am back from a 300+ kms journey in Baleno. Saw a Corsa crash and will soon be putting up images in accidents in India thread. Point is, this crash happened on SH6 that has very smooth roads that are also wide. The place where corsa crashed, its clear that such a wide and smooth road cannot be responsible for accident, and its driver's fault. So here too, IMHO its your fault that you were doing 100+ kmph on conditions that were bad. First it was dark, next rain and you added dose of serious high speeds. By indian standards, night = not more than 100 kmph. Add rain and this becomes 80 kmph max. You were well beyond that limit. Consider yourself lucky that you are in a position to describe this incident.
	() Thanks

22nd September 2009, 19:54	#52
sabsubs BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 324 Thanked: 322 Times	Hey, how are you doing now? Hope that you are on the path of recovery. 110 to 140 and occasional 160 KMPH is totally no no on Indian roads. My suggestion is to never cross 90 on any car. You may not know what would happen, some cycle/scooter or some pedestrians might cross the road when we are doing 120 KMPH and above and we need to be more careful and accidents do happen within fraction of a second. Be more cautious when you drive next time. Get well soon.
	(1) Thanks

22nd September 2009, 21:40	#53
archat68 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Kolkata Posts: 897 Thanked: 619 Times	Thats a scary incident. Get well soon. But the fault was yours. However you've learnt your lesson in a hard way. Be careful in future.
	() Thanks

22nd September 2009, 22:30	#54
null BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Paradise (wish it was) Posts: 434 Thanked: 333 Times	Lucky you. Get well soon & remember never to overspeed again. Be happy that you are safe because of that particular car build. Pl. encourage yourself & everyone around you to be drive safe & control their adrenalin rush to press the gas pedal meaninglessly. I just wonder how nasty could it have been if it were to be some other car than Baleno.
	() Thanks

23rd September 2009, 00:03	#55
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,005 Thanked: 26,447 Times	I guess you're going to get pages of this, and I guess you know that, but... Reading your initial posts, I had a picture of two- or three-lane highway. When I saw the picture of the road I was shocked that you were speeding, even in the dark, never mind the rain, on that lane. Daft. What was very, very seriously not daft was that you were all belted in. If just one person had said they didn't believe in set belts, or they weren't needed for rear seats, then I doubt if you'd be posting this at all, because I guess the grief would be too much. That is quite a chunk you took out of that poor tree! For that alone, you deserved some police hassle It is one thing to lecture. I remember one day, when I was driving exactly at the speed limit for that stretch of British road (100kph) when I learnt, the hard way, that it was too fast for safety. No broken bones, though, in either car. I is great that you and your mates are all alive and relatively well. I hope you recover really soon from your injuries --- but please don't forget them, you need a big driving-style update Take it easy.... Don't strain that arm, but do tell us the rest of the story as soon as you can!
	(2) Thanks

23rd September 2009, 00:19	#56
coolboy007 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 1,852 Thanked: 2,137 Times	Well, That road photo you posted, the road looks damn narrow. Wont say the same thing again but hope you learnt some lesson now which will make you a good driver. Atleast you were honest enough to tell us that you were doing insane speeds in rainy weather. Its your luck and the car that saved you, you were very lucky to survive such a shunt. Destiny forces us to do stupid things, speeding was one in your case. Same kind of accident happened last year with us, we were coming from HP in our Scorpio and in hills dad doesnt allow me to drive much. That particular day, 30 mins before accident i had told dad to use both hands for steering which he didnt listen to. A sharp curve came, 1 hand rotation wasnt enough, car skidded, went into a ditch, toppled left side came back, spun, thanks to high centre of gravity toppled 3 times again, all 4 of us came out unharmped thanks to the car especially (were wearing seat belts). Scorpio took it all upon it, as you were in baleno it didnt topple after spinning but still 1 toppled was enough to hurt you Man your life is precious, be careful from now, i know the sentimental impact of such a major accident as i witnessed it last year. Dad couldnt sleep for days, with a guilt that he could have killed his whole family because of his 1 mistake of holding steering with one hand. Your friends were also there with you and good that noone was hurt. Regarding repairing the car, am strictly against it though i know it will be tough to part with the car. I also got my Scorpio repaired but now only use it in city as the body was damaged from everywhere. For highways, bought another car. If possible claim a TL and you can get a second hand baleno from the market. Give rest to your hand and keep updating us, regarding police hassles, we pay them for that only. These pandus dont know anythign else. Last edited by coolboy007 : 23rd September 2009 at 00:22.
	() Thanks

23rd September 2009, 02:18	#57
aZa Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Noida / Delhi Posts: 1,595 Thanked: 21 Times View My Garage	Get well soon! And yes thinking about the pain caused to family members and loved ones of everyone in the car, Next time drive slow and be alert!
	() Thanks

23rd September 2009, 06:03	#58
harishnayak Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: DELHI Posts: 1,396 Thanked: 125 Times	Dude , you're lucky to walk away and tell the story. Please drive carefully.
	() Thanks

23rd September 2009, 06:12	#59
hrag BANNED Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bangalore / Madras Posts: 1,982 Thanked: 31 Times	Glad you & your passengers are not badly hurt. Hats off to you for being honest! Why is everybody pouncing on him? People are understandably concerned but at least he has the honesty to tell us how he was driving and what exactly happened in terms of impact and damage.
	() Thanks