[flipsyde]

Had a similar incident in a Swift on the Chennai-Bangalore highway. I was driving on the fast lane at around 100kmph in the night when suddenly a dog jumped right on to the road. I slammed the brakes and still couldn't stop on time hit the dog at around 70kmph.

I had to get the radiator, AC condensor coil, Front Bumper, radiator fan replaced along with the front crash bar. I don't think the damage would have been this severe if it was some other car. For some reason I believe Swifts are quite flimsy.

[SmartCat]

Braking hard to avoid a dog is fine - but swerving is not. When you brake hard, you are not only trying to save "Tommy", you are also trying to avoid damage to your car. Totally worth it.

Don't worry about the guy behind you. If he hits you, he will be paying you for the damages. If you hit the dog, your pocket will be lighter. The guy behind you has no business driving so close to you anyway.

[adisag]

Originally Posted by DieselAddikt

I had a similar experience this saturday. In my case, I was traveling at 80kmph and a Kerala.S.R.T.C was right on my tail. There was no other vehicle in front of me. But suddenly this dog jumped the median and came on my way. Any hard braking would have had my car's rear smashed by the K.S.R.T.C. So I decided to brake slowly. Hit the dog at about 60kmph and came to a halt in a gradual manner. Luckily, saw the dog walking away. But my bumper got smashed on the right and is protruding out. Guess I will have to replace it now.

Thankfully I was able to slow down enough to avoid any damage to the car Had the dog not frozen in panic, I could probably have avoided hitting it altogether.

Well thank god it did'nt turn into a major accident...

[Addy81]

Originally Posted by flipsyde

Had a similar incident in a Swift on the Chennai-Bangalore highway. I was driving on the fast lane at around 100kmph in the night when suddenly a dog jumped right on to the road. I slammed the brakes and still couldn't stop on time hit the dog at around 70kmph.

I had to get the radiator, AC condensor coil, Front Bumper, radiator fan replaced along with the front crash bar. I don't think the damage would have been this severe if it was some other car. For some reason I believe Swifts are quite flimsy.

Even I had a similar incident yesterday on my Swift, near Sriperumputhur I hit a dog at around 100km/hr, checked the car and the front bumper grill was broken, everything else was fine reached home and today morning when I checked I could see Coolant level had decreased and before I reached workshop most of the coolant was gone. MSM guys couldnt find exactly where the leak was from, I am waiting for an update from them, hope its not serious.

Guys could you give me some inputs on what might have gone wrong? do I have to change the radiator? the MSM guy told that the radiator might have to be replaced.

[ikoneer]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Don't worry about the guy behind you. If he hits you, he will be paying you for the damages. If you hit the dog, your pocket will be lighter. The guy behind you has no business driving so close to you anyway.

We are talking about highway driving and sudden braking here. God forbid, In case of a collision i don't think there is a feasibility of any claims as the stakes would be very high.

[SmartCat]

ikoneer, I agree with you to some extent. For example, if its a truck or a bus (with longer braking/stopping distances), it might make sense to consider not standing on the brake pedal.

But depending on the distance between my car and the truck behind, I might try to reduce my speed as much as possible when impact with a dog is inevitable. Hitting a dog at high speeds might make you lose control of the vehicle too - that is something one must keep in mind.

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by smartcat

...Hitting a dog at high speeds might make you lose control of the vehicle too - that is something one must keep in mind.

+1! My cousin who had learnt driving recently in 2008 took his Santro Xing on the highway from Bangalore to Hubli. He was doing around 100-110kmph when he hit a canine... he lost control and went off the road into a small ditch crashing into a tree. Thankfully both the occupants were wearing seat belts. They just had a few bruises and the driver [my cousin] a sprained wrist.

The canine was mince meat and had to be washed off like svsantosh said. The bill was a hefty 55k to fix the car.

[DieselAddikt]

Originally Posted by smartcat

But depending on the distance between my car and the truck behind, I might try to reduce my speed as much as possible when impact with a dog is inevitable. Hitting a dog at high speeds might make you lose control of the vehicle too - that is something one must keep in mind.

This is exactly what I did. Knowing the KSRTC buses in my state, I am sure that the brakes will not be in perfect condition. So any hard braking I do is a risk to my car and the rear passengers. Why they followed me so close is a question I can probably ask after I get my rear smashed. And KSRTC takes ages to settle disputes.

[Chipz]

Since the dog was hit on the side and it limping away.. i think it will live to see another day (or hit). Just saw a program in Discovery, it said such hits for dogs is not a big problem. you just say your prayer and carry on.

[Anandg]

I read somewhere that when you face a situation where a dog decides to end its life in front of your car only, the best way is to hit it from it behind(of course it depends on whether you get that opportunity). This would cause dogs instinct to run forward and hence that causes less damage to you or to your car and the dog itself.
Anyways never apply sudden brakes because that would cause the someone to ram you from the back (pray that it is not a bigger vehicle or a high speed one) and also your car to do maneuvers like a ice-skating dancer, endangering yours, your family and may be that poor dogs life as well
Just slowly move on, dogs sometimes bow down and escape unhurt under the car.

[rajushank84]

Dogs scare me even more when I am on my bike. Even at speeds of 40-50kmph, they are quite dangerous. Sudden braking could lead to skidding and falling off (possibly fatal), instead of a broken bumper or damaged dicky.

[Addy81]

Originally Posted by Addy81

Even I had a similar incident yesterday on my Swift, near Sriperumputhur I hit a dog at around 100km/hr, checked the car and the front bumper grill was broken, everything else was fine reached home and today morning when I checked I could see Coolant level had decreased and before I reached workshop most of the coolant was gone. MSM guys couldnt find exactly where the leak was from, I am waiting for an update from them, hope its not serious.

Guys could you give me some inputs on what might have gone wrong? do I have to change the radiator? the MSM guy told that the radiator might have to be replaced.

Update : Radiator mounting broke on impact, the radiator was replaced. There were minor scratches on the bumper, it was repainted and the bumper grill was also changed.

Total Cost :
Clip - 26.7/- (holds the front bumper I believe)
Radiator Assembly : 4816.89/-
Grille, Radiator lower(black) - 226.67/-
holder, front bumber SID - 52.4/-
Denting/painting of front bumper - 4140/-

I had to pay Rs. 3426/- (Radiator - 50% and Grille - 50% + Surveyor charges : 500/- + taxes)

[lordofgondor]

That was something unavoidable and it's great that the Dog survived and you didn't take much damage. A similar thing happened to me on NH8 while driving to Jaipur. I was overtaking a long truck, doing ~120 and this doggy came running out of the bushes in the median and landed bang in front of me. There was nothing much I could do that time. No place to go left/right, and I definitely wasn't gonna do any hard braking being so close to a truck, so I just gripped the steering tighter and braced for impact. A serious thud, dog lying very much dead on the road and after some distance I found that my bumper, right fender & right front headlight had gone for a toss.

I felt pathetic, firstly cause I'd killed a creature I am real fond of and secondly, looking at the damage my car had sustained. Better to forget these incidents and move on.

What one can do to have a better chance at avoiding them is to drive in the middle of the highway if possible.

[adisag]

Originally Posted by DieselAddikt

I had a similar experience this saturday. In my case, I was traveling at 80kmph and a Kerala.S.R.T.C was right on my tail. There was no other vehicle in front of me. But suddenly this dog jumped the median and came on my way. Any hard braking would have had my car's rear smashed by the K.S.R.T.C. So I decided to brake slowly. Hit the dog at about 60kmph and came to a halt in a gradual manner. Luckily, saw the dog walking away. But my bumper got smashed on the right and is protruding out. Guess I will have to replace it now.

Originally Posted by Addy81

Even I had a similar incident yesterday on my Swift, near Sriperumputhur I hit a dog at around 100km/hr, checked the car and the front bumper grill was broken, everything else was fine reached home and today morning when I checked I could see Coolant level had decreased and before I reached workshop most of the coolant was gone. MSM guys couldnt find exactly where the leak was from, I am waiting for an update from them, hope its not serious.

Guys could you give me some inputs on what might have gone wrong? do I have to change the radiator? the MSM guy told that the radiator might have to be replaced.

Originally Posted by Addy81

Update : Radiator mounting broke on impact, the radiator was replaced. There were minor scratches on the bumper, it was repainted and the bumper grill was also changed.

Total Cost :
Clip - 26.7/- (holds the front bumper I believe)
Radiator Assembly : 4816.89/-
Grille, Radiator lower(black) - 226.67/-
holder, front bumber SID - 52.4/-
Denting/painting of front bumper - 4140/-

I had to pay Rs. 3426/- (Radiator - 50% and Grille - 50% + Surveyor charges : 500/- + taxes)

Originally Posted by lordofgondor

That was something unavoidable and it's great that the Dog survived and you didn't take much damage. A similar thing happened to me on NH8 while driving to Jaipur. I was overtaking a long truck, doing ~120 and this doggy came running out of the bushes in the median and landed bang in front of me. There was nothing much I could do that time. No place to go left/right, and I definitely wasn't gonna do any hard braking being so close to a truck, so I just gripped the steering tighter and braced for impact. A serious thud, dog lying very much dead on the road and after some distance I found that my bumper, right fender & right front headlight had gone for a toss.

I felt pathetic, firstly cause I'd killed a creature I am real fond of and secondly, looking at the damage my car had sustained. Better to forget these incidents and move on.

What one can do to have a better chance at avoiding them is to drive in the middle of the highway if possible.

Thanks guys

I can only say I'm real lucky, the only damage was a broken fog-light placeholder... so theres a circular void in the bumper where that would fit - the workshop did'nt have that in stock, so it'll get fitted when I get my car serviced.

Always felt the i10 has a solid front


My dad's NHC got bumped from behind, stopped in traffic, and this guy in an i10 hit us from the rear - Honda had a crumpled boot and a completely busted rear bumper and dicky... the i10 had only a squashed front bumper... (This happened about a year ago) always thought this was just because of the height differential, and profile of the bonnet, so the i10 kind of wedged itself under the boot of the city... but reading about the kind of damage canine hits can do... I just wonder...

[akshay_b]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Airbags generally deploy when the car hits a deformable object at an impact speed of 50 kmph. If you hit a wall (non-deformable object), it will deploy at a lower speed.

Dogs will not damage the chassis (required for airbag activation) - just the bumper, even at high speed impact.

But if you hit an elephant at high speed..

How could this happen?

YouTube - granny airbag