[sam_boy]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

SB, the catch is that he cannot fit the fog lamps without fixing the bumpers!

I tend to agree here. I had a similar cut in my bumper around the fog lamp and I could not fit the fog lamp without replacing the bumper.

The bumper is not that costly but the paint work is. Your car has a very common color and the probability of getting it elsewhere is high.

[dmplog]

Originally Posted by VW2010

Else use insurance and get the bumper replaced, the lights fixed and the washer system fixed..

Originally Posted by rajeev k

If the car is less than an year old claiming in Insurance is advisable provided you don't carry the carried over NCB.

I may be wrong here. But, I think, the bumper is made out of fibre. And it is not fully covered by the Insurance. That's what I was told when I wanted to change my Indica Xeta's bumper. Please check.

Originally Posted by amitoj

Dont want to sound like a preacher but,
a. You cant call driving at 120 "cruising". Its called "overspeeding"
b. As you approach a city, expect more uncertainities and reduce your speed.

Agree with @Amitoj. Please use caution when approaching city. I feel, 100+ speeds are only to be used on 4/6 lane straight highways.
I feel sorry for the dog. RIP.

[Trueintrepid]

From what I see, you have damaged your right side of the bumper. That's means the dog was almost at the end of your drive path. I am sure you tried avoiding the animal as much as possible, but a question comes to my mind, could you have done something else to save the poor animal?

Did you really see the animal in pieces as you describe it?

[coloneljasi]

The cheaper option would be to go for plastic/fibre welding, repaint the bumper and replace the damaged parts. Consider yourself lucky and move on brother.

[pradkumar]

Hi,

I read somewhere on this forum that someone bought the Verna bumper and got it painted outside. Search for that thread and explore that option. I cannot comment about other damages.

Pradeep

[VW2010]

Local repair shop should be able to give to a fix that will last till your next insurance renewal.

In insurance you will pay probably 20% of the total cost. May be 2K for the whole repair. You will use close to 4-5K from the insurance. Your NCB would be very minimal and if i were you i would take up insurance and close the deal.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

This has always been controversial. What if that "animal" was your own pet? Would you still run over it? IMHO, Better to hit the brakes as smart as possible and avoid the animal.

BTW, your policy is what is followed by truck drivers.

Sorry to reply to a 2 year old post, however a dog (pet or not) has no business being on a motorway. So the motorist is quite right not stopping/sudden braking for it and endangering his/her own life.

Regarding the trucks, a fully loaded truck is anywhere between 20-50tons and trying to stop such a heavy load to save a pedistrian or a car is next to impossible. Even if the trucker jams his brakes, his load will shift and fly through his cabin, killing him. Next time if you feel to sudden brake in front of a truck, remember this.

[noblecr]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Dont want to sound like a preacher but,
a. You cant call driving at 120 "cruising". Its called "overspeeding"
b. As you approach a city, expect more uncertainities and reduce your speed.

I have always given enough consideration to all living beings while driving. However mistakes do happen and feel extremely sorry for what had happened.

Having said that i don't think there is someone who drives at a low speed at highway at 1 am when they are set for a long distance. And one more thing i was not with in city limits

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

how do you even manage to reach 3-digit speeds (let alone cruise) on that 2-lane median-less road called NH-47 ? On the Kollam - Alappuzha stretch, I find even 80kmph as a dangerous speed, given the traffic, lack of median, people crossing the road with gay abandon etc. I do that road frequently and it is 60kmph cruising for me. Also maybe something to do with getting older too.

Yes I do agree with you if it is during day time. But this incident happened at 1 am.

Note from Team-bhp support: Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another on the same thread!

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by noblecr

I have always given enough consideration to all living beings while driving. However mistakes do happen and feel extremely sorry for what had happened.

Having said that i don't think there is someone who drives at a low speed at highway at 1 am when they are set for a long distance. And one more thing i was not with in city limits

Good that you realise and accept that it was a mistake. So, what do you think you should do to make sure it doesnt happen again? Being more attentive wont help since in your own words:

Originally Posted by noblecr

When I reached near Kollam a street dog suddenly jumped infront of my car. As it was so close and i was cruising at 120 I couldn't stop the car.

And from what i remember of Kerala roads, residential areas are quite widespread there beyond the so-called city limits.

Amitoj
PS: Avoid back to back posts.
EDIT: Anyway, its your car, you are the driver. And you are lucky that it was just a dog that jumped in front of your car and not a drunken human out for a stroll.

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Sorry to reply to a 2 year old post, however a dog (pet or not) has no business being on a motorway. So the motorist is quite right not stopping/sudden braking for it and endangering his/her own life.

Regarding the trucks, a fully loaded truck is anywhere between 20-50tons and trying to stop such a heavy load to save a pedistrian or a car is next to impossible. Even if the trucker jams his brakes, his load will shift and fly through his cabin, killing him. Next time if you feel to sudden brake in front of a truck, remember this.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I wasn't looking for one.

Anyways, yeah you can try braking and steering away from the animal OR run over it, kill a life and pay a few grands for a new bumper, foglamps, radiator, etc. Also included is the risk of being stranded in the middle of nowhere or losing control of the vehicle. Remember you are not hauling a Leyland or Tata truck to just aaram se run over animals.

And with regards to Animals' business on a motorway, hell yeah, I wish they could learn english and start reading sign-boards.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Thanks for the suggestion, but I wasn't looking for one.

Anyways, yeah you can try braking and steering away from the animal OR run over it, kill a life and pay a few grands for a new bumper, foglamps, radiator, etc. Also included is the risk of being stranded in the middle of nowhere or losing control of the vehicle. Remember you are not hauling a Leyland or Tata truck to just aaram se run over animals.

And with regards to Animals' business on a motorway, hell yeah, I wish they could learn english and start reading sign-boards.

Was not suggesting anything to you, it was a general point. Peace. Regarding steering away, I am sure everyone would try to save a life, its our natural instinct. However the multiple comments from bleeding hearts saying 'oh! poor dog' or you have no business driving fast etc, made me bring up this point.
Besides trying steering away on ur ill made roads, with cars with no abs/ebd is asking for trouble. Straightline braking seems safer to me.
Also wonder why cars dont have an under bumper 'dog bar', the old ford fiesta had one, helps protect the underbody and radiator.

[ecenandu]

Happend to ran over a dead dog on Chennai bypass highway, spotted it very late was doing just above 100 Kmph.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUDbq...ature=youtu.be

BTW car is Skoda Fabia and I was the one driving.

[mohan41]

Sometime earlier, my Ertiga hit a dog on the highway and the radiator was damaged which led to engine overheating and stall. When I gave it for repair, the Maruti A.S.S guys told me this is a common issue with Swift also and showed me two other Swifts which had been damaged by dog hit. Then I saw a few posts in t-bhp where some Swift owners had experienced similar kind of damage on their cars due to hitting a dog.

The issue is serious in my opinion, because this can happen easily nowadays with lot of dogs roaming around everywhere including highways and there is a good chance of hitting a dog. If this happens in the night or in some remote areas, it is a big problem getting stuck there, not to mention some careless drivers driving the vehicle further and causing severe engine damage.

I have a Santro (2007 model) and when I compared the bumper of Santro and Ertiga, I can clearly see the front bumper of Santro is made of a slightly harder material than the one in Ertiga. As some of the knowledgeable members of t-bhp have commented elsewhere, the reason for flimsy bumper could be pedestrian safety norms. But the fact that there is no protection for the radiator is something that worries me. Therefore I seek suggestions of experts in the forum what are the available options?

- Some cars have a crash guard a.k.a bull-bar. This is not a good option. This has been discussed thoroughly in the forum that it transfers impact to the occupants in case of a major crash and therefore more dangerous.

- Are there replacement bumpers which are slightly more sturdier?

- Is there a possibility of some extra fitment in front of radiator which gives allowance for air cooling

Has anyone else explored available solutions or tried anything? Please put your suggestions here.

Adding to this, following parts were damaged by the dog hit to my Ertiga. When this happened it was going around a speed of 80kmph

1. Front Bumper .
2. Cross member assembly
3. Radiator assembly
4. Condenssor assembly
5.Fan motor assembly.

And what I heard is the dog did not suffer much, it ran away.

[shineshine]

At speeds of more than 50kmph, the damage on items which you have mentioned is expected and not much can be done. I have had a hit on Palio but it survived the impact with 0 damage, since the bumper shape took the impact with ease.

A good solution would be to add something to the back of the bumper which will basically act as a horizontal beam.

Could you please some pictures to show the extent of damage and where exactly it got hitted?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by mohan41

Some cars have a crash guard a.k.a bull-bar.

These can cause more damage to your chassis. Please avoid.

Are there replacement bumpers which are slightly more sturdier?

Unfortunately not.

Is there a possibility of some extra fitment in front of radiator which gives allowance for air cooling

It shouldn't be too difficult to fabricate an after-market "dog bar". You would have to ensure that the mounting points are proper and that it doesn't interfere with any sensors (e.g. airbags). This would have to be expertly executed by a professional.

My question is : What's the point? Not like you hit a dog everyday!