God and Fiat saved us 22.05.2010

hemanth.das · 10th June 2010, 16:21

@kkg - yes the high system in tamilnadu is very good they have highway patrols and ambulances stationed at short intervals. And on this particular route they have SOS booths along the highway every 2 kms. And yes they arrived in less than 5 mins.

@Gilead - at break of dawn he changed his tyre which was punctured drove to the maruti showroom which was about 1 km away fixed his radiator and carried on.

Let the trivia answers keep coming.

And thank you everybody for the good words.

sanjayc · 10th June 2010, 16:21

This is indeed a narrow escape! What speed you were doing when it crashed?

hemanth.das · 10th June 2010, 16:27

@DRIV3R - Buy the time we made corrections tried to slam the breaks tried to avoid and change lanes we were alreay upside down. I just approached us in a flash.

@Sanjayc - I would not be able to put the actual speeds here as it may affect legal proceeding with the insurance co. but on an highway nobody goes at a sedate speed at that hour in the night when the traffic is sparce

jigbarai · 10th June 2010, 16:40

Good to know you all are safe & well.

One thing I fail to still understand here.

Agreed there were no parking lights or hazard lights, but if it was the middle of the night, the regular lights should have been on ?
And, it doesnt sound like the indica did panic braking to give you no reaction time.
It was an accident spot (something had happened there) and If the Fiat driver had the eyes on the road with alertness, couldnt a car ahead be spotted on time ?

Again, not taking away the fact that the indica was WRONG FOR SURE to park in the middle lane.

blackstallion76 · 10th June 2010, 16:45

This is a greate escape. Very lucky!!.
So, the root cause vehicle "Swift" moved on without any damages?

Thank GOD.

hemanth.das · 10th June 2010, 16:45

@jigbarai - the indicab was moving or going slowly and then stopped or soemting like that i dont remember clearly.. offcourse a little distance ahead but we hardly had time to make corrections.. it was not that he was stopped there from a long time .. then we would have spotted him from a distance... its more like he suddenly slowed and stopped over when we were may 500mts behind him. or something like that i am not able to recall....

capt_rocker · 10th June 2010, 16:47

@hemant das, you and your friends are a lucky lot bro. its a big case of pile up accident.
looking at the condition of your Fiat, the front end absorbed all the impact. Hats off to Fiat for incredible build quality. The 800 looks not much damaged except the aft right quarter took the hit. What about the car that caused all that? was there any fatality in this huge pile up?
I think you must be on a very high speed for a heavy car like Palio to topple 3 times after hitting. Or else the headlamps are bright enough to show any obstruction atleast 70-80m away. And by the pictures it seems to be a very straight road.

You know saying that "on an highway nobody goes at a sedate speed at that hour in the night when the traffic is sparce" is easy but our highways are not meant for that carefree driving, especially in the night when things get out of hand in matter of seconds. Thats why i highly recommend people to go for cars with safety features like airbags, ABS etc. life savers!

hemanth.das · 10th June 2010, 16:56

@capt rocker - the 800 is badly damaged the only thing is dont have more pictures from different angles of the 800 but the whole cabin is twisted.. the maruti guys asked them to change the shell or scrap it.. all the pillar are out of alignment.

and also there was no fatality everybody are safe all the 9 people involved in the crash.

mobike008 · 10th June 2010, 16:59

Thats really a nasty accident. With all three cars taking a real bad beating. Thank god nothing happened to anyone. Fiat indeed is a strong car, the body looks pretty much intact except for the tyre wringing out.

Clearly, the fault is of your car driver. Even if there is a car parked on the highway without blinkers or anything its the duty of oncoming vehicle to spot it in their headlights. Dont be offended but, it could mean any of below

1. Your friend was driving at high speed and took his eyes of the road for quite sometime

2. Did he fall asleep for a brief moment?

3. Hope you guys didnt have anything to drink?

Whatever the reason, good to know you all are safe and hope its a lesson for all that such things can happen in a jiffy and noone can do anything about it.

ch.nathan · 10th June 2010, 17:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by hemanth.das

@Sanjayc - I would not be able to put the actual speeds here as it may affect legal proceeding with the insurance co.

Why do you say so?

Do you suspect that the insurance co. people are watching the posts in Team-BHP and they may use it against you?

hemanth.das · 10th June 2010, 17:10

@Mobike008 - read what was written to "jigbarai"

Speed was good, he did not take his eyes of the road, the indca was not stationary all the while this guy pulled over like when we 300, 400, 500 mts behind him.... i do not recall the distance... we had to avoid the swift and the crowd which was on the right we changed lanes moved to the outer left lane and we needed to make sudden corrections back to extreme right lane to miss the indica... but there was not enough time....

driver was awake as he spoke to us couple of seconds before we crashed.

No drinks or alcohol. only nicotine. and caffine

Gilead · 10th June 2010, 17:18

hemanth, then the only possible explanation is speed which you can't disclose here. Just take a little more care in the future. There is no excuse for even banging into a stationary vehicle on a highway. Things could have been so much more worse here.

hemanth.das · 10th June 2010, 17:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by ch.nathan

Why do you say so?

Do you suspect that the insurance co. people are watching the posts in Team-BHP and they may use it against you?

yes may be, you never know!

ElantraGT · 10th June 2010, 17:19

Thats a nasty crash Hemanth. Its a pity to see the palio in a wreck. Thank your guardian angels and the Fiat robust car build for the minor injuries that you guys suffered. Looking at the India and 800, i am pretty sure that you guys (all 9 involved in this accident) is a lucky lot.

Please drive safe. Hope your insurance claim is settled. Any idea on the insurance claim now? Are you planning to get it fixed or is the car claimed as totalled?

hemanth.das · 10th June 2010, 17:21

TATA motots gave a quote of 2.5 lac for repair.. insurance co. gave us option of repair or replace.

10th June 2010, 16:21	#16
hemanth.das BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 158 Thanked: 123 Times	@kkg - yes the high system in tamilnadu is very good they have highway patrols and ambulances stationed at short intervals. And on this particular route they have SOS booths along the highway every 2 kms. And yes they arrived in less than 5 mins. @Gilead - at break of dawn he changed his tyre which was punctured drove to the maruti showroom which was about 1 km away fixed his radiator and carried on. Let the trivia answers keep coming. And thank you everybody for the good words.
	() Thanks

10th June 2010, 16:21	#17
sanjayc BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 952 Thanked: 8 Times	This is indeed a narrow escape! What speed you were doing when it crashed? Last edited by sanjayc : 10th June 2010 at 16:22.
	() Thanks

10th June 2010, 16:27	#18
hemanth.das BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 158 Thanked: 123 Times	@DRIV3R - Buy the time we made corrections tried to slam the breaks tried to avoid and change lanes we were alreay upside down. I just approached us in a flash. @Sanjayc - I would not be able to put the actual speeds here as it may affect legal proceeding with the insurance co. but on an highway nobody goes at a sedate speed at that hour in the night when the traffic is sparce Last edited by Eddy : 10th June 2010 at 17:05. Reason: Back to back posts.
	() Thanks

10th June 2010, 16:40	#19
jigbarai BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 554 Thanked: 29 Times	Good to know you all are safe & well. One thing I fail to still understand here. Agreed there were no parking lights or hazard lights, but if it was the middle of the night, the regular lights should have been on ? And, it doesnt sound like the indica did panic braking to give you no reaction time. It was an accident spot (something had happened there) and If the Fiat driver had the eyes on the road with alertness, couldnt a car ahead be spotted on time ? Again, not taking away the fact that the indica was WRONG FOR SURE to park in the middle lane.
	() Thanks

10th June 2010, 16:45	#20
blackstallion76 BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 343 Thanked: 71 Times View My Garage	This is a greate escape. Very lucky!!. So, the root cause vehicle "Swift" moved on without any damages? Thank GOD.
	() Thanks

10th June 2010, 16:47	#22
capt_rocker BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Delhi NCR Posts: 134 Thanked: 2 Times View My Garage	@hemant das, you and your friends are a lucky lot bro. its a big case of pile up accident. looking at the condition of your Fiat, the front end absorbed all the impact. Hats off to Fiat for incredible build quality. The 800 looks not much damaged except the aft right quarter took the hit. What about the car that caused all that? was there any fatality in this huge pile up? I think you must be on a very high speed for a heavy car like Palio to topple 3 times after hitting. Or else the headlamps are bright enough to show any obstruction atleast 70-80m away. And by the pictures it seems to be a very straight road. You know saying that "on an highway nobody goes at a sedate speed at that hour in the night when the traffic is sparce" is easy but our highways are not meant for that carefree driving, especially in the night when things get out of hand in matter of seconds. Thats why i highly recommend people to go for cars with safety features like airbags, ABS etc. life savers!
	() Thanks

10th June 2010, 16:56	#23
hemanth.das BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 158 Thanked: 123 Times	@capt rocker - the 800 is badly damaged the only thing is dont have more pictures from different angles of the 800 but the whole cabin is twisted.. the maruti guys asked them to change the shell or scrap it.. all the pillar are out of alignment. and also there was no fatality everybody are safe all the 9 people involved in the crash. Last edited by hemanth.das : 10th June 2010 at 16:58. Reason: missed out one point
	() Thanks

10th June 2010, 16:59	#24
mobike008 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 11,705 Thanked: 14,864 Times View My Garage	Thats really a nasty accident. With all three cars taking a real bad beating. Thank god nothing happened to anyone. Fiat indeed is a strong car, the body looks pretty much intact except for the tyre wringing out. Clearly, the fault is of your car driver. Even if there is a car parked on the highway without blinkers or anything its the duty of oncoming vehicle to spot it in their headlights. Dont be offended but, it could mean any of below 1. Your friend was driving at high speed and took his eyes of the road for quite sometime 2. Did he fall asleep for a brief moment? 3. Hope you guys didnt have anything to drink? Whatever the reason, good to know you all are safe and hope its a lesson for all that such things can happen in a jiffy and noone can do anything about it.
	() Thanks

10th June 2010, 17:10	#26
hemanth.das BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 158 Thanked: 123 Times	@Mobike008 - read what was written to "jigbarai" Speed was good, he did not take his eyes of the road, the indca was not stationary all the while this guy pulled over like when we 300, 400, 500 mts behind him.... i do not recall the distance... we had to avoid the swift and the crowd which was on the right we changed lanes moved to the outer left lane and we needed to make sudden corrections back to extreme right lane to miss the indica... but there was not enough time.... driver was awake as he spoke to us couple of seconds before we crashed. No drinks or alcohol. only nicotine. and caffine
	() Thanks

10th June 2010, 17:18	#27
Gilead Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 2,142 Thanked: 60 Times	hemanth, then the only possible explanation is speed which you can't disclose here. Just take a little more care in the future. There is no excuse for even banging into a stationary vehicle on a highway. Things could have been so much more worse here.
	() Thanks

10th June 2010, 17:19	#29
ElantraGT BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 441 Thanked: 12 Times	Thats a nasty crash Hemanth. Its a pity to see the palio in a wreck. Thank your guardian angels and the Fiat robust car build for the minor injuries that you guys suffered. Looking at the India and 800, i am pretty sure that you guys (all 9 involved in this accident) is a lucky lot. Please drive safe. Hope your insurance claim is settled. Any idea on the insurance claim now? Are you planning to get it fixed or is the car claimed as totalled?
	() Thanks

10th June 2010, 17:21	#30
hemanth.das BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 158 Thanked: 123 Times	TATA motots gave a quote of 2.5 lac for repair.. insurance co. gave us option of repair or replace.
	() Thanks