Advice Needed In The Interest Of Safety

absynthguzzler · 20th January 2008, 01:15

was driving from b'lore to hyd . ananthapur was the place around 8 am , so wasnt like twilight was hampering my vision . it was a long arc and i would say that the change was max about 30 degrees over 100-200mts or so . its one of those turns that u can keep ur speed and yet stick to your lane without any cause for concerns .

i was doing about 80kmph . ( cant say wat the approach speed was cause i only looked at the speed once i felt the jolt of the bump) .

was driving as normal havin a conversation with my mum (bless her for being brave) , saw a truck bout 300-400m away( trailer actually coz it was one of them with a loose backend that swings around) as i got to the apex of the curve , i suddenly hit a "hidden" silent bump on the road , one of those smooth gradual bumps that just lifts you in the air for a sec, only this time it was at the apex and it completely thre me off gaurd and pushed the car into the opposite lane .

now since it was a curve ahead , i didnt wanna turn the wheels to keep the car in the right direction and brake at the same time and end up in a spin (this is my judgement of how it happens , coach me if im wrong). and at the same time if i didnt turn i would run out of road . the problem was that this road was about 6-7 ft above ground level compared to the fields around and i had to make sure i dont end up nose diving . noticed a tree further ahead as well which i had to avoid hitting head on ( on the opposite side of road .) and in between all this ..... the truck had already come close while i was half on the road and half on the gravel facing the truck

i had to avoid hitting the tree and hope that the truck would move to the middle of the road to avoid hitting half my car . the driver of the truck did move to the centre but, since it was a trailer kind , the backend of the truck swerved and the car far facing the rear wheel of the truck .

the rear wheel looked like it was gonna just climb on top of the car but instead it hit the left front and bounced back . the left front was completely smashed but amazingly it had stopped at the wheel arch and even the passenger door did not even loose its allignment . the left mirror was intact . thats all the good news . to judge a sense of the angle .... picture it that the wheel was pushed inwards into the engine .

this was a lucky escape and i was blank as to what happened coz all the time my eyes were only on the road , the tree , the truck and .....my mum when the wheel was heading for an unavoidable collision . i completely missed looking at where or how the truck tyre hit the car coz my thoughts were elsewhere.

i havent mentioned about the vehicle till now since im using this oppurtunity to get opinions and valuable tips on my driving actions . and then i'll leave it to the pundits to advice on what needs to be done to this particular car model to avoid such incidents .

car : NHC 2005

points id like to know about

1 : judgements on my own judgements at the time

2 : the NHC is such a light car that i was amazed at the way it got thrown off its line by a bump and i had no control while the vehicle was "floating". id like to know
a ) bout mods to stiffen the car (in taking turns)

b) add solidity to the car to stay on ground .... dont want any more of the weightless feelings after this experience .

c) my NHC DOESNT HAVE ABS .... my braking only kept makinG the car change direction ... i guess thats coz i was tryin to partially adjust which direction i was heading as well . but would ABS make a diff and how much would it cost to get it installed . had to avoid nose diving 6-7ft and cause a corkscrew tumble from the road into the fields and had to avoid hitting the tree head on

d) i was doing about 80 and cant believe that a NHC would feel so light when not in a str8 line .... guess i never felt the same before coz its rare to have a bump throw u offline in a curve. have other NHC owners felt the car is too light n jumpy and if so what have they done about it .

ill try n post a drawing of the scenario but make note dont make make judgements on the curve of the road from the pic coz its a windows powerpoint drawing .... not like i can get the exact scene but just assisting you guys in making the right comments and judgements .

on a lighter note ....... plucked a mango from the orchard close by to eat while waiting for the insurance fellas ...... and the sap from the newly plucked mango has left a scar on my chin that reminds me of the accident . and yes my mum was brave and took it on the chin and i beleive she was the angel that made the judgement and said " she never saw it coming and didnt feel at any point that i was driving on the edge at that turn and it was just a case of "**** happens" "

20th January 2008, 01:15	#1
absynthguzzler BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: hyderabad Posts: 651 Thanked: 245 Times	Advice Needed In The Interest Of Safety was driving from b'lore to hyd . ananthapur was the place around 8 am , so wasnt like twilight was hampering my vision . it was a long arc and i would say that the change was max about 30 degrees over 100-200mts or so . its one of those turns that u can keep ur speed and yet stick to your lane without any cause for concerns . i was doing about 80kmph . ( cant say wat the approach speed was cause i only looked at the speed once i felt the jolt of the bump) . was driving as normal havin a conversation with my mum (bless her for being brave) , saw a truck bout 300-400m away( trailer actually coz it was one of them with a loose backend that swings around) as i got to the apex of the curve , i suddenly hit a "hidden" silent bump on the road , one of those smooth gradual bumps that just lifts you in the air for a sec, only this time it was at the apex and it completely thre me off gaurd and pushed the car into the opposite lane . now since it was a curve ahead , i didnt wanna turn the wheels to keep the car in the right direction and brake at the same time and end up in a spin (this is my judgement of how it happens , coach me if im wrong). and at the same time if i didnt turn i would run out of road . the problem was that this road was about 6-7 ft above ground level compared to the fields around and i had to make sure i dont end up nose diving . noticed a tree further ahead as well which i had to avoid hitting head on ( on the opposite side of road .) and in between all this ..... the truck had already come close while i was half on the road and half on the gravel facing the truck i had to avoid hitting the tree and hope that the truck would move to the middle of the road to avoid hitting half my car . the driver of the truck did move to the centre but, since it was a trailer kind , the backend of the truck swerved and the car far facing the rear wheel of the truck . the rear wheel looked like it was gonna just climb on top of the car but instead it hit the left front and bounced back . the left front was completely smashed but amazingly it had stopped at the wheel arch and even the passenger door did not even loose its allignment . the left mirror was intact . thats all the good news . to judge a sense of the angle .... picture it that the wheel was pushed inwards into the engine . this was a lucky escape and i was blank as to what happened coz all the time my eyes were only on the road , the tree , the truck and .....my mum when the wheel was heading for an unavoidable collision . i completely missed looking at where or how the truck tyre hit the car coz my thoughts were elsewhere. i havent mentioned about the vehicle till now since im using this oppurtunity to get opinions and valuable tips on my driving actions . and then i'll leave it to the pundits to advice on what needs to be done to this particular car model to avoid such incidents . car : NHC 2005 points id like to know about 1 : judgements on my own judgements at the time 2 : the NHC is such a light car that i was amazed at the way it got thrown off its line by a bump and i had no control while the vehicle was "floating". id like to know a ) bout mods to stiffen the car (in taking turns) b) add solidity to the car to stay on ground .... dont want any more of the weightless feelings after this experience . c) my NHC DOESNT HAVE ABS .... my braking only kept makinG the car change direction ... i guess thats coz i was tryin to partially adjust which direction i was heading as well . but would ABS make a diff and how much would it cost to get it installed . had to avoid nose diving 6-7ft and cause a corkscrew tumble from the road into the fields and had to avoid hitting the tree head on d) i was doing about 80 and cant believe that a NHC would feel so light when not in a str8 line .... guess i never felt the same before coz its rare to have a bump throw u offline in a curve. have other NHC owners felt the car is too light n jumpy and if so what have they done about it . ill try n post a drawing of the scenario but make note dont make make judgements on the curve of the road from the pic coz its a windows powerpoint drawing .... not like i can get the exact scene but just assisting you guys in making the right comments and judgements . on a lighter note ....... plucked a mango from the orchard close by to eat while waiting for the insurance fellas ...... and the sap from the newly plucked mango has left a scar on my chin that reminds me of the accident . and yes my mum was brave and took it on the chin and i beleive she was the angel that made the judgement and said " she never saw it coming and didnt feel at any point that i was driving on the edge at that turn and it was just a case of "**** happens" "
	() Thanks