How a 2-star NCAP car saved my life

I could see that scooter-dude in the distance, turning his head and running away. “How can that guy do that? Did I not just almost die to save him? How can one be so inhuman?”

BHPian BhaskarG recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

That guy! He is going to cross!!

“BRAKE!!” said my instinct. And I jammed on the brakes. “Oh my God, not going to make it. That guy is going to die!” I panicked.

“DO NOT HIT HIM” said my instinct. I steered left. Car turned left and right. And a loud BANG!! I hit something. Sound of metal tearing. Car turned upside down. “God, either save me or make it quick and painless!”, nothing else came to my mind. I quickly glanced out. Sparks were flying below my head.

Car rolled again. This time landed on its wheels. “No trucks coming. That means no immediate impact. Maybe I’ll live?” I thought.

The Genesis

This is a car story. The story of my first car, a white Hyundai Grand i10.

It is written by a BHPian who did not know many things about cars then, but loved them to bits. I still do not know very clearly how the lungs and intestines work inside a car. I still practically do not know which breed of car is better to drive, because I have not driven many breeds.

I was new to cars. We never had a car in our household. Relatives who had cars, did not like a curious teenager near their cars. I learned driving only after getting a job. In 2013, I took my first class in a driving school near my place in Bangalore. I do not remember the name of the instructor, but that gentleman did teach me to put on the seat-belt before driving. I owe him big time for it, as you will know soon.

I had saved some money and started looking for cars. My budget was Rs 5 lac on road max. Very few cars were within my budget. My crush (VW Polo) was beyond my reach. So I was open and searching.

• Maruti 800: Loved it so much from childhood. But production was about to stop.
• Alto 800: It looks bad, man. Not going to be my first car.
• Wagon R: Boring. period.
• Chevrolet Beat: Super COOL! But dashboard was too high for a new driver.
• Datsun Go: Nah! Took a test drive, though.
• Hyundai Eon: Luxury Alto, that's it.

And then I saw her on the road one evening. It was love at first sight. A new model was launched by Hyundai few months back, tail-lights were captivating. Rushed to the showroom the next day. The Grand i10 Magna costed Rs. 4.94 Lacs on road, perfectly within my budget. Booked it there and then by paying Rs 5000 as booking amount. No airbags, no ABS, just pure love.

“Why do you need ABS? These are gimmicks.” said my uncles. I was not going to fall for any gimmick.

“Buy a heavy car.” said my colleagues. This Hyundai looks heavy. Doors close with a thud. Good!

“Buy a cool looking new model”, said my friends. Yes, and looks matter. I was going to be the first among my friends to buy his own car. Great!

So when I brought home my brand new shiny white Grand i10 in early 2014, I did not know all this stuff that we BHPians talk about. My buying decision was based on 3 things: looks, colour and how the car felt inside. I did not care about what NCAP ratings were, what steering feel was and how important were airbags and ABS.

I perfected my driving skills in this car. Drove this car all around. City, highway, villages, hills, picnics, road trips, everywhere. But still I did not know what handling, feel and feedback was. I was the only one in my group with my own car, after all. Never got the chance to extensively experience another car till that time. That was the pre-Zoomcar era.

Sometime later I came to know that my car has scored 2 stars in NCAP crash tests. But anyway, it was of better build than most other cars in my budget. “I am a good driver. Nothing will happen. Be positive”, I justified.

One of the early shots of the car in front of our building:

My much senior neighbour bought a WagonR. I was so happy with my choice:

The Nemesis

So, as you know by now, I was deeply in love.

Now fast forward a few years till 2018. I was driving having some alone time with my car on a beautiful day. It was supposed to be a 100 kilometers highway trip from Guwahati, and I had already covered about 60 kilometers. Smooth roads, traffic was minimal, and hence I was cruising along at about 80-90 kmph on the 4 lane highway. There are wide, solid medians with gaps after every 5-6 kms. I met with a spine chilling mishap in one such gap in the median.

I saw in the distance that there is a gap in the median, and looked for any vehicle waiting to take a U-turn.

None in sight.

There was a scooter-dude riding on the wrong side of the road, approaching me. “This dude might try to cross the road” I thought, but the dude slowed down and waited at the side of the road. “Good. He has seen me coming” I maintained the speed.

“DUDE! What are you doing?” Scooter-dude started to cross the road. There was little distance to brake. Honk. Hooooonk! But the dude is ignoring me.

That guy! He is going to cross!!

“BRAKE!!” said my instinct. And I jammed on the brakes. “Oh my God, not going to make it. That guy is going to die!” I panicked.

“DO NOT HIT HIM” said my instinct. I steered left. Car turned left and right. And a loud BANG!! I hit something. Sound of metal tearing. Car turned upside down. “God, either save me or make it quick and painless!”, nothing else came to my mind. I quickly glanced out. Sparks were flying below my head.

Car rolled again. This time landed on its wheels. “No trucks coming. That means no immediate impact. Maybe I’ll live?” I thought.

The car stopped on its feet. On the other side of the road. Facing the opposite direction. After rolling 2 times.

This happened maybe within a second or two.

I was inside, numb. My mind was active, but my body failed to respond. I could not move. I could see that scooter-dude in the distance, turning his head and running away. “How can that guy do that? Did I not just almost die to save him? How can one be so inhuman?”

However, some people came rushing for help. I gathered my senses, and assessed the situation. I took off the seatbelt, and got out of the car calmly. I was not hurt in any way.

Still everything was feeling like a dream. Then reality sank in. 1 hit and 2 rolls. A concrete post was uprooted and lying in the middle of the road. The car was damaged all around. I was lucky. REALLY lucky.

My beloved car had taken the hit and safely cocooned me inside. Not a single scratch on my body!

What happened could not be undone, but I learnt a few lessons from it:

• There are idiots on the road. Give them the respect they deserve.
• Honk! Let sensible people think you are an idiot, but honk for the idiots’ sake.
• Wear a seatbelt. I owe my instructor for creating the habit. It saved me.
• Drive safe.

What happened afterwards, deserves a story of its own. I did not let my car be declared as totalled. Repaired it, and drove it again. All I say is that it was an experience of 2 lifetimes.

The Resurrection

That incident happened four years back, and now I cannot find any photos of the actual crash. Maybe I got emotional deleted them long back. Maybe. However, I do have have some photos of the repair job.

Okay, to sum it up, here is what happened: I braked and swerved. Car lost control and hit a concrete post in the road median. The post uprooted, and fell on the road. Taking the impact, the car rolled over 2 times: first a front flip and then a side flip. It finally landed on its wheels on the other side of the road. The damage was significant. The crumple zones had been compromised, roof, left side, back side, took significant damage. If there were any structural damage was to be seen later. Police arrived and took the car to a nearby parking lot. Had to pay the crane guy Rs 3000 for a 5 minutes job. Phew!

Next few days were hectic. Police work, RTO work. Got the vehicle lifted back to a Hyundai workshop (Saraighat Hyundai) at Guwahati. The service adviser was a likeable, humble person. My first question to the adviser was "Can you repair it?". "Yes, not much engine damage." he said. So far so good.

There were a couple of hurdles along the way. My car insurance policy was with SBI General. I have an agent who takes care of my insurance. He takes care of all premiums for car, bike, health etc. I do not bother much about renewal dates. He covers it up for me.

Hurdle 1: My insurance policy had expired the day before. My agent tells me that the renewal is not yet processed. I was paperless and clueless. I could not bear the repair cost, if the policy does not cover it. I would have to scrap the car! Luckily, it was solved soon. Do not ask me how. My agent did it.

Hurdle 2: My IDV was 2.8 lacs. The repair estimate was bordering on total loss case. I was no expert in cars, but it seemed to me that the car had significant structural damage. Finally the Service Adviser at Saraighat Hyundai got the estimate down to 2.1 lacs, just below the threshold.

The work began. They took a full month to repair my machine. My service advisor was worried that the straight line manners of the car may be compromised post repair.

Finally the wait was over. We took extensive test drives. Car was behaving as new. Straight line manners were good. These guys at Saraighat Hyundai did a fantastic job. As a final settlement, I had to pay 8k from my side. Remaining 2.02 lacs was borne by SBI General.

There she was, shining like a brand new car! As beautiful as she can be! And thus, my friends, I brought my car home for the second time.

So, that is it, friends. I am leaving it to you guys to figure out the technical things. Here are some pics in chronological order:

Stripping and fixing:

Finishing up:

Almost ready:

Here's what BHPian V.Narayan had to say on the matter:

Thank you very much for sharing this real life incident and being candid about your decisions and thoughts. Your sharing will give valuable inputs to young driver-owners today that a NCAP 1 or NCAP 2 or NACP 3 car is not a tin pot crap as some derisively term it. After all in the 1950s to 1990s people did drive and accidents did happen and people did survive without NCAP. NCAP is good and we should strive for the best rating we can afford but we should not assume that a lower NCAP rating car is a death trap. The shell of the car itself , the seat belt and airbags are our first and best line of defense that take care of the first two-thirds or three-fourths of protection. All other features address the balance. I am not saying don't go for NCAP rated cars - we must buy the best we can afford but those of us who drive non-rated cars are not driving death traps as has become the fashion to state in the last five or six years. Of course any car driven too fast or too rashly is a source of danger to its occupants and others on the road.

While the accident per se is not the topic of the thread but you have not stated - (a) what speed were you doing; (b) how many metres ahead were you scanning constantly; (c) did the pedestrian suddenly jump out from behind some obstruction (like a stationery bus) or is it that you were distracted and thus saw him one or two seconds later than you could have.

Most readers of Team-BHP know these salient points but permit me to state them. These are norms I have followed in my now 43 years of driving on highways or fast roads:

• Don't dwell on day dreaming or random thoughts or (now) on cell phones.
• Scan and track the road 200, 400 or even 600 metres ahead so you can spot the makings of trouble a few seconds before it reached you or you reach it. Your watchful mind while driving, like while flying, has to be a few minutes or tens of seconds ahead of the car.
• Beyond 80 or 90 kmph you are not really saving any serious amount of travel time after you factor in tolls, tractors, impediments on the road etc.
• Most in India assume you will honk to warn them.
• Slowing down, moving to the left, letting the other guy pass, taking evasive action yourself is usually more effective than hoping the other guy will do your bidding.
• At 120 kmph we are hurtling at 33.3 metres per second or one football field every 3 seconds.

Here's what BHPian Keeleri_Achu had to say on the matter:

Thank God you walked away from such a crash without any injuries. While you didn't post any pictures of the crash, the images of repair is more than enough to give us a scale of it. It just shows how important seatbelts are.

Couple of points from my side:

• Your car is technically a Zero star rated car. The absence of airbags and ABS would've ensured that rating. A two star rated Grand i10 should come with those features.
• I can feel your love towards the car in the effort you put in repairing it. Personally, I would've let it go. The damage is so extensive. I wouldn't trust any garage to do a factory job. But since you repaired it, I can only say that be even more cautious with the way you drive. V.Narayan sir have already listed out everything for you.
• Just like ABS and Airbags, ESP needs to be made mandatory as soon as possible.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.