I was doing ~100 km/h & overtook a bus when the dog came running across the road. It all happened in a split second.
BHPian jpcoolguy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Met with a minor accident on 4th Feb, while travelling from Chennai to our hometown near Nagercoil. Around 40 Kms before Trichy, somewhere near Padalur, I had just overtaken a bus when I suddenly see a dog come running across the road and got hit by the car. It happened in a split second that even though I saw it but couldn’t do anything but hit the dog. The car must have been travelling at ~100 kmph and at that speed couldn’t swerve either side, as on the right side there was a median and on the left side, the bus was just behind us.
Unfortunately, the dog is killed (checked my RVM and saw it was down, but not sure though) and the car’s radiator is damaged and the coolant was leaking. So stopped the car at the roadside and called the Hyundai RSA for help. They transferred the call to their partner towing company (Allianz Assistance) and assured me to send the tow vehicle immediately, after the online payment of INR 1770. However, it took a long time for the recovery vehicle to reach us since it has to come from Trichy which is around 40 Kms away.
The accident happened around 9:30 AM, but the recovery vehicle reached us only by 12:30 PM and our family (wife, 2 kids and both in-laws) were stranded in the middle of nowhere. I called up one of my friends and colleague who hails from Trichy and luckily he was in Trichy instead of Chennai and he offered to come to the spot. So, once the recovery vehicle arrived, our car was secured in the vehicle (with all our luggage) and I was asked to take the driver seat with windows down. My friend took my family in his car and followed us to the nearest Hyundai Service Center in Trichy (Oxina Hyndai, which was around 45 Kms from the accident spot).
The journey took around 90 mins and once arrived the SA checked the vehicle and told that the radiator, AC condenser, H frame and a couple of hoses have been damaged and would take around 8-10 days and will take the vehicle only if I am fine with it. Since there was no choice, I asked him the accept the vehicle. All the luggage have been transferred to my friend’s car and the SA gave me a quote of approx. 56K for repair charges. I have raised the Insurance claim (from Acko) and got the information from SA that the Surveyor has visited and approved the claim. The co-payment amount is yet unknown which will be provided only after the car is ready, now waiting for my car to be delivered.
Visible damage to the car
Here’s what BHPian goandude had to say about the matter:
Thank God, you all are safe. Could have been horrible if you had swerved or lost control. I had a similar accident in my Swift Dzire where the dog took out my horn, indicator lights and a large part of the bumper. It happens so suddenly that there is nothing one can do in that split second. This is one of the reasons I keep to 80/90 on our highways.
Keyword: Highway accident: A dog came in front of my Hyundai car