Indian roads can be challenging at times. We have come across several incidents in the past that prove the same. From bikers, cattle, and stray dogs to jaywalkers, all pose a threat to motorists. Lately, we have been hearing a lot of cases where people driving on highways actually run out of tarmac, which often leads to accidents. Here, we have one such incident, where a Fortuner crashed after a part of the road went missing while trying to avoid a head-on collision with a truck.
The video and images of the crash have been shared by Ramesh Tahlan on his Facebook page. In this post, he mentions that he was returning from the mountains after three months, and the accident happened just 30 km from Patiala. He was driving on a narrow two-lane road when a truck coming from the opposite direction decided to overtake another vehicle.
As the Fortuner was on a narrow road, the driver’s natural instinct was to swerve the car away from the truck coming towards him. He turned the steering wheel to the left to avoid the crash, driving the car toward the bushes on the roadside. This is where things went terribly wrong. You would usually expect loose gravel or some sort of road next to the tarmac.
In this case, there was nothing. The dirt had all washed away in the rains, and authorities had done nothing to fix it. There was a vertical drop of around six inches to a foot, which the driver was not expecting. After the SUV fell into the ditch, it hit a tree first, damaging the left side of the vehicle. The Fortuner didn’t stop there. It continued to move forward and had a head-on collision with another tree before coming to a stop.
In the second impact, the front end of the SUV was completely damaged. The owner mentions that the left-side front and curtain airbags opened on time, but the driver’s side airbags did not deploy.
The SUV was damaged beyond repair and was declared a total loss. This was a major accident, but the best part is that the driver and the occupant in the car were safe. They escaped the crash without a single scratch.
The owner ended the post by saying that this is his second life and wished himself a happy birthday. Such accidents often happen on Indian roads. If you look at the images, you would realize the intensity of the crash.
The left-side A-pillar, windows, and doors are all damaged in the crash. The front end of the SUV, wheels, bonnet, and engine are also damaged. The pictures and videos also show the vertical drop that caused this crash.
It appears that the soil or dirt under the road had eroded due to rain, and the authorities either never noticed it or simply ignored it. The owner was extremely lucky to have escaped unhurt from the crash. This is another example that shows why it is extremely important to stay alert on the roads, especially in India, where you can expect surprises around every corner.
