Hello All,
Greetings.
This refers to a nasty accident that happened in January 2012, but all these months I was in dilemma whether to make this incident public or not. Actually none of our close relatives & friends knows about this except for my parents.
After the incident I really lost my confidence in Driving, especially when Driving with my family & only after my recent 540 kms trip to Lonavala & Lavasa, I once again feel confident to drive long distances again.
Anyways let me start with a little history. Last year I got hooked to T-BHP & other websites & was really impressed with people's travelogues. I mentally resolved to undertake a road trip & we decided to go on a road trip to Rajasthan. We were three of us travelling – myself, wifey & daughter – Prisha (5 years), I being the solo driver.
We started from Mumbai on 21st January 2012 at 5:15 am & I managed to reach Udaipur at 9:00 pm in night. Considering this as my first road trip, driving 775 kms in a day single handedly seemed like an achievement. Days went fast & we were happy & we reached Jodhpur on 23rd January 2012.
On 25th January 2012 we started from Jodhpur towards Jaisalmer & we covered 200 kms to cross Pokhran. Now, we were just 75 kms from Jaisalmer & eagerly waiting for first sight of desert & peacocks.
I was always driving at speeds less than 100 kmph & suddenly at approx 1:50 pm the Car slipped off the road & fell on its right side. The Car dragged for approx 30 – 40 meters & came to a halt.
Everything went salient & the only thing I could remember is my Daughter asking “Pappa how will we come out of the Car?”
I said “Wait I am trying to open the door lock” but it did not opened. There was dust flying all over & I cannot understand what is happening. Then some people gather around, open the Door & pulled us all out.
I regained my state of mind & was astonished to see the Car lying on its right side & checked whether my wifey & daughter are alright. The people gather around pushed the Car back on its wheels & suggested me to take its photographs for insurance claim.
I first checked whether myself & my family was all OK & was surprised to see that all of us are perfectly alright & most important my Daughter was absolutely safe without a single scratch. I & my wife had suffered minor cuts & bruises here & there but nothing serious. We hugged each other & could not stop our tears. We thank God for saving our lives & escaping us from any major injury.
I am trying to erase the bitter incident from my memory & I have also deleted all the pictures of the damaged Car, except for these two pictures:
I honesty do not know the cause of accident. I was very alert every moment & everything happened in a split second. Even my wifey swears that she was talking to me & I was awake & alert as usual.
Subsequently the car we returned to Jodhur in private Taxi, stayed there for two days & returned to Mumbai via Train. The Car was transported back to Mumbai & later it went as total loss case. My experience with Insurance company is documented here:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...loss-case.html
I sincerely thank the local people at a small village at the site of accident who helped me & my family for couple of hours when I was speaking to insurance company & arranging for a truck to carry the damaged Car to Jodhpur.
I will also like to thank T-BHP members H V Kumar, MX6 & Parag Sachania for kind words & motivation after the accident.
I also sincerely thank my parents & wifey for motivating me to drive again & in last 8 months not even at a single instance they have reminded me of the incident.
Thanks,