Tata Safari saves my life in a devastating crash, SUV left totalled

I turned the steering wheel to the right and the car hit a big and old tree stump left protruding from the ground and toppled over.

BHPian Alka panwar recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Had a major crash, Safari saved my life.

My sincere thanks to all the engineers, platform designers and management of Tata Motors for avoiding cost cutting measures in chassis, material, crumple zones design. Your hard work showed when it mattered and saved me.

A sugarcane laden tractor trolley suddenly showed up on the highway at night time in front of the car, I was on low beam, in desperation I had to swing the steering wheel to the right with all my might as the spur of the moment response. Vehicle hit an old fat big tree stump left protruding from the ground and toppled over.

I escaped with some airbag bruises and seat belt bruises, injured rib (seat belt compression), vehicle is totalled.

Driver / co-driver space wasn't damaged even one inch and nothing intruded inside from the engine compartment. Engine mounts broke and deformed upwards instead of the engine and components entering the cabin, steering linkages collapsed and folded.

Safety worked as advertised. Will write in detail when I am better.

Here's what BHPian CARDEEP replied:

Thank God & the Tata team for making a safe vehicle. BTW it is a much dreaded route for night travel. My dearest friend & his 2 other friends died due to an accident with a tractor trolley at night time.

Yours is a much worse accident than mine, plus the model is the facelifted one, but in my case too there was no intrusion in the cabin, despite bumper, transmission & mounts change.

Such incidents only reinforce the correct decision to buy Safari. The icing on the cake has been the trouble-free experience I had, barring a few random errors that popped up on display & were attended promptly by the service center - Multitech (FBD) & Sagar (Noida).

Add to this, I get approximately 13 KMPL in City mode & 14+ in Eco mode on my office route these days. In the summers, I expect the mileage to go down by 1 KMPL & 2 KMPL in the rains due to traffic jams.

Here's what BHPian sethu replied:

Glad to hear you're safe! Wishing you a smooth and speedy recovery. It's incredible how well the safety features worked when it mattered most. Take care, and looking forward to hearing more when you’re feeling better!

Here's what BHPian skrmv2 replied:

Good to know that none were badly injured. The pictures tell a horrifying story. Wishing you a speedy recovery. On the Nashik-Kolhapur stretch, you always find sugar cane-laden tractor trains during harvest season. Needless to say, there are no tail lamps or any kind of hazard indicators. At night, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

Here's what BHPian SaurabhB replied:

I have always maintained this philosophy - "I would rather spend a few days in the workshop rather than a few days in the hospital. Vehicle can be repaired or junked, but body parts don't get repaired so easily and nor can you junk them."

I have a Hexa and I know the feeling of safety when inside and cruising on NH. It has run over 1 lakh kms and still feels new. No issues whatsoever and excellent service.

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