I Prooved The Safety Of The Galaxy :(

[Guest Nik]

Thursday 12th, I prooved the safety of my Galaxy :o

 

I ran at about 90 km/h straight into a VW Golf, wich turned over in front of me.

Result: Galaxy and Golf total loss, but I'm alive, just pain overall, and little injuries (ear trauma, is like a brain shock but very locally, I have constant noise in my ear and feel dizzy).

BUT THE SEAT BELT AND THE AIRBAG saved me from serious injuries, the policeman and fireman told me.

 

http://www.nikske.be/autos/Galaxy%20RIP.jpg

 

More pics follow later...

[Dally]

Glad to hear that you're OK - Galaxy can be replaced....

Hope the occupants of the golf are ok too....

[seatkid]

Very glad to see you escaped relativley unhurt, Nik.

 

Reminds me a lot of when my 96 Alhambra was written off by a drug crazed underage driver in a Vauxhall Nova who lost it on a blind bend probably in excess of 80 mph. He slammed 3/4 on into me - closing speeds must have been aound 100 mph. The Nova ended up looking like it had been in a crusher, (the driver survived though he had injuries). The Alhambra had extensive front end damage and its o/s wheel/driveshaft taken off. The drivers footwell was reduced to around half its normal size, but no legs trapped. We walked away with just minor bruises from the seat belts which tightened automatically when the pretensioners fired. Airbags also deployed. Only nasty moment was the airbag smoke and orange flash from them caused panic with my daughter and wife who thought the car had caught fire and the n/s doors were up against a wall...

 

As Renault advert says - Size matters....

[Tigger]

OOOOOOOOO I must slow down. Glad to here you are OK and hope all goes well.

[Dave-G]

Glad you're ok NIK....I see some people will do ANYTHING to get into the papers :angry:

 

At first glance i thought you might have splashed out on a digital camera.....I keep mine in the car,under the drivers seat to use in case of a motoring incident <_<

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Also glad to hear that you are OK. Take care and expect the unexpected.

[Guest Nik]

Thanks for the wishes and sorrow.

 

Now I still am dizzy all the time, at least one week I have to stay at home to take it very easy.

 

But I'm glad I am at home, not in the hospital.

 

The smell and the smoke of the airbags are terrible, indeed. But they saved me.

It was like a sweet pillow filled with feathers.

 

Again, to everybody: please wear your seatbelts, ANYTIME!

[HJT]

Scary moment! Really glad to hear you're ok. Makes you wonder how the F1 drivers must feel when they hit things at 170 mph. The deceleration forces must be horrendous.

Are you going for another Galaxy when all is sorted out?

 

Howard

[Guest Nik]

Probably I will.

It's a company car, but the company buys its cars. That means lots of discounts if they offer us only a few models we can choose.

For me, I can choose between VW Passat, Audi A4, Ford Galaxy, Volvo V50 or S60.

For the S60, I'm not sure if it's possible for us. If it's possible (S60), than choice is difficult.

But the Galaxy is more fun for my 3 kids, and handier.

 

Normally, I had to drive with it another year before replacement (at 200 000 km's). So I hoped I could order the new model. But things changed...

 

I'll keep you all informed. But it can last a few weeks before we know what's all possible.

 

(now my head is still feeling like I did something like in your avatar :o )

[Guest Nik]

If you want to see more pics of the place where it happened, see the following links.

Today I received more pics from the press photograph.

 

Within a few days, more pics will follow from the inside of the car.

 

Pic 1

 

Pic 2

 

Pic 3

[Guest Nik]

The next pics, also from the inside:

 

Pic4

Pic5

Pic6

Pic7

Pic8

Pic9

Pic10

Pic11

Pic12

Pic13

[Ivor_E_Tower]

How are your ears now? Feeling better yet? I have to say that the Gal doesn't look that badly damaged, considering what hit it (is it repairable?) - better than the Golf which seemed to have lost at least one of its front wheels. Think I'll definitely stick to driving "substantial" vehicles from now.

[Guest Nik]

Ears are better, but I am still feeling dizzy. Thanks.

Many, many people told me that I have lots of luck I was wearing my seat belt.

AGAIN: to everybody, there's NO reason to not wearing it! NO ONE!

 

Yesterday they scanned my head. (looking where my brains are now :( )

I have to stay at home another week, to take it easy.

 

At the dealer, they said they would never repair such a damage. The garage at my company told me when thay saw the pic from the newspaper (they had not seen it in real then) that it could be repaired. No total loss probably because the car is 'but' 3 years, the roof and the windscreen are not damaged.

But the front right door is hard to open and close and one of the backseats can't be placed in its slots again -> !

In the meantime, they saw the car, but I haven't been at work since then. So I don't know it yet.

Maybe next week I'll call them.

I'll keep you all informed.

 

Oh and about "substantial" vehicles: Years and years I am saying I'd rather buy an old big, safe car, than a new little car. Luckily, I had a new, big, safe car thanks to my boss :(

For my wife I bought a Volvo S40 of two years old instead of a new Nissan Almera, just for that reason.

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Sorry to hear that it is taking you so long to recover from what appeared to be minor injuries.

Guess if one of the rear seats doesn't fit any more that the poor Gal's floorpan must be damaged, which would make it a write-off.

I have to say particularly when you see the Euro-NCAP results, that I'm amazed that we can now expect to walk away from a 60kph crash. Personally I would have expected that if I had a crash at that speed, I would be seriously injured or die. So it's good to know that vehicle design has improved so much.

How did the Golf occupants fare? Do you know what injuries, if any, were sustained? I hope they were OK, it's never nice for anyone to get injured just because they made a mistake when driving.

Take care, Nik.

 

Ivor

[Guest Nik]

Sorry to hear that it is taking you so long to recover from what appeared to be minor injuries.

Guess if one of the rear seats doesn't fit any more that the poor Gal's floorpan must be damaged, which would make it a write-off.

I have to say particularly when you see the Euro-NCAP results, that I'm amazed that we can now expect to walk away from a 60kph crash. Personally I would have expected that if I had a crash at that speed, I would be seriously injured or die. So it's good to know that vehicle design has improved so much.

How did the Golf occupants fare? Do you know what injuries, if any, were sustained? I hope they were OK, it's never nice for anyone to get injured just because they made a mistake when driving.

Take care, Nik.

 

Ivor

Thanks Ivor.

I'm feeling better day after day, slow but sure.

 

Honestly, I always was afraid to crash with the Galaxy, also based on the Ncap-results. And main reason: before my company car, I always had Volvo's, which are supposed to be VERY safe. And than, I get a Galaxy with a very short nose and bad ncap-results. You can guess that I was not sure it was safe.

 

The crash happened at 90 km/h, I think it's about 60 miles/h.

A few floorpans would not stand at a change in speed from 90 to 0 in less than a second maybe...

 

My first impression was: they aren't so bad, those Galaxy's.

BUT: in an accident, you have to get a bit of luck. Our luck was that we both crashed with our 'crumple' zone. I know that I hesitated a little second to pull over my steering wheel, but I was afraid to do it.

I have an uncle who is a "wreck-tower" (don't know the real english word) and he always told me: "a stake is like a knife - it cuts through the car, a wall can fall but is strong, the best to crash against is a car. In case of a tractor, steer to the wheels, they can bent"

Because I was afraid to touch stakes or walls or other stuff, I did not pull over.

All things I told here happened in less than a second, let it be clear!

This way, I touched the right front side of the Golf. Not that I choosed it, but I was afraid to do another thing than braking.

It was soft against soft. Correction: it was the softest part against the softest part. I can still feel it wasn' t real soft :rolleyes: When I should have hit a truck or a big wall, I had less luck than in a Volvo, I'm sure.

 

The other driver (he also was alone in the car) had little minor injuries at his knee. He called me yesterday to ask if I'm ok (I appreciated that, really! but he knew I wasn't angry on him, everybody can make a mistake) and he told me that every joint from his body had pain, like he ran 100 km's. But he was already at work the next day.

His car is total loss, no doubt. Everything from the back side of the front wheel to the bumper is pressed together, and the engine is broken. You can see it (hardly) at one of the 3 pics of the place where it all happened.

 

My driving isn't very good at the moment. I still am afraid from every car that does something I don't trust. And there are lots of such cars these days! But mainly, I am VERY afraid when I sit in a car that another one drives. Strange.

I drove less then 100 km's in one week, where before I did sometimes 1000 km's per week, so it will be soon better when I go again to work I suppose.

 

Thanks for the wishes, Ivor.

[Guest OXO2 PUB]

good to hear your getting better, by the looks of the Gal she should stood up well to the impact.

 

It took me a while to get behind the wheel with full confidence after a little 70mph incident with a Mondeo and my old Leon but it will come back the more you drive

 

Hope your feelin 100% again soon :rolleyes:

[Guest Nik]

Yesterday, we decided: it will be the Galaxy.

 

Why? Practical reasons. Another four years a Galaxy, and then the childs will be old enough for the (maybe new) S60. That's our goal.

I'll be offering some comfort, surely some security (no tensioners on back seats and no inflatable curtains), but I got an interesting offer on the Galaxy and it will be hard the first year in a normal sedan.

The offer: cruise control, parking assistant (don't need that), electronic airco, dark tinted side windows, cruise control, multifunctional steering wheel, audio, turning front seats, fog lights, luxury carpet, remote controlled central locking, tonneau cover, electric and heated mirrors, all this EXTRA for free! Also the 115hp tdi engine in stead of the 90hp tdi.

Only thing that I'll have to pay, is the metallic color: 500

[Guest nimrod]

or when I order one it will be honour green with beige interior and an extra sunroof and lumbar support.

 

Extra sunroof? you can get the twin sun roofed version in Belgium? that is where you are isnt it?

[Guest Nik]

or when I order one it will be honour green with beige interior and an extra sunroof and lumbar support.

 

Extra sunroof? you can get the twin sun roofed version in Belgium? that is where you are isnt it?

No, I mean extra = all mentioned options AND the sunroof.

(is not easy to translate exactly to english for me, you see)

 

I live in Belgium, indeed. But if you are interested in multiple sunroofs: at the brussels motorshow, I saw a Ghia Galaxy with three (3 !) sunroofs! (was from webasto, so I think it's placed by the dealer)

[Guest nimrod]

Oh I forgot ask, hows your head now?

on a russian VW spare's web site they have the body shells with the option of one or two sunroofs

 

http://www.elcats.ru/imaudivw/small/VAG03687.gif

[Guest Nik]

It's better with the head, thanks.

But no rollercoasters, no carrousels, no turning things, no moving stripes or I get still dizzy. But it's much much better than a few weeks ago. I'm doing well at work, my first two weeks at work weren't 100% but I can be productive again.

I have some bad days, I have some good days. When I pay attention, I have some quality of life again :)

 

Thursday, april 1st, I ordered my Galaxy!

 

-> Honour green (I hesitated a lot: black metallic or honour green, but I liked more the solid black than metallic black, and for my second Galaxy, I wanted something different)

-> tria anthracite interior trim

-> second level (we call it "trend", I think in GB it's called Zetec?)

(turning seats, remote locking, cd6000 with 10 speakers, heated mirrors, luxury carpets, front fog lights, ...)

-> leather multifunctional steering wheel

-> cruise control

-> automatic climate control

-> luggage cover

-> parking assistant

-> dark side and rear windows

 

It's a car right from the dealer, so within a few weeks, I'll can cruise again with my family!

 

(in meanwhile, I get a digital photocamera, so pics are coming soon)

[Guest Nik]

Just to inform you all: since a few weeks, I have my facelifted honour green Galaxy.

Honour green is beautiful, but I liked more black.

Anthracite interior is bad: I liked much much more the beige interior and on the dark carpets, you really see everything.

Allthough, I enjoy it and found also a few improvements comparing to my previous MKII (but one of the first). These are: much smoother gear shifting (both are 6 speeds), lighter steering and smoother driving.

 

On the other side, they saved some money: only one power outlet anymore in the back (in stead of two but I never used them :(), no illumination anymore behind the cupholders (the white cups aren't illuminated anymore), ...