accident caused by converted SUV

**boybi** · August 6th, 2003 11:35 PM

just this afternoon, our family friend's family met an accident. their car (toyota corolla ae111) was driven by their driver. the passengers (the mother and 2 kids 3 & 4-5 yrs old). they were on their way to school, when a safari or LC (i'm not sure which one, a friend told me it was a safari, my dad said it was an LC) coming from the opposite direction came out of its lane swaying left and right and hit them. both the cars are totally wrecked. the driver survived because of the airbag and probably wearing seatbelt. the 3yr old kid was killed (pronounced DOA at the hospital), the mother i think was seriously injured (witnesses said she was all drenched with blood) but was definitely shocked. still cannot talk up to this moment. the mother and the 3yr old boy was seated in front. while the other boy (their eldest) was seated at the back was not seriously injured but was also shocked.

these were just told to me by phone by another friend since i was not in tarlac today. and was confirmed by my dad when i arrived. my dad and mom have visited them at the hospital. the grandmother of those kids is 'ka-telebabad' of my mom.

it was learned (i don't know how) that the SUV was braking then lost control. it was a subic unit, meaning converted from RHD to LHD.

this is the 2nd time that an accident have occurred to my friends involving converted SUVs. the 1st one is a subic LC80 driven by my friend that also lost control while braking. luckily he was not hurt.

this is the reason why i'm not tempted on acquiring these auctioned/subic units. i have been offered a lot of times, all saying the units are 'sariwa' and fully loaded. and most of all, the prices are tempting! but when they say its converted, ayoko na.

the boy that was killed in the accident and my oldest child are the same age. sobra talagang nakakaawa yung bata. when i got home this evening and saw my son shouting and jumping and pulling me to the room to show me something, lalo akong naawa dun sa parents nung boy. :sad: :sigh:

**falken_09** · August 6th, 2003 11:57 PM

ingat sa mga gumagamit ng converted na cars..nakaka-awa yung mga bata,

**Bubbles** · August 7th, 2003 12:15 AM

Yep. Alam ko yung mga style na pag convert na yan. Usually the chassis cracks kasi di alam ng converters na kailangan may reinforcement yung frame. Kala nila, since may butas na tapos. yun na iyon. in the case of the safari, ung panhard rod mount ay nasa right side pag RHD this is welded to the frame via steel plates. at the same time, the steel plates act as a reinforcement for the frame. Dapat pag lipat ng steering box, nilagyan din ng reinforcement. Duda ako kung meron yun. Also baka di magaling ang nagweld. You can't convert a vehicle properly without welding. Meron mga nag offer sa akin ng subic unit na evo pajero. bolt on daw ang conversion kaya ok. nung sinilip ko ung ilalim, I just walked away.

On a seperate note, see how important it is to keep your vehicle properly aligned. A car is designed to drive straight even without steering inputs from the driver. A badly aligned car would swerve side to side. So it is more important to keep your front end in tip top shape than to keep your engine running properly. Pag tumirik ang kotse malabo na mamamatay ka at makamamatay ka.

**boybi** · August 7th, 2003 12:25 AM

i can't edit my post.

no offense meant to those who has bought and drive converted cars. i believe you must have thoroughly checked the conversion done.

**Bubbles** · August 7th, 2003 12:42 AM

No offense taken. Most converters ang mechanics for that matter, don't really care if the have done the job right. basta umaandar ngayon. Bahala na bukas. And this is why I do all the work myself.

Ill be honest, no offense to Jappy. If I wasn't doing my own repairs, di ko makikita na nagcrack na chassis ko. So now I'm helping redesign the Hammer. Kasi yung unit ko ang bugbog sa off road, we base corrections, weak points, strong points on my vehicle.

I suggest din for those dring converts, to check or have their vehicle checked by someone whom they trust and know what they are doing.

**GlennSter** · August 7th, 2003 12:59 AM

baka naman iba din ang dahilan...baka naman nag lock na ung breaks..tapos nawalan nag control...which is possible kahit sa local cars....

dapat imbestigahang mabuti kung ano talaga ang cause.

**antoy** · August 7th, 2003 01:03 AM

The same thing happened to an officemate. Luckily minor injuries lang. Problem was the unit was newly bought and the paperwork was not yet complete. Hindi tuloy malinaw sino hahabulin since di pa na-transfer. I knew there would be problems with these converted units, kaya nga I really looked for a local pajero to buy.

**Bubbles** · August 7th, 2003 01:15 AM

unless you can understand the engineering principles stick to a local.

**roydok** · August 7th, 2003 05:11 AM

I am sorry for the incident.

**RedHorse** · August 7th, 2003 05:24 AM

noted: the mother and the 3-year old boy were seated in front..

no offense sa mga adults na mahilig/nakagawiang magkarga ng bata sa harap. Kahit naka seatbelt ang adult, on impact mabibitawan pa rin, or worst, lalo na pag may airbag. Matigas po ang windshiedl kaysa sa ulo natin.

condolence po sa mga biktima.