accident caused by converted SUV

[boybi]

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]

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

[Bubbles]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[roydok]

I am sorry for the incident.

[RedHorse]

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.

[Olive Drab]

we cannot conclude that the accident is cause by the CONVERSION unless there will be an investigation.

losing control after braking happens to many vehicles.
but, conversion is one possible reason.

[odell]

hinde kasi dapat pinapaupo un bata sa harapan..

[Maki]

condolence, dapat nga pinapacheck ng owner yung unit after this is bought, para maging safe yung user and yung mga tao on road with him,
when i got my paj na converted, 6mos ko iniiwan sa pagawaan, nde ko ginamit for the 1st 6mos. kasi ayaw ko din maaksidente kaya i wanted to be sure...when buying converted units, my usual attitude is total cost = price of the converted unit + 100kpesos for the repairs to be done... sana ganun din iba tao..bawal bara bara ang conversion eh...dami buhay nakasalalay dun...

[pajerokid]

Tsk tsk tsk....

[sir_jeep]

I can't help but react.............Di lang talaga maganda yung pagka-convert sa safari or LC kaya nagdisgrasya........Kawawa talaga yung namatayan.........

My present ride is a converted jeep. Di lang yung steering ang nilipat kundi pati yung column type na transmission na-convert to a standard one pero reversed H sya (yung primera right side up). 1995 pa yung ride ko pero as of now wala pa naman naging problema due to my consistent check-up of everything.

When we buy converted vehicles we should be cautious and take the necessary steps to strengthen and reinforce the parts na importante like steering and suspension. Daily check-up of the chassis is very important kahit pang city driving or pang off road ang ride natin.

We can't say na when we buy a converted vehicle accident prone na ito. Still the owner has a big role in keeping his/her ride safe. Kaya I commend sir bubbles for taking the right measures to reinforce his ride............sana ganun lahat tayo at turuan din natin ang mga friends and relatives natin to do the same......... God bless to all!!!

[Ungas]

-How was the weather at the time prior the accident took place?

-What kind of tires was it using?

-We cannot simply rule out driver's error on this matter, was he intoxicated or DUI?

[rodcarolino]

the big question is "Was the convertion the cause of the accident?" our vitara was also converted but i made it sure that it wont cause any accidents by dismantling the whole steering system and checked its alingment and its strong and weak points, and put it all together. kasalan din naman kung minsan ng driver kung hindi sya marunong makiramdam ng sira o masisira sa sasakyan. ang alam lang kasi sumakay at magdrive...

[CZintrclr]

Boybi, initial reaction ko is magmura after reading that the boy died. Also have a 3 yr. old son. I can't imagine how the mother and father feels, how they will spend the days ahead without their 3 yr.old.

I remember the movie Lord of The Rings Twin Towers when the King's son died and he said "No Father Should Have to Bury His Child".

[Suzuki-san]

IMO, there is a big risk if you buy converted cars or SUVs. I always say to myself that doing serious modification to the original design, specially to the steering system, is not roadworthy. I'm not a mechanic that's why I relay much on the design of the vehicle. I just can't put the safety of my family at risk -- it's better to be sure than sorry. I agree with Bubbles that if you do not understand the engineering principles (like me), better get a local vehicle.

My condolences po sa mga namatayan.

[boybi]

Originally posted by GlennSter
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.

i have experienced wheel locking a couple of times with my civic sir before, some led to accidents also. in my experience, when the wheels lock when breaking hard, the car just goes straight, not swaying left and right.

Originally posted by Ungas
-How was the weather at the time prior the accident took place?

-What kind of tires was it using?

-We cannot simply rule out driver's error on this matter, was he intoxicated or DUI?

yesterday, it was raining all over luzon. i don't know the tires, and the condition of the driver of the suv. whats DUI?

Originally posted by odell
hinde kasi dapat pinapaupo un bata sa harapan..

tama ka dyan. yan din ang problem ko, pero at least walang passenger side airbag yung patrol ko and mataas ang dashboard so lessened ang chance na tumalsik sa windshield ang bata in an accident. padded din yung dashboard, so medyo malambot.
dito sa 2nd son ko, bibili na ako ng child seat for the back para hindi masanay umupo sa harap.