Crashed into concrete central reservation :(

OK guys, I've not posted on here much, only had the Evoque since March, coming from the Full Fat RR and fullfatrr.com...

Last week in the torrential rain of Storm 'Bronagh' caused a massive amount of standing water on a section of the M1, south of Sheffield. I was in the middle lane and wasn't speeding (although I was obviously going too fast for the conditions) probably around 60MPH. I aquaplaned over what was probably about 10 car lengths and I'd like to go into detail about what happened next - as a warning to other drivers:

The first thing I noticed was the deafening silence, as the wheels lost contact with the road.

The back end of the car started to drift out to the left, pointing the car towards the barrier, instantly I attempted to correct with left hand down, about half a turn which had zero directional impact.

Realising that there was no steering, I was running through the various impact scenarios in my head - head-ons, glancing blows, spinning out of control and being hit by other cars. It's amazing what can go through your head in a very small time. I decided to stand on the brake pedal to at least potentially shed some speed to reduce whatever impact was to follow.

All of a sudden, there was tyre screech. The stretch of water had ended and the tyres were in contact with the ground again, unfortunately, pointing at about 45 degrees to the central reservation, now the car continued on that new path for about 3 meters until it hit the concrete barrier.

The front corner hit the barrier.

What came next I had not anticipated or ever experienced. The sheer speed of the airbag deployment - it literally knocked the air out of my lungs;
The front airbags inflate quicker than you can blink - my eyes were sore for days after being grazed by the airbag.
The side airbags push you away from the door with incredible force - my entire right side is covered in bruises.
The knee airbags knock your feet from the pedals which is very disorientating as you're trying desperately to brake.
The curtain airbags smack you in the side of the head - my ear was bruised and twice the size of the other for a week. The curtain airbag does not deflate and is very tough/stiff, so that in the event of a roll over you are held in place.

Next the rear of the struck the barrier.

The car span, and span, and span.

We came to a stop with cars passing in all directions, I was in a blind panic as I couldn't see which way we were facing and whether we were about to be struck by someone else at 70mph - with no airbags left for protection.

My partner got out the car and with the help of a van driver who had stopped they managed to pull open my drivers door.

We then made our way to the hard shoulder where it all started to sink in...

My car was destroyed - but we were, other than bruises & burns - unhurt.

It's so easy, especially in a Range Rover to feel cocooned from the outside world. I have covered a lot of miles and have had minor scuffs and shunts in the past, never my fault. I hold my hands up and say I was driving too fast for the conditions, but also wonder perhaps the outcome could have been worse had I been going 10mph slower or faster etc.

I genuinely can't say that driving slower would have saved the car, all I can say is that without warning, and after driving for 250 miles that night already, the car felt like it was on in the air. I love driving on snow & ice - this was nothing like it, you have more grip on ice!

I'm not even sure what the lesson is here, other than to be aware of what can happen, perhaps leave more space from cars around you on the motorway in the rain so if it isn't you that loses it, you're at least far away from those that do?

IMG_20180920_230652 by d86cfv, on Flickr

IMG_20180920_230701 by d86cfv, on Flickr

IMG_20180921_120441 by d86cfv, on Flickr

IMG_20180921_120643 by d86cfv, on Flickr

Holy crap!!! I live not far from M1 j29/29A and I remember hearing about the M1 being closed around then.
Glad to hear your all ok in the grand scheme of things and could walk away.
I have aqua planed in the past but nothing like what t
You experienced. I guess thumbs up to modem safety systems is in order.

Aqua plaining can catch any one out, and theres not really anything you can do about it, usually lift off and carry on in the direction your going.

Glad every one is ok, in reality its the roads that are to blame in there design, not enough camber to run the water off.

Unbelievable to see how many airbags the car has, I never even knew there were knee airbags. It’s a poor sight to see your car like that but glad that you’re ok.

Glad you all are ok. Modern cars are designed to protect the passengers in a crash at the expense of the car.... it worked there. As I was told once after crashing.... it’s only metal that’s broken, a bone would be a lot worse!!

Frightening! Glad you’re relatively okay and that all the safety gear did it’s job. The car can be replaced, people can’t.

Thanks for the kind words guys.

The insurance (Admiral Multi-Car) has been brilliant. I paid 19K for the car in march and they have just paid out 20K, with some shrewd haggling I have managed to get a 2 year newer car with less mileage and a stack more toys - should be collecting that next week.

Our travel insurance also covered the cost of the lost hotel rooms for the weekend (£900) and the hire car to drive the 300 miles back home.

I was expecting a long winded drawn out fight with both.

Glad you're ok Dan!

(30-09-2018 08:56pm)dan_uk_1984 Wrote:  Thanks for the kind words guys.

The insurance (Admiral Multi-Car) has been brilliant. I paid 19K for the car in march and they have just paid out 20K, with some shrewd haggling I have managed to get a 2 year newer car with less mileage and a stack more toys - should be collecting that next week.

Our travel insurance also covered the cost of the lost hotel rooms for the weekend (£900) and the hire car to drive the 300 miles back home.

I was expecting a long winded drawn out fight with both.

dayum! what are your digits, dude? i'm gonna call you next time i total a car - you're a master!!!!!!!!

glad you're safe. enjoy the new ride.

doody

Blimey. Very lucky Dan, and a good job the car did its job.

On reflection, do you have any thoughts on the tyres fitted to the car at the time ? Do you wonder whether a different tyre/pattern/depth of tread etc would have changed the situation and been less likely to ride up onto the water ?

A common thought of mine (but perhaps a mis-conception) is that chinkier tyres, whilst arguably less grippy in the dry compared to road based tyres are more likely to step through standing water and allow it to squeeze out the deeper gaps between blocks.

I'm not suggesting that this would make you drive faster, but maybe give you a higher margin of safety at a given speed.