The Driver Saved By His Car Not Once, But Twice

Chang Guang Hua’s choice of car has protected him not once, but twice.

As a car importer, Chang Guang Hua knew the importance of choosing a car for safety — something he’d also learned from personal experience, on more than one occasion.

Back in 2011 he was on his way to Meihua Lake with his wife Lui Wen Jun in their Subaru Impreza when the familiar wail of a siren caught his attention. He quickly scanned his surroundings until he spotted an ambulance coming from the right that was about to turn into the junction ahead. Guang Hua stopped his car quickly to let it pass.

As he did, a massive impact from the back jolted him. While trying to get out of the way of one emergency, he had inadvertently caused another.

Saved from the impact

“My first thought was that the car must be totaled,” he recalls. When Guang Hua recovered from the initial shock of the impact and realized he wasn’t hurt, he turned to look at his wife in the back seat and was relieved to discover she hadn’t suffered any apparent injuries. “I knew that an accident had happened, but I didn’t realize at the time that such a large vehicle had collided with my car,” he recalls.

It was only when he got out to examine the damage that he understood the severity of the car crash. His car had been rear-ended by the trailer truck behind him. The other driver hadn’t been able to react in time to Guang Hua’s abrupt braking and the impact had caused the Impreza’s entire trunk to cave in.

It was only when he got out to examine the damage that he understood the severity of the car crash. His car had been rear-ended by the trailer truck behind him. The other driver hadn’t been able to react in time to Guang Hua’s abrupt braking and the impact had caused the Impreza’s entire trunk to cave in.

The Subaru’s Ring-Shaped Reinforcement Frame is designed to form a protective safety cage in collisions just like this one. The ultra-rigid frame prevented the cabin from being crushed, protecting Guang Hua and his wife by absorbing the energy of the collision throughout the entire body of the car.

To his relief, Guang Hua’s Impreza wasn’t totaled. And although it took two months to repair the car, he would continue driving it for another eight years.

Second time around

Driving a Subaru helped Guang Hua escape a potentially life-threatening situation again, this time in an XV EyeSight which replaced his Impreza in 2019.

He was driving his Subaru XV home from Xinzhuang in Taipei with his mother. They had just attended an event together. It was a sunny afternoon in January, and when he reached Tamsui, meters from his home, he saw a car parked by the curb just ahead suddenly accelerate and swerve onto the busy main road without warning.

To avoid a collision, Guang Hua put his foot on the gas pedal and accelerated to overtake it. But with his attention focused on the rear-view mirror to make sure he’d safely passed the moving car, he failed to realize that the traffic in front of him had come to a complete stop. Luckily his Subaru XV knew what to do.

Subaru’s EyeSight Driver Assist Technology is designed to monitor traffic movement. Sensing that the car in front had stopped, the EyeSight Pre-Collision Braking feature alerted Guang Hua of the potential collision. “Then,” he says in disbelief, “the system took over and stopped the car. Thank goodness EyeSight technology helped keep an eye on the traffic situation in front!

It’s likely I’ll drive Subaru cars for the rest of my life!

A second pair of eyes

Guang Hua admits it took him a little while to get used to the XV’s newer functions like EyeSight Driver Assist Technology and parking aids that his 2001 Impreza didn't have.

That said, Guang Hua has since adjusted to the additional safety features. Although he already has 30 years of driving experience, the XV has made him an even safer driver, the 46-year-old admits with a chuckle. “The car has taught me how to overtake others more safely, since it automatically reduces your speed if it finds that you’re not maintaining enough of a safe distance,” he explains.

With his old Impreza having protected him in one accident and his new XV saving him from another, Guang Hua has first-hand knowledge that passenger safety is always the priority inside a Subaru. “It’s likely I’ll drive Subaru cars for the rest of my life.”