My Collision with Nature

In a potentially deadly car crash does your life flash before your eyes? Azfar Hashim can tell you the answer.

As was his routine on weekday mornings, Azfar Hashim had just finished having breakfast with his mom. But that day was different. Outside, he recalls, it was raining so hard he contemplated staying home instead of going to work. Had he known what would happen on his drive to the office, Azfar would have put on his pajamas and gotten back into bed.

Twenty minutes into his thirty-minute commute, he could barely see the road through the front windshield (he would later learn Singapore was experiencing one of the worst storms of the year). Azfar was confident his Forester could handle the road conditions. But monsoon rains can be a challenge. In the blink of an eye they can transform a road into a river. Azfar was traveling in the middle lane when the tires of his Subaru began to lose contact with the water-submerged surface of the road.

“When I lost control I just braced. I knew there was nothing I could do but wait for the impact to stop my car.”

In the Eye of the Storm

Drivers in Asia contend with monsoon conditions multiple times a year. These heavy seasonal storms don’t just cause traffic problems - they can make driving a nerve-racking, dangerous experience.

As the rain came down, the tires of Azfar’s 2006 Subaru Forester struggled to grip the tarmac. Azfar recalls that the effect, known as hydroplaning, made it feel “like the car has its own mind.”

The amount of water on the road, combined with the speed at which you’re traveling, increases the likelihood of hydroplaning. On that day alone 15.5 cm of rain fell on the island, compared to a monthly average of 18cm. Traveling between 55km/h and 80km/h on water-logged roads may cause hydroplaning. Azfar was going about 80km/h.

The End of the Road? Not Quite

In seconds, Azfar’s car had strayed out of the middle lane and clipped the curb at the roadside. As he careened towards a tree looming in front of him, he instinctively yanked the steering wheel in the other direction, sending his car across three lanes and into a fence. He had attempted to stop his Forester by stepping onto the brakes as hard as he could, to avoid another tree. When Azfar looked at the chilling video footage from his dashcam, he realized there were two instances where his Forester could have flipped. Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive kept his Forester grounded and the Electronic Brake-force Distribution helped him stop the car as soon as possible.

Azfar remembers that his life actually flashed before his eyes. “For that split second, you recall moments when you were young and with your parents… and you tell yourself, that’s it for me. This is the end.”

“For that split second, you recall moments when you were young and with your parents… and you tell yourself, that’s it for me. This is the end.”

A Safety Shield

Luckily, it wasn’t the end. Azfar kicked the door open and stumbled out. He assessed his physical condition. He realized he was unharmed and that his Subaru had absorbed all the crash impact.

The windshield was cracked, the bonnet crumpled and the undercarriage a wreck. But the entire cabin of the car was still intact. That level of protection begins with Subaru’s ultra-rigid Ring-Shaped Reinforcement Frame, which connects the car’s pillars, bodyside door frames and the cross-members in the floor to form a safety cage.

Not only had his Subaru saved his life, it let Azfar get on with his workday. When his colleagues learned what had happened, they were amazed to see him in the office that morning. Some had even driven past the crash scene not knowing it was Azfar that was involved. “They were like, what just happened, and how come you can still show up to work?”

Azfar is lucky to be alive. His car, which he calls Toastbox is a write-off.
“But to quote the claims assessor,” says Azfar, “You can replace your car, but not your life – be thankful you were kept safe.”

And be thankful you were driving a Subaru.