Bonnet flew open as woman drove her car
A PREGNANT woman was forced off a busy road when the bonnet of her car suddenly flew up and smashed her windscreen.
Louise Gallie was driving her Renault Clio along the A50 at 50mph at the time.
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Louise and Geoff Gallie.
The 26-year-old, of Fern Crescent, Congleton, said she was lucky not to have been seriously injured after slamming on the brakes.
She said: "I thought I was going to crash and if I had been on the fast lane on the motorway, I would have been dead."
Manufacturers have insisted that the bonnet release catch on the model has passed safety checks and that any faults stem from poor maintenance.
Bank worker Mrs Gallie was travelling between Holmes Chapel and Knutsford to get to work at around 7.30am last Tuesday.
The force at which the bonnet flew back smashed the windscreen and damaged the car's roof.
Husband Geoff, aged 31, said: "Had she been on a corner and lost visibility it could have been horrific, never mind thinking about being on a motorway."
The couple, whose first child is due in January, are now looking for answers after they first received a letter from Renault in June inviting Clio owners to have bonnet catch mechanisms checked at local dealerships as a gesture of good will.
The Gallies did not take up the offer, but say that the car has been fully serviced each year since they bought it for £5,700 in 2004.
Mr Gallie was so unhappy that he left the damaged vehicle around the corner from Macclesfield's Renault dealership and covered it in posters detailing the incident.
It has been estimated that the car will cost £2,400 to repair.
A Renault spokesman said that Mrs Gallie had confirmed that the bonnet of the vehicle had been lifted two days prior to the incident and advised that the couple get the catches checked once repairs had been carried out.
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by tracey, longton, s-o-t
Saturday, November 22 2008, 10:13PM
“this has also happened to me in 2004. i was 5 months pregnant and we were driving to scotland on our honeymoon. we were driving on the motorway when there was an almighty bang. the bonnet had suddenly flew up, smashed the windscreen and damaged the roof. we had to swerve onto the hard shoulder. we were very lucky that the motorway wasn't very busy. however we were driving at 70 mph and i cant bare to think of what could have been. as you can imagine this ruined our honeymoon. i had to go to hospital so the baby could be checked. we had to organise a courtesy car and it was a knightmare to sort out with the insurance because the catch is classed as a mechanical part so it wasnt covered. our incident was before the letters were issued. we would have had it checked if we had known that there might be a fault. it worries me to think that this is obviously a problem and has happened to far too many people. what does it take for renault to take responsibility? who knows, someone else might not be as lucky as we were. at least we are here still and have seen our child grow up. after this incident we had no confidence in the car as you can imagine. fortunatley we no longer have the vehicle. even so, it upsets me that this lady has gone through almost an identical senario. does it take a death for someone to realise that this IS a problem.”
by Adam, Knutsford
Wednesday, November 19 2008, 6:02PM
“Put simply, even people that Renault wrote too saying that there was no problem with their Clio, have subsequently had the bonnet fly open.
You only have to do a quick search on the internet to find 100¿s of examples of this happening over the last few years and still happening and unless something is done will continue to happen until the last Clio with this type of fault is written off.
Is it really possible that owners of other cars are more careful how they shut their bonnets?
Is it that only Clio drivers do not maintain their car to a decent standard?
Of course it isn¿t. There is clearly a problem with these cars but Renault are not prepared to do anything about it and neither are any form of governing body.
If you drive a Clio you need to be concerned and do something about it.”
by Geoff, Cheshire
Wednesday, November 19 2008, 11:13AM
“Letter was received from Renault in June 2007 advising there was no problem with our car. As it is fully serviced and MOT we trusted Renault. We are not after compensation we just wanted to highlight this to all Renault Clio drivers so it does not happen to them as it has happened to so many others (feel free to look for yourself). Yes, we could have had it checked in 2007 but as we were advised there was no fault we didn't. Obviously now I wish we had and we advise everyone else to get their bonnet checked to help prevent further incidents.
We are not alone on this - In the paper (Sentinel 18/11/08) it advises former PR Manager for Renault highlighted this issue with Clio and MP David Burrows (Chairman of Road Safety Group) tabled motion in House of Commons calling for action! 400,000 letters were sent to Clio drivers to advise there was no problem with car not 400,000 letters saying there was. It might just be an extraordinary coincidence that this just happens to Renault Clio's and not other cars????”
by Eva, Newcastle
Tuesday, November 18 2008, 9:10PM
“I lease cars for a living and when we have reminders for vehicle checks from manufactures the driver is required to have the the car
looked at. The reason for this is if you are given a warning that there is a potential problem with your vehicle if for whatever reason it fails you are the one facing possible danger, the onus is on you to
protect yourself.
If someone said to you there is a chance the catch on your bonnet could be defective the BEST thing to do would be to get it checked out. The couple got the safety recall notice MONTHS before the bonnet opened to be honest I think neither has a leg to stand on if they ignore it!! Common sense maybe?”
by Helen, Newcastle
Tuesday, November 18 2008, 5:52PM
“Whilst this is an event that no one should have to experience, the couple have stated:
''they first received a letter from Renault in June inviting Clio owners to have bonnet catch mechanisms checked at local dealerships as a gesture of good will"
....... yet they chose not to?
Whether it is proven to be a fault with the catch or not, renault had taken reasonable steps to ensure all clio's were checked, surely the couple should ask themselves why they didn't take up this free offer especially after all he publicity around previous incidents (e.g. watchdog).”